By Lainie Cohen

Advance Praise for Crooked Smile…

Home

“I was moved by this brave family’s story of love, tragedy, and regeneration. The intelligence and honesty of Lainie Cohen’s book give it healing power.” Jonathan Weiner, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Beak of the Finch “This well written and gripping book is aptly subtitled, ‘One family’s journey toward healing,’ but it is more than that. In addition to chronicling the emotional ‘journey’ of the parents and the siblings of one young man from the moment they see his ‘waxlike figure lying inert in bed’ until, years later, he lives his post-rehabilitation life this volume has many important lessons for novices and experienced rehabilitation professionals alike. The author’s cogent observations concerning her family’s interactions with medical and psychological professionals offer easy-to-swallow lessons, because one cannot detect either hectoring or petulance in her voice.” Yehuda Ben-Yishay, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Medical Center, Director, Brain Injury Day Program “Sparing us nothing, Lainie Cohen takes her readers on a cook’s tour through the trauma of her son’s car accident and its devastating effects on her family. A brave chronicle, elegant in its unblinking honesty, and beautifully written.” Joseph Skibell, author of A Blessing on the Moon and The English Disease “Lainie Cohen’s story of her (and her family’s) journey is a heart-felt, well-written, and honest account. For the families of those who face grave injury and disability, and for those who care for them, Crooked Smile will present the difficulties, hope and courage that patients and families encounter on their way to healing. It highlights the need for support both for the patient and for the family whose love and care is so vital to healing. Lainie’s book is a must-read for everyone who is faced with a loved one who has a serious injury resulting in disability, and for caregivers who work with those families.” Laurie Hardingham, Senior Clinical Ethics Fellow, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics “This book brings back memories of what we, as a family, went through under similar circumstances and learned that no matter what, never give up.” Parnelli Jones, winner of the Indianapolis 500 “Each year in Canada, at least 4000 families will experience the shock of learning that a loved one has suffered a brain injury. They will live the agony of waiting for news; the frustration of not knowing the outcome, and the exhaustion of seemingly endless hospital visits. Few, if any, will have a Lainie Cohen who can invite the reader to be a part of the family as she chronicles the journey that is an on going part of her son Daniel’s recovery from brain injury; a journey that speaks profoundly of the power of love and determination as a valuable adjunct to medical science.” John Kumpf, Executive Director, Ontario Brain Injury Association “Crooked Smile focuses on a family’s coping with coma, awakening, and the start of the long road toward brain injury rehabilitation. The story offers insight, comfort, and hope to families that must take this challenging journey.” Claudia L. Osborn, author of Over My Head: A Doctor’s Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Out