Lois Jean Thomas

In 2014, Lois Jean Thomas published her memoir entitled Days of Daze: My Journey Through the World of Traumatic Brain Injury, recounting the story of how she sustained a brain injury when struck by a car while crossing the street. In this follow up book, she describes her efforts to cope with her lingering brain injury challenges, exploring the long-term physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual impact on her life. Says Ms. Thomas, "This book is not meant to be an authoritative resource on the topic of traumatic brain injury. It is only my story. While people who sustain brain injuries may share many similar symptoms, no two injuries are exactly alike. Each traumatic brain injury impacts a distinctive personality and disrupts a particular lifestyle. And each TBI survivor develops his or her unique ways of coping with impairment."

Although she struggles with ups and downs in the life of her Mennonite family, pretty and talented Victoria Unruh considers herself to be fortunate. Little does she know there is a story, carried along in the memories of her parents and older siblings, an underground river of silent shame that becomes a raging torrent when it converges with the stream of her own life.But in the end, the thorny stem that cuts and wounds bears a beautiful flower.

The author, a clinical social worker, tells the story of how her personal and professional life was disrupted when she was struck by a car and sustained a traumatic brain injury. She describes how the injury impacted her physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and recounts her struggles to resume a meaningful life in the face of medical, financial, insurance, and legal problems."Days of Daze is a book of hope. When hit by a car during a noontime walk, the author, in a split second, loses her health, her job, and her image of herself as an intelligent and capable human being. As she struggles with the myriad complexities of her medical situation, she discovers a place within her that touches the divine, sustains her in hours of darkness, and illuminates the pathways of vibrant living. I highly recommend this gentle, gracious, and very readable book for anyone facing the uncertainties and complexities of life. Actually, I recommend it for everyone."--Reverend James McConnell, South Bend, Indiana"Days of Daze provides us with a source of encouragement in the journey through the great difficulty and frustration of traumatic brain injury. The author reveals to us her coping skills and her growing inner courage as she shares her struggle with the perceived setbacks in the process of therapeutic acceptance."--Matthew Davis, M.D., psychiatrist, South Bend, Indiana"Days of Daze shows how encountering a serious physical injury can be a profoundly enriching growth experience. It demonstrates that a well-lived life fully accepts each painful circumstance."--Judy Cassidy, Poet, Stevensville, Michigan