Delve Deeper into Life. Support. Music A film by Eric Daniel Metzgar

This multi-media resource list, compiled by Susan Conlon and Martha Perry of the Princeton Public Library includes books, films and other materials related to the issues presented in the film Life.Support.Music. In 2004, Jason Crigler's life was taking off. He was one of New York's hottest young guitarists, his new CD was due for release and his wife, Monica, was pregnant with their first child. Then, at a gig in Manhattan, Jason suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage. His doctors doubted he would ever emerge from his near-vegetative state. The astonishing journey that followed, documented by friend and filmmaker Eric Daniel Metzgar (The Chances of the World Changing, P.O.V. 2007), is a stirring family saga and a portrait of creative struggle in the face of overwhelming tragedy. ________________________ ADULT NONFICTION Bauby, Jean-Dominique; translated from the French by Jeremy Leggatt. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. New York: A.A. Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1997. In 1995 at the age of 43, the French editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind. Bryant, Beverly A. To Wherever Oceans Go. ME: Wings Publishing, 1996. This book describes the journey of one woman who refused to set limits on her potential, one family who loved each other so much that they survived the storm and a rehabilitative team that was unwilling to give up. Cohen, Richard M. Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope. New York: Harper, 2008. Cohen offers an honest and inspirational perspective on living with chronic illness, witnessed through the lives of five remarkable individuals.

Crimmins, Cathy. Where is the Mango Princess? New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. In 1996, Cathy Crimmins, her husband, Alan, and their daughter, Kelly, were on vacation when a boating accident left Alan in a deep coma, with severe damage to the frontal lobes of his brain, the area that controls speech, memory, movement, and personality. This is the story of what happened to Cathy and her family after Alan woke up. Doidge, Norman. The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. New York: Viking, 2007. For years the doctrine of neuroscientists has been that the brain is a machine: break a part and you lose that function permanently. But more and more evidence is turning up to show that the brain can rewire itself, even in the face of catastrophic trauma: essentially, the functions of the brain can be strengthened just like a weak muscle. Doroghazi, Cynthia P. Searching for the Open Door: A Woman's Struggle for Survival after a Traumatic Brain Injury. New River Publications, LLC, 2007. Doroghazi offers an inspirational demonstration of what courage, determination and sheer willpower can accomplish in the face of seemingly life-destroying injuries. Gruman, Jessie. Aftershock: What to do when the Doctor Gives You, or Someone You Love, a Devastating Diagnosis. New York: Walker & Co., 2007. Every year millions of Americans are diagnosed with cancer, stroke, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, ALS, and other life-threatening or life-altering diseases. When faced with a devastating diagnosis people must quickly understand the diagnosis, prognosis and choose from several treatment options—while still in shock. Gruman identifies the processes required to respond to a serious diagnosis, regardless of the specific disease. Harpham, Wendy Schlessel. Happiness in a Storm: Facing Illness and Embracing Life as a Healthy Survivor. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. Schlessel’s self-help guide for others dealing with chronic illness offers practical philosophy and science- based knowledge for getting good care and living as fully as possible.

Levitin, Daniel J. This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. New York: Dutton, 2006. Levitin is a former record producer, sound engineer, and session musician. Here he describes music from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience and examines recent studies that tie it to meaning and pleasure. He first explains the elements of music in a way that is both detailed and accessible to general readers, and then outlines how the brain understands it. The mind develops expectations of music, he says, and creates categories. Other chapters look into the concept of emotion, musical preferences, and whether talent is inherent or can be learned. Finally, he considers music and evolutionary theory. Mason, Michael Paul. Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and its Aftermath. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Mason gives a series of vivid glimpses into brain science, the last frontier of medicine, and explores fragility of the brain and the sense of self, life, and order that resides there. Osborn, Claudia L. Over My Head: A Doctor's Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out. Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2000. Locked inside a brain-injured head looking out at a challenging world is the premise of this autobiography, a story of how one woman came to terms with the loss of her identity and the steps and missteps she takes while learning to rebuild her life. Reston, James, Jr. Fragile Innocence: A Father's Memoir of his Daughter's Courageous Journey. New York: Harmony Books, 2006. This narrative of a father’s journey to understand and accept the profound changes in his daughter’s life is at once memoir, biography, mystery, and drama, all centered around one remarkable young woman who cannot talk or read or understand language, but who has touched almost everyone she has ever met.

