Description
Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. In the aftermath of her Harvard sophomore son's potentially devastating brain injury, Elise Rosenhaupt and her family find their orderly world turned upside down. CLIMBING BACK: A FAMILY'S JOURNEY THROUGH BRAIN INJURY chronicles their extraordinary, transformative journey of realignment and recovery—illuminating mysteries and miracles large and small, laughter's restorative power, and the natural world's vital relationship to the process of healing.
Foreword by Joseph S. Ratner, M.D., Chief of Psychiatry, New England Rehabilitation Hospital, who writes, "In a memoir both profound and thorough, Elise Rosenhaupt found the courage and the discipline to look this event straight in its horrible eye, and to take notes. This is a journey no one would ever choose, but one which a young man and his family managed to finally engage on their own terms, with grace and dignity, and ultimately with a sense of victory."
"In CLIMBING BACK, Elise Rosenhaupt recounts a deep family tragedy with clear eyes and writerly skill. Her story will resonate with anyone who has endured a similar crisis, and besides that, it is a darn good read."—William deBuys, author of The Walk and River of Traps
"Elise Rosenhaupt weaves together an unexpected shattering event, a life hanging in the balance, and a resourceful, tight knit family into a riveting, powerful true story. This is a wonderful, surprising, rewarding book. I loved it."—John Jay Osborn, Jr., author of The Paper Chase and The Associates
"Compulsively readable...quietly and sensitively written...about family, about hanging together and letting go, about being aware and taking note, about stretching one's capacities to love and endure."—Wendy Mnookin, author of Dinner with Emerson and What He Took
"Her close observations of what is happening from the medical and logistical side are matched by her equally close observations of what is happening on the emotional side."—Jim Levy, author of Cooler Than October Sunlight and Joy To Come
"This is how recovery is done when it's done right, when you marvel at the frailty of our bodies and the resilience of our spirits."—Jesse Kornbluth, Head Butler
"...the family's perspective of dealing with a traumatic injury of their child is largely unrepresented in disability narratives. A large part of what I do with families is to build rapport and provide education about how they can help their child. Reading your book has helped me to be a better therapist by reminding me of the struggles, emotional toll and deep worry that comes with having a child in intensive care without a certain outcome. It has also helped me to celebrate the small successes in bigger ways."—Jena Masland, Occupational Therapist
Author Bio
Elise Rosenhaupt has wide-ranging experience with injuries and other insults to the brain. Her father died nine years after falling off his bicycle onto his head; she spent weeks with him immediately after his 1976 accident. She was beside her husband during his 1995 episode of transient global amnesia. Her son was the medic who took charge when, in 1998, she fell and fractured her skull. Two months later, that son, a Harvard student, was hit by a car and suffered traumatic brain injury. She was with him throughout his weeks at the acute care hospital and the rehabilitation facility, and during his months of recovery and rehabilitation at home in New Mexico. She cared for her mother, who suffered from Parkinsonism, a neurological syndrome.
The author has lived in New Mexico since 1969. She edits and writes on behalf of environmental groups and progressive initiatives and candidates. She has taught American and English literature and creative writing, and edited poetry, fiction, and non-fiction on a freelance basis. She edited photographer Eliot Porter's essays and his book, Antarctica (E.P. Dutton, 1978). A graduate of Radcliffe College, she was poetry editor of Harvard's oldest literary magazine, The Harvard Advocate. She studied at Harvard with poets Robert Fitzgerald and Theodore Morrison and writers Roger Rosenblatt and Carter Wilson. She lives in Santa Fe with her husband. Their son, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson all live nearby.
Author City: SANTA FE, NM USA