Author of “A Disturbing Presence” Joy Lee Rutter is working on her next book “A Flamboyant Disarray of Dreams”. Rutter works at a brain injury facility; the basis for her book.
“A Flamboyant Disarray of Dreams” does not read like a “day in the life of” the traumatic brain injured client. It focuses on one staff in particular dealing with burnout and apathy that affects her in many different ways.
Joleen Cumberland's seven years at a neuro rehabilitation facility begins taking its toll. Besides the burnout that often plagues many direct-care workers in the health field, her apathy rears its ugly head, putting her in precarious situations. If that is not enough to put her over the edge, Joleen often finds herself in a spitting match with her co-workers. The breaking point comes when a certain client’s family members begin sabotaging her position.
Where was she going with her job? It was not a career. It was more like a huge vacuum that sucked the unwary, directionless person into an atmosphere of tension and indifference. Her apathy caused her to lose focus and vigilance. She knew she had had enough of Rivers Edge, but her despondency left her immobilized to move on.
After recovering an assault from a client, things begin to change. Two brain-injured clients, both unique and very different from each other, become roommates, and gradually bring about a change for Joleen, while unexpectedly helping each other.
Ms. Rutter began her book as an outlet from stress she and her co-workers face working with neurologically impaired people. Many of her coworkers stay several years; and some quit within a few months. For the ones that stay, Rutter often wondered: Why do we stay? What do we gain? How do we cope? Where are we going from here? Do we make a difference?
They stay for many reasons. The good days outweigh the bad as Rutter and her coworkers learn tolerance, patience and the importance of treating others with respect. Most of all, they learn how to listen. They learn to listen not only to what a person is saying, but to what they do not say or are unable to say.
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