AFTER THE ACCIDENT, a collection of thirty-two poems, follows
Patricia A. Henisse’s first year of recovery from injuries sustained in a
life-changing motor vehicle accident. The work provides the reader with
powerful insight into the challenges presented by pain, visual impairment,
memory loss, emotional stress and physical limitation. At times humorous
and always perceptive, AFTER THE ACCIDENT provides a unique
glimpse into the process of healing. AFTER THE ACCIDENT is intended
for persons in recovery, their loved ones, health care professionals and
anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the impact of trauma on the
human spirit.
Excerpts from

AFTER THE ACCIDENT



A WORLD BETWEEN


Sometimes I think I died there,
broken or burning at  the curb
the bus driver and the witness watching,
eyes filled with the horror of the sight
and the relief that it isn’t them.


This, then, must be a shadow life,
a hodgepodge of unconnected thoughts,
floating in a purgatory in which I no longer  
believe, stuck for eternity,
unable to move forward or back.



THERAPY


On a scale

of one to ten, with

one being noticeable and

ten being

excruciating,

how much pain are you

experiencing?


Does this

make it

worse?



FLASHBACK


Months go by and big things happen      
surgeries, tests, therapy, procedures,
injections of corticosteroids into the tiny
joints between the facets of my
cervical vertebra.
I float through them in a fog of painkillers,
on a balloon of repression.
Then, thousands of miles away,
I take an apple from the
bottom of my bag and see
a nugget of windshield glass
embedded in its skin.
The memory rushes to me,
piercing through the walls of
time and denial,
the thunderous crash of steel on steel
that bent my brain and tore my body.
A NOTE FOR READERS  

The last two pages of AFTER THE ACCIDENT provide the reader with information on the silent epidemic of mild traumatic brain
injury.  Any blow or jolt to the head can result in a traumatic brain injury which disrupts the function of the brain.  These concussions,
also called “closed head injuries,” are a form of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.  Approximately 1.1 million Americans sustain a  mild
traumatic brain injury each year.  Many go undiagnosed or untreated because symptoms may not show up for days or weeks.  
Sometimes the injury makes it hard for people to recognize or to admit that they are having problems.  The author hopes
AFTER THE ACCIDENT helps to increase public awareness of this injury.  For more information on
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury go to the website of the Brain Injury Association of America at:
ORDERS
AFTER THE ACCIDENT can be ordered by sending your request through the contact page of  this website (see tab above);
through bookstream at:                                    in the poetry section;  or through any local or online bookseller.    The price for AFTER
THE ACCIDENT is $6.95 (usd) plus shipping and handling.   The ISBN for AFTER THE ACCIDENT is:  0-7795-0110-1.   A
volume discount is provided if you order five or more copies through this website.
POETRY
Read Patricia A. Henisse’s thought provoking web log at disaboom.com
by clicking here:  Patricia's Recovery Blog.
Featuring the work of Patricia A. Henisse