Remind Me Why I'm Here: Sifting through Sudden Loss of Memory and Judgment (People with Disabilities Press) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: new glasses, mild traumatic brain injury, The Winds, Mildly Sick, Tree Boughs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

“It is one matter to forget things when you have a million thoughts flooding your mind and quite another to forget when your head is as empty as a looted store.”
—from Remind Me Why I’m Here

In the spring of 1996, Diana Lund was a top-ranked project manager in her mid-thirties when a car accident instantly changed her personality and her life’s direction. Thrust into short-term memory loss and cognitive deficit, self-perception kept colliding into reality. Neurologists underestimated her difficulties; they sent her back to work, to manage multi-million dollar contracts, in a mentally compromised state.

Beyond an account of devastating internal transformation, Remind Me delves into neurological research and trends. Lund pushes her intellect to its limit to unravel mysteries about her brain and accident. And on her quest to become whole again and to understand the neurological world, she discovers hope.

“A topic that could be dense and heavy becomes a page turner. Even sophisticated professionals can relate to the freshness of observations . . .”
—Leonard Diller, PhD, Prof. of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU School of Medicine; Director of Psychology, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine

“A superbly written volume . . . illustrating . . . that even so-called minor brain injuries can produce functionally incapacitating cognitive and neurobehavioral impairments . . .”
—Yehuda Ben-Yishay, PhD, Prof. of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU

“Essential reading for clinicians, families, and counselors.”
—Marilyn Lash, MSW, Partner, Lash and Associates Publishing/Training, Inc.

About the Author

Diana Lund holds a BA in psychology and an MA in mathematics. After brain injury sidelined her computer science career, she began writing. Today she speaks in the Chicago area on mild traumatic brain injury and is penning a second memoir.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (March 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595383513
• ISBN-13: 978-0595383511
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,265,762 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable story, November 25, 2006

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Cathy Yanda for Reader Views (10/06)

Diana Lund's story cannot help but inspire anyone who reads "Remind Me Why I'm Here." As the reader is increasingly drawn into her daily life, one quickly realizes how different her life has become. One day she is a top-ranked project manager; the next, she is struggling to be able to focus on her computer monitor. One day she is able to keep track of work and social commitments; the next she sits and cannot concentrate on even one small task. One day she is a woman in love, thinking of marriage and children; the next she is dependant on him for everything from grocery shopping to keeping appointments straight. One day she is a loving daughter; the next she doesn't recognize her mother in a restaurant. There is much more.

As the reader walks with Diana in her daily life, watching her trying to fit into her previous work and social life, continuing to do her best to research what is going on with her, one can't help but develop great respect for this remarkable woman. This is not only a memoir. It is an eye opening look into something that could happen to any of us. Diana learns to set the laundry basket in the middle of the living room floor to remind her that she has a load of laundry in the washing machine. She puts a sign in the kitchen to remind herself to set a timer when she puts food on the stove so it will not burn. She discloses many other tricks that could be helpful to those who are aging.

Over time, Diana's relationship with her boyfriend fizzles, she loses her job, and she loses track of her finances. Many of us would have given up on things. She did not. She worked harder to learn all she could, to write things down because she knew wouldn't remember them, and to keep the journal that eventually contributed to this book. Diana, now in love with a wonderful man, writes, "I am at peace with who I am. My new life of work brings joy, creativity and goodness to me, as does my partner-for-life." She is not a whisper of the woman she was before the injury, but truly a shouting voice for those who have endured brain trauma. "Remind Me Why I'm Here" is beautifully written and should be in the waiting area of every neurologist. Personally, I am eager to read her second memoir.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Respect Requires a Memory, August 14, 2006

By	Michele Cozzens "www.michelecozzens.com" (Cloud 8) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Respect requires a memory." This is just one discovery Diana Lund makes during her journey as a brain-injured individual. This book is amazing on many levels. In Remind Me Why I'm Here, the author tells the inside story of brain injury. It is filled with minute detail cataloging the day-to-day progression of how her life changed after what she thought was a relatively minor car accident.

Even though the author has a degree in psychology, this is not an essay final, nor is it a thesis paper. Without question, however, it is extremely useful material for psychologists, neurologists and those associated with rehabilitative medicine. Even if you are not in these fields of study, it makes for interesting reading. Diana Lund is a truly unique individual. Clearly an intelligent, educated and highly capable woman, she started a journal of all of her actions shortly after the accident when she noticed her odd and changed behavior. Had she not done this, it seems this book would have been impossible to write. She recalls things as silly as leaving the milk on the counter instead of returning it to the refrigerator, as well as things more alarming, like having no memory of a conversation had only five minutes prior. She burned her food. She took hours to write simple notes. Her IQ dropped 30 points. She couldn't get through her in-box at work, and she even had difficulty recognizing her own mother. Through this personal and brave journey, the reader not only gains respect for the fragility of what we perceive to be a normal life, but also the importance of emotional support for the disabled.

It is a well-written medical and psychological journey of discovery and rediscovery and should be required reading for anyone associated with a brain-injured individual.

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent., January 13, 2009

By	Katelyn Hurley (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

this book is fantastic. lund's description of the aftermath of TBI and the emotional toll it takes on a personal are spot-on. i am a little disappointed that i had to give it a five star rating-- it deserves much more than that!