Lady in Red, Where is Your Head?

by first-author Carolann deBellis, tells the story of a woman who survived a brain injury and a coma after a car accident on an icy New Jersey Turnpike in 1987, when she was 34.
Carolann had it all, the perfect life, before the accident—a great job at a hot Philadelphia salon, a passionate 12-year marriage and a wide circle of friends and family who marveled at her energy and infectious spirit.
Then, in the aftermath of the near-death accident, she lost it all—job, husband and sense of self. After learning to walk, talk and cut hair again, she faced the life-long task of going beyond recovery, beyond recreating the person she was before the accident to aspire for something better. Psychological counseling and the support of a loving circle of family and friends helped her to see that all was not perfect before the accident, helped her redefine a new Carolann, a work in progress who's less self-absorbed and more self-aware, less controlling and more open in her relationships with men in her life.
If it weren't for the imperative, painful job of remaking herself physically, cognitively and emotionally from a child-like state after the accident, Carolann might never have undertaken the intense personal journey that leads her today, at 57, to say I thank God my brain injury cured me.
More than a conventional memoir or self-help guide, Lady in Red stitches together Carolann's own words, a diary that her cousin Michael Biello wrote during her coma and rehabilitation, hospital documents, notes from nurses and visitors and Carolann's collection of inspirational quotes.
I wrote and rewrote this book over 20 years to help others who have suffered or know someone who has suffered a brain injury, Carolann says. Certainly those directly or indirectly affected by a traumatic brain injury will benefit from reading her book, but so will anyone who believes it's never too late to re-examine yourself and get to work making yourself a better person.

"with a closed-head injury that left her in a coma for ten days, among other injuries. She writes of the aftermath of her memoir, Lady In Red Where Is Your Head."

- Blueink Review

"honesty sheds light on the harsh realities of brain injuries and how a life can be forever changed."

-Foreword Reviews

"Both sources provide information about her progress and also illustrate how much her friends and family loved and cared for"

- Kirkus Reviews