Book excerpt: Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- Series foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1 The start of the (almost) end -- Chapter 2 The most exciting day of my life -- Chapter 3 My boring history -- Chapter 4 The Wellington hospital -- Chapter 5 A second childhood -- Chapter 6 The wheelchair and me -- Chapter 7 Standing on two feet -- Chapter 8 Understanding and feeling -- Chapter 9 The Bleakness -- Chapter 10 Clothes make the man -- Chapter 11 A birthday in hospital -- Chapter 12 A tilted point of view -- Chapter 13 The assault on self -- Chapter 14 End of an era -- Chapter 15 The National Health Service -- Chapter 16 The death of ambition -- Chapter 17 Other people's stories -- Chapter 18 The Oliver Zangwill Centre -- Chapter 19 The idealism of youth -- Chapter 20 The land of OZ -- Chapter 21 Perfectionism -- Chapter 22 The rainbow -- Chapter 23 The importance of semantics -- Chapter 24 The traumatic brain injury fraternity -- Chapter 25 A return to the institution -- Chapter 26 Writing -- Chapter 27 Excuses and choices -- Chapter 28 A constructive pastime -- Chapter 29 An (almost) new start -- Epilogue -- A little bit about the author -- References -- Further reading -- Index