Accidental Journey

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 JumpersTwo 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