Accidental Journey - Lentz, Richard D.

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Résumé :
Richard Lentz has written a novel abounding with life's complications. At once a probing family saga and the story of a man's recovery from a traumatic brain injury, Accidental Journey is the richest sort of book. It immerses you in the injury, then pulls you out on the other side. You'll feel as if you've gone through the recovery yourself, and, standing at the crossroads you find on the light end of the tunnel, you'll be as resolute as these finely drawn characters. You'll also be wiser. And fuller of heart.-Peter Geye, award-winning author of The Ski Jumpers Two collisions catapult the reader into this debut novel, setting in motion a family's intimate encounter with love, loss, and an ambiguous future. First, Jeff and Cate, married with two young children and successful careers, having made a virtue out of avoidance, vigorously confront each other, raising hope for a better future. Then, a head-on collision leaves Jeff battling a traumatic brain injury, fighting to restore as much of himself as possible, and leaving his family in shatters. With great sensitivity, Lentz describes the impact of these two collisions in a book that is well paced, painfully slow and paradoxically urgent. A must read for any family that has experienced traumatic brain injury, or for any reader interested in the dynamic interplay of heart and medical science. -Hal Steiger, PhD, LP, Psychoanalyst/therapist

Biographie:
As a clinical and forensic psychiatrist and retired Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Lentz has extensive experience with individuals and families who have coped with traumatic brain injury. He chose fiction as the best vehicle to make accessible this common, real, and poorly understood affliction-a story he is passionate to tell. He completed the Novel Writing Project at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and is a participant in the Narrative Medicine Collaborative at the Institute of Advanced Study, University of Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry with an MS in Neuropathology and an MD with Distinction in Research. Before turning to psychiatry, he studied pediatric nephrology at the University of Minnesota and served for two years as Chief of Pediatric Nephrology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He lives in downtown Minneapolis with his wife, a psychoanalyst in private practice. He enjoys spending time with family, including his two sons who live in the Twin Cities. Among his many interests, Richard serves on the board of the oldest community orchestra in Minneapolis.