Customer Reviews
Over My Head? Hea Me Too 
2007-12-26
I was told to Read the book Over My Head By Claudia L. Osborne. I Like Her Was in a Bad accident in which I also had a closed head Brain Injury. I was in a coma for over 7 weeks in late August of 2006. I would agree with the writers synopsis that all you want to do is get back to your old Self, To be the same personyou were and do the same things but so many things changed in that split second that it is not only better to forget the Who you were and to Start basically a new Life. It is the only way to look positivly and to go on with life a new. A lot of the things in life will stay the same and yet there are so many things that I can no longer do. I could Bitch and Moan and get on hating My New Life or I could accept what has happened, Thank God Daily that for what ever reason I was spared: that He has a plan for Me and I must look at the positive and not the negative. I make it a goal now to work on putting a smile on My face every day by the time I close my eyes and go to sleep. That is of course after I have thanked the Dear Lord For The things that I can still enjoy among those things are the greatest Family and Friends a person could have. You have to look at life as a whole New life; separate and different in so many ways from who You used to be, but The same in social aspects where things ar still the same.
Essential for the patient and the family 
2007-12-14
I first read this book at the recommendation of my neuropsychologist following a closed-head injury 8 years ago. I think it saved my sanity! Closed-head injury can bring about a panoply of just plain WEIRD symptoms that can make the patient (and their family, for that matter) feel as if they're losing their mind. The insanity is explained by a doctor who went through the same experience after an accident. She talks about it in a very non-technical way and helps the patient and those around the patient understand what's happening, why, and that NO, you're not nuts!
From a Fellow Survivor 2007-12-13
I suffered a ruptured aneurysm this summer '07, and read this book while recovering from brain surgery. It prepared me for the worst regarding other's responses to my temporary slower mental functioning. The book also helped me to be more sensitive to other people in general regardless of whether an infirmity is obvious or not. I.e., people were very compassionate toward me when my head was shaved and my scalp was full of staples, but now that my hair has grown back and the staples have been removed, that sensitivity has disappeared even though I am still recovering and will be for a long time.
I was inspired by Dr. Osborn's strength and her determination to overcome her deficits. I admire her for writing this book to help others in her situation. Because of this book, I knew to ask my neurologist about cognitive therapy and am now enrolled and working with a occupational/speech therapist.
I don't recommend reading this book early in the recovery process if you have had any kind of brain injury. I did, and it caused severe depression to overcome me. For lighter, more humorous material about brain injury survivors' ordeals, I recommend Susie Becker's book, "I had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?"
Both a doctor & brain injury patient... 2007-10-28
I have had Encephalitis twice, recieved rehabilitation in Occupational, Physical and Speech therapies, and currently work full-time, yet will forever be aware of my physical & mental limitations. In this book a doctor explains her acquired brain injury and the rehab process she and her famuly and friends dealt with, along with the positive strategies she has gained to deal with her life today. This book clearly clarified for me the diference between TBI and simple brain injury and brought to reality the fact that other people have dealt with similar rehab situations as myself & survived successfully! A must read I found hard to put down.
Brain Fog Unfogged -- A Feat in Communication 2007-07-30
Osborn does what is virtually impossible. She translates the fog of a damaged brain's function into vignettes that an undamaged brain can comprehend.
In her case, this translation is from experiences which were by definition wordless, disorganized, incomprehensible, frightening and often completely mindless to their opposites. The level of Dr. Osborn's skill in doing this may be best understood by readers who have some experience (as I do) in being with brain-injured people.
Whether one appreciates Osborn's achievement in communicating the uncommunicable is unimportant. What is valuable is that she succeeds so well in giving us insight into the "being" of at a subset of the injured.
Most of the incidents recorded in the book are too long to quote in illustration of my point. Their length is a necessary consequence of Osborn's wish to reveal her floundering. Nothing in her life was straightforward. A relatively short excerpt follows:
BEGIN EXCERPT (page 33)
"I left soon after for the bookstore, but with the force of old habit and despite Marcia's written reminder dangling from the dash, I drove directly to the hospital. And then home again. Three times.
"It was noon when I drove out of the hospital parking lot for the third time, I was determined it wouldn't happen again.
"Now, as I turned onto the main road, Marcia's note clutched in my hand, I chanted, "Book store, go to the bookstore.'
"I was still saying it thirty minutes later as I turned into our driveway.
"When I got into the house, I reread Marcia's note. Lord, the bookstore.
"Well, I would definitely get the book tomorrow. Right now, I could still do the second item on her list - water the lawn."
END EXCERPT (page 34)
Needless to say, Osborn forgot to water the lawn.
The book is also notable in illustrating the lack of insight (in regard to her limitations) that Osborn (as others) experienced for quite some time. Then, once insight was gained, she writes about her struggle with a sorrowed sense of lost self.
