Sep 08 2008
“I am the Central Park Jogger” by Trisha Meili
I am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility by Trisha Meili was an amazing testament of the human will to get better - the indomitable human spirit.
I was only 8 when Trisha Meili was attacked in Central Park, and so I have no recollection of the event being publicized across the nation. Kids can be so oblivious, and I think I tended to be more oblivious than most. I had heard references of it in passing through the years, so when I saw her book on the shelf, I knew the very general outlines of what had happened.
But nothing could have prepared me for this book. It was an autobiography (one of my favorite kinds of books) but better yet, it was written by a person who didn’t wallow in self-pity, who didn’t whine and complain about how hard life was, and who certainly didn’t play the blame game. She was too busy getting better!
Can I just say how darn likable she is? Trisha pushes herself through therapy, determined to get better, determined to not let this ruin her life. And she had a lot of therapy to go through - she was in the hospital for seven months. In a coma for weeks. She has to learn how to swallow, how to roll over, how to walk, how to eat, how to think, how to make decisions - all over again.
She said that she went from being a baby to being an adult in seven months. She is a true inspiration because she has such a can-do spirit. For anyone who has suffered through a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) there couldn’t be a better book to read than this one. And even for those of us who haven’t, there is still so much to learn from her.
Part of the story is her love life - she dated quite a few men throughout the book, and I kept hoping she’d find her true love by end. And (not to ruin the story or anything!) but she finally did. I loved reading that part, because it just seemed so fitting that after she’s gone through a rebirth in her life, she would finally be ready to find The One.
If you want a feel-good, inspirational story, you honestly couldn’t get any better than this one.
4.75 out of 5 stars. Good luck, Trisha - I wish you all the best!
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