Delve Deeper into Life. Support. Music A film by Eric Daniel Metzgar

Sacks, Oliver. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. New York: Knopf, 2007. In this volume, Sacks describes the effects of music--and different aspects of music--on ordinary individuals, musicians, and people who have had accidents or disabilities, in chapters on music and memory, musical hallucinations, music therapy, and perfect pitch, among other topics. Senelick, Richard C. and Karla Dougherty. Living with Brain Injury: A Guide for Families, Second Edition. Delmar Cengage Learning, 2001. This book is intended to help both families of patients and professionals alike through the territory of brain rehabilitation. Stiles, Madonna; commentary by Lawrence J. Beuret. Brain, Heal Thyself: A Caregiver's New Approach to Recovery from Stroke, Aneurysm, and Traumatic Brain Injuries. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Pub., 2006. Siles recounts moment-by-moment the journey of her friend Eve's near-fatal aneurysm to ER to rehab center to at-home care and, finally, to recovery. It includes visualizations and subliminal methods for invoking the power of emotions and the subconscious mind in the healing process. Taylor, Jill Bolte. My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. New York: Viking, 2008, 2006. A brain scientist's journey from a debilitating stroke to full recovery becomes an exploration of human consciousness and its possibilities. Woodruff, Lee and Bob. In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing. New York: Random House, c2007. Bob Woodruff suffered a nearly fatal brain injury while a journalist embedded with the military in Iraq. His family was torn apart by the violence and put back together through strength and love.

____________________________ NONFICTION FOR YOUNGER READERS Fleischman, John. Phineas Gage: A Gruesome But True Story About Brain Science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Grades 7-10. The story of Phineas Gage, a railroad construction foreman, who was blasting rock when an iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years to become a textbook case in brain science. _________________________ FILMS, VIDEOS, AND BROADCASTS The Brain Fitness Program. Directed by Eli Brown and Lennlee Keep. Santa Fe Productions, PBS Home Video, c2008, TRT: 60 min. The Brain Fitness Program is based on the brain's ability to change and adapt, even rewire itself. In the past two years, a team of scientists has developed computer-based stimulus sets that drive beneficial chemical, physical and functional changes in the brain. Dr. Michael Merzenich of the University of California and his colleagues share their scientifically-based set of brain exercises in this life-altering program. Changing Identities: A Story of Traumatic Injury and Art. Directed by Daniel Labbato. Narrated by Meryl Streetp. Fanlight Productions, 2007. TRT: 57 min. Each year, approximately 1.5 million people have their lives suddenly and irrevocably changed by traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries or stroke. This documentary explores the powerful alternative therapy of an art program in an inpatient rehabilitation facility, the Art Studio at the Northeast Center for Special Care in New York State. Coma. Directed by Liz Garbus. HBO Documentary Films, 2007 TRT: 102 min. Explores the mysteries of the injured brain and its ability to heal. The special goes inside a top U.S. medical facility for the treatment of head trauma and follows four coma survivors over the course of a year.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Directed by Julian Schnabel. France 3 Cinéma in association with Kennedy/Marshall Company and Banque Populaire Images 7 with the participation of Canal+ and Ciné Cinémas, 2007. TRT: 112 min. Based on the novel Le Scaphandre et le Papillon by Jean-Dominique Bauby. In 1995 at the age of 43, the French editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind. The Lookout. Directed by Scott Frank. Miramax Home Entertainment; Burbank, CA: Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2007. TRT: 99 min. A young bank janitor with memory problems from a brain injury falls in with a con-man planning a robbery. Memento. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, 2001. TRT: 113 min. A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.