One incident that helped to her to understand the scope of her lost abilities (which apparently were exceptional) is recorded on pages 205-206. She was not able perform even so "simple" a cognitive exercise as making a telephone call to obtain a patient's medical information.
The book provides a generalized understanding of how rehabilitation is accomplished. This includes learning stratagems for partially replacing lost structural functions.
BEGIN EXCERPT (page 145)
"Now my notes ordered me to [begin italics] really look in the mirror. Hair combed? Teeth cleaned? Collar straight? Earrings match? Expression alert, smiling? [end italics] It began to make a difference."
END EXCERPT
For the most part, the rehab portions of the book are most useful for providing a patient's view of rehabilitation. "Over My Head" certainly does not provide an overview of rehabilitation techniques. Osborn does, however, include a concise review of the generalized deficits that rehab and therapy have to address.
By the end of the book, Osborn manages to return to teaching medicine, but in a format and in situations where she can proceed more or less by rote and under controlled circumstances. Osborn emphasizes that adult brain injury generally imposes permanent limitations upon post-trauma performance. You will not be who you were. Part of the rehabilitation process requires coming to emotional grips with whom you have become.
I recommend "Over My Head" without reservation. It will be of most value to people new to dealing with brain trauma. It also has worth for those of us who lost figurative pieces of ourselves, but do not have brain trauma to blame. The "coping with loss and less" element of the book has universal appeal.
Throughout, Osborn shines as a human being.
polished and effective 2007-06-28
Locked inside a brain-injured head looking out at a challenging world is the premise of this extraordinary autobiography. Over My Head is an inspiring story of how one woman comes to terms with the loss of her identity and the courageous steps (and hilarious missteps) she takes while learning to rebuild her life. The author, a 45-year-old doctor and clinical professor of medicine, describes the aftermath of a brain injury eleven years ago which stripped her of her beloved profession. For years she was deprived of her intellectual companionship and the ability to handle the simplest undertakings like shopping for groceries or sorting the mail. Her progression from confusion, dysfunction, and alienation to a full, happy life is told with restraint, great style, and considerable humor.
Dr. Osborn is a true teacher 2007-06-07
I think I now can be a better friend and cousin to Jack who recently suffered a brain injury. Reading these memoirs has jolted me out of denial. I am very grateful for the wisdom in this book.
a lifering of a book 2007-05-27
This is the definitive tell-all about head trauma.
It savages every concept of so-called professionalism
in the neuro rehab "biz." And yes, let's never forget
it is a business...Like the movie The Doctor, with William
Hurt, the expert doctor's ego is the last to fall. Ms.
Osborn admits this readily, to her credit.
Claudia found out just how much caregivers and
"pros" alike sugar coat the truth with lies, supposedly
to spare our feelings, but really because they are
unable to feel and empathize emotionally with some-
thing as unbelievably tragic as the very Loss of Self.
Or at least the appearance of it!
Don't ever believe you will lose your self if you have
a head injury, mild or severe. It is only an illusion.
There is a broad, overarching hint throughout this book
that faith in the Almighty will bring you through head
injury successfully. I suggest you dare to believe it.
TBI treatment is still scandalously poor out there, folks!
Only the truth can fix it. Don't discount the power of
nootropic smart supplements, homeopathic remedies,
hyperbaric oxygen and just eating fresh herbs and
veggies out of a home garden even years after the injury.
Starting up painting or playing an instrument can open
dormant circuits especially if they were never used
to begin with, pre-trauma. Gee, now THERE's a thought,
hunh?! The human body has a phenomenal capacity to
heal itself with just a little push start.
This book is crammed full of insights about how even
though we can become victims in a flash we can also
begin to bust out of it as we get our bearings. Please,
please read books like this to your relatives in a coma
or even if NOT mute, aphasic, or with "locked in
syndrome." It will allow them to process the emotions.
They need you to do that for them!
It starts with the Will, as the author clearly demonstrates
by literally writing her way back to life.
Claudia.... You done good, Girl!
Completely accurate account on living with short-term memory loss 2006-03-19
Ms. Osborn is a godsend to have created this book. I am a survivor of an illness which greatly affected my short-term memory, and although it is difficult for me to remember the details of the book overall, I could 100% relate to each and every sentence as I read it. If you are friend or family to one with short-term memory loss, or if you simply wish to understand life with virtually no short-term memory, read this book. You will have a completely different outlook on life once you do.
An Instructive Read for the Head Injured, Neuro Professionals, and Caregivers. 2006-03-11
This was a well done piece that describes some of the many deficits head injured people suffer. This is particularly valuable since so little literature is available to lay persons interested in head injuries. I found myself clearly identifying with Claudia, her loss of career, and the devastating deficits caused by traumatic brain injury.
