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Sedona author, life coach, and brain injury survivor tells her story

by Alina Oswald

Sedona, AZ - TBI, FMS, CFS… For some of us, these are only random groups of letters. For others, they represent acronyms for “mysterious” diseases, conditions or syndromes. Sometimes, the way Traumatic Brain Injury, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome manifest in patients brings up more questions than answers; therefore, it’s not uncommon for even medical practitioners to misdiagnose them.

But these “mysterious” conditions have the power to challenge and forever change the lives of those they touch.

TBI, FMS, CFS also Lyme disease and brain cancer affect many individuals, famous and not so famous, on a daily basis. These diseases, syndromes and conditions pertain to the life-challenging and life-threatening experiences that can turn individuals into surrenders or survivors.

For Laura Bruno, an intuitive life coach, Reiki Master Teacher and writer, her TBI diagnosis—the result of a seemingly insignificant car accident—changed her life from the path of achieving her doctoral degree and a successful career to the path of recovery. Laura Bruno’s TBI diagnosis didn’t only show her what’s most important in life, but also helped her discover her own “yellow brick road” to recovery and to a relatively normal life.

Indeed, parallels to the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s story are many and throughout the book. They help readers better understand Bruno’s personal experience, the reasons behind her decisions dealing with complex issues like treatments and doctors, insurance and lawyers. In this sense, "If I Only Had a Brain Injury" is an inspiring, informative and educative read, and also a wonderful narrative. By sharing her story, Bruno opens the doors to the world of so-called mysterious conditions so many of us have to live with, sometimes misunderstood.

"If I Only Had a Brain Injury" gives readers a chance to better understand not only the syndromes and conditions, but also the persons behind the medical diagnosis, the very individuals having to live daily with these syndromes and conditions. And by doing so, the book represents an irreplaceable resource for patients, caregivers, families and friends and also medical practitioners.

The book is exceptionally well structured and organized, while easy to follow and understand. It offers an amazing number of personal stories and experiences, interviews with experts in the field, as well as useful sites, statistics and hands-on advice—given by professionals and also tested and tried by Bruno and other patients. "If I Only Had a Brain Injury" is a page-turner and a must-read. It is a testimony of the power of believing in oneself, a true survival story.

For more information, or to buy the book, please see www.ifionlyhadabraininjury.com.

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