Cracked: My Life After a Skull Fracture

by Jim Barry

Overview

Jim Barry had it all: professional success, a great family, good health. Then, on a season-ending mountain bike excursion, he crashed, fracturing his skull and suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. After spending months in hospitals and rehab centers, he came home to more rehab on an outpatient basis. His lasting disabilities from his traumatic brain injury include limited vision, reduced hearing, lack of balance-necessitating a wheelchair-and weakness on one side.

This book tells the story of his journey to healing through the medical world and then at home forging a new life, even cycling and skiing again using adaptive equipment. Barry's story is a hopeful tale of persistence, resilience, and pushing forward.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578691227
Publisher:	Rootstock Publishing
Publication date:	01/31/2023
Pages:	150
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.32(d)

About the Author

A native of Wisconsin, Jim Barry embarked on a thirty-year career in research and development after graduating with a PhD in engineering. An accident ended that career and left him disabled. He lives with his wife in New Hampshire. CRACKED is his first book.

Editorial Reviews

2022-12-05
A retired engineer recounts a traumatic brain injury.

In this memoir, Barry recalls enjoying a healthy, active life. As president of a research and development engineering firm, the 51-year-old executive was professionally fulfilled but also looking forward to retirement: shuttling between his New England home and his lakeside cottage; enjoying boating; spending time with his adult son and stepchildren; and taking more bike trips with his beloved wife, a schoolteacher. Then one day in 2012, everything changed. While on a bicycle trip in Vermont, the author experienced a bad fall that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. After numerous medical procedures, including a tracheostomy and the installation of a feeding tube as well as a monthslong stint in rehab, Barry sought to rebuild a life altered in every way possible. Because their vacation house was virtually inaccessible to the author, who used a wheelchair, he and his wife determined that they must give it up. Barry could no longer drive due to weakened vision, and though he returned to work in a limited capacity, he soon retired earlier than planned. But thanks to love, faith, and good fortune, he was able to continue bicycling and racing—using various recumbent tricycles—and do many things independently, such as making his way around his home while his wife was at work and communicating via email. He also rediscovered a passion for writing and decided to share his journey with readers. This short but informative memoir, which features family photographs, showcases the author’s straightforward voice and copious self-awareness. Despite the significant obstacles that came with a TBI, Barry recognized how lucky he had been throughout the ordeal—beginning with the passersby who came upon him immediately after he was injured and called for help. The book’s first half is a play-by-play of the author’s various procedures and therapies as he adjusted to a new way of existing, and the second half is devoted to larger topics, like Barry’s strong Roman Catholic faith, his “day in the life” routines and mobility aids, and his hobbies, such as baking bread and entertaining at home.

An illuminating look at the impact of a life-changing diagnosis.

Kirkus Reviews