Couldn't Happen to Me offers hope to families facing the unthinkable: a vibrant 26-year-old mowed down by a hopeless drunk and left for dead. Author Jill Mason has battled back from expectations that she would not recover beyond a vegetative state to fully independent living even as she continues to struggle with traumatic brain injury and life in a wheelchair. Her story begins in 2004 when she is left in a crumpled heap on the side of a Santa Rosa highway, her boyfriend killed outright. Drawing on family journals and her own hazy memories, she details the challenges of the first few months while she was hospitalized and then the painfully long recovery in her childhood home. Against all odds, she successfully pushes to regain her independence. Fearlessly honest, Jill generously shares her frustrations as well as practical advice on types of chairs, buying a car, and dating. Most of all, she offers her indomitable spirit as an inspiration to her readers.
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About the Author
Jill Mason was 26 in 2004 when she was hit by a drunk driver in Santa Rosa, California, while riding her bike in preparation for an upcoming triathlon. Her boyfriend, Alan Liu, was killed outright. With a newly-minted master’s degree in communications, Jill had worked for an engineering firm and pursued her love of athletics. She played lacrosse for Santa Clara University, from which she graduated in 1999. She was a champion high school runner in Grass Valley where she grew up--and to which she returned after the accident when she was unable to take care of herself. Although she remained in a coma for months, through extraordinary determination, hard work, and loving care, she has managed to begin to live independently in Sacramento. She gives speeches to new cadets in the California Highway Patrol, talks with students all over northern California, and in 2008 was selected through a competitive essay contest to be an Olympics torchbearer, an experience covered by international media.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'll never complain again,
By Geo Gosling (St. Helena, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Couldn't Happen to Me: A Life Changed by Paralysis and Traumatic Brain Injury (Paperback)
I sat down to read this book and I didn't get up until I had read every word between the front and back cover. There are a few grammatical errors but Jill gets her point across, which is the whole point of language. I cried more than once and that's saying something because I am a "manly man" who never cries over...anything. Jill went from having a job that required a Masters Degree and from competing in triathlons, to being confined to a wheelchair and contacting insurance companies about needed medical supplies. Every CEO of every insurance company should read this book.
I also suffered a severe TBI and have also written a book. My book is entitled "TBI Hell" but after reading Jill's book, my book should be entitled "TBI Heaven" or "TBI Paradise." I'll never complain about my situation again. Anyone who reads this book should never again complain about their situation, whatever it may be. I cannot comprehend living with a Traumatic Brain Injury AND a severed spinal cord. Jill is simply amazing and very humbling.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invaluable Information for Gravely Injured Military Personnel,
By
This review is from: Couldn't Happen to Me: A Life Changed by Paralysis and Traumatic Brain Injury (Paperback)
As a book reviewer for the Naval Institute Proceedings magazine, I have read numerous accounts by our severely wounded veterans of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than a year ago, I was fortunate enough to meet and chat with Jill Mason, who had a totally life-changing experience when a drunk driver plowed into her and her boyfriend while they were biking, extensively battering her and killing him. While her story in Couldn't Happen to Me has nothing to do with combat-inflicted wounds, it has everything to do with how one can cope with crippling paralysis and traumatic brain injury. Jill immediately struck me as a spunky woman who was entirely capable and unafraid of dealing with horrendous circumstances. She exuded self-confidence, reminding me of many Marines I have served with: tough, resolute, no whiny-pants staff. I believe her book offers invaluable information---and not least, much hopefulness---to gravely injured military personnel.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspirational,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Couldn't Happen to Me: A Life Changed by Paralysis and Traumatic Brain Injury (Paperback)
I don't know Jill Mason personally, but after reading her book I feel I understand her spirit and admire her strength to achieve new goals in a changed life path. The way she described her recovered memories of falling in love with Alan, and their relationship, will always stay with me, as will her story of the love and support she receives from family and friends. Beyond the personal effort she gives in her physical challenges, it is truly inspirational that she now works to help others through the writing of her story and speaking to teenagers about the devastation caused by drunk driving.
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