A passionate and poignant memoir written by a woman whose life has been guided by the words: "I am here to learn how to love well." The book is a deep examination of relationships, family, motivation, and honoring of the Self.
What would you do if you realized in one summer, you were in a different body, with a different mind, unable to speak, and your future controlled by others? If this happened to you, how would you accept this sudden impact? I did it, with only one hand. This is my strategy and fun to read, "What Day Is It?".
Background
Information
On June 3, 1989, Rebekah Vandergriff's life changed forever when her car was struck, resulting in a catastrophic accident. In one summer, she went from the runway of a fashion show to a wheelchair in the recovery unit of a hospital. "What Day Is It?" is her triumphant story of recovery from a traumatic brain injury. Not expected to recover, she has accomplished the long journey from having to learn how to walk and talk again, to achieving a master's degree and raising a family. Rebekah's story is one of encouragement that shows what persons with disabilities can do when they don't accept limitations.
Rebekah's life became an unending series of adventures. Upon her release, she took her doctor's words to heart that "life would be her therapy now." Straight out of the hospital, she travels with her family on a vacation to Florida where her stepfather lives, stopping first in New Orleans, where their car gets stolen, and after Florida, on to camping in Colorado. Faced with unexpected circumstances, Rebekah finds the humor in things. Back home, for example, when she and her younger sister find themselves waiting at an inner-city bus stop with "several six-foot-one [prostitutes] dressed in bright, shiny clothes," she quips, "Obviously, we hadn’t been filled in on the dress code for this corner on a hot summer day." "What Day Is It?" is a rare book that is packed with useful information, and yet will often have you laughing and rolling on the floor.
Birth Place
Marshall, MO USA
Accomplishments
Licensed Master of Social Work in Kansas. Keynote panel speaker for communityworks inc. at convention in Florida, 2001. Speaker and co-presenter for workshops, in seminars at conferences Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas 2002-2006. Presented at Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Association's in 2009. Poster presentations 2010 in Minneapolis MN, and St. Charles MO. Small group presentation performed upon request. Last speaking engagement with Poster in Denver, Colorado at the National Brain Injury Employment Conference May 24-25, 2011.
Social Work Supervision for LSCSW 2020-2023
2025-CBIST- Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer
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