Alison Wertheimer – författare

Every year, 8,500 people in the UK will have a subarachnoid haemorrhage, of whom about 50 per cent will survive this traumatic brain injury which often occurs without warning. Survivors can make a ‘good’ neurological recovery but the psychosocial impact can be longer lasting.

Drawing from her own experience of surviving a subarachnoid haemorrhage, together with other people''s journeys of recovery and recent research findings, Alison Wertheimer covers:

A Dented Image will be of interest to a wide-ranging audience: survivors and their families and friends; health professionals working with people recovering from acute brain injury in hospital and community-based services including doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other members of rehabilitation teams. It may also be of interest to people recovering from other traumatic illnesses or injuries.

Every year, 8,500 people in the UK will have a subarachnoid haemorrhage, of whom about 50 per cent will survive this traumatic brain injury which often occurs without warning. Survivors can make a ‘good’ neurological recovery but the psychosocial impact can be longer lasting.

Drawing from her own experience of surviving a subarachnoid haemorrhage, together with other people''s journeys of recovery and recent research findings, Alison Wertheimer covers:

A Dented Image will be of interest to a wide-ranging audience: survivors and their families and friends; health professionals working with people recovering from acute brain injury in hospital and community-based services including doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other members of rehabilitation teams. It may also be of interest to people recovering from other traumatic illnesses or injuries.

Every 85 minutes someone in the UK takes their own life and the suicide rate is currently the highest since 2004. Society often reacts with unease, fear and even disapproval but what happens to those bereaved by a self-inflicted death? The reasons leading someone to take their own life are complex, and the bereavement reactions of survivors of suicide can also be complex, including shame, guilt, sadness and the effects of trauma, stigma and social isolation.

It can be difficult for those personally affected by a suicide death to come to terms with their loss and seek help and support. A Special Scar looks in detail at the impact of suicide and offers practical help for survivors, relatives and friends of people who have taken their own life. Fifty bereaved people tell their stories, showing us that, by not hiding the truth from themselves and others they have been able to learn to live with the suicide, offering hope to others facing this traumatic loss.

This Classic Edition includes a brand-new introduction to the work and will be an invaluable resource for survivors of suicide as well as for all those who are in contact with them, including police and coroner''s officers, bereavement services, self-help organisations for survivors, mental health professionals, social workers, GPs, counsellors and therapists.