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July 2006

Finding Grace
by Alyssa Brugman

Grace had a brain injury. That's just how she was. She spent a lot of time sitting in her leather wingback chair just staring out the window. I didn't know what was happening inside her head, and I didn't really think about it.

I was eighteen and knew everything. Well, not everything, but I did know a great deal about a great many things. For example, I knew that time healed most wounds and those that it didn't you simply got used to...

Who is this woman?

I look for clues that I might have missed. I know she had expensive taste. She has beautiful things. She used to wear beautiful clothes. Her wardrobe is full of dark suits and silk blouses, but they are all new-looking, like clothes on a rack in a shop and not at all like the clothes I have been dressing her in...

The books in the house, except in Grace's study, are leather-bound classics or glossy photography or art books. Even all the cookbooks are hardcover. None of them look read or worn in any way. Didn't she have a favorite book? A favorite recipe?

Who is Grace?

Having recently graduated from high school and heading for college, Rachel, a young Australian girl, is pretty much convinced that she knows everything. That is, until she accepts a job caring for Grace, a brain-damaged older woman. This non-responsive woman apparently had led a fascinating and productive life before her devastating accident. A local attorney who met Rachel during her recent graduation hired her to care for Grace, his former coworker and friend. The teen approaches the job with enthusiasm and her typical perfectionism, but without much compassion. As Rachel begins to unfold and piece together Grace's past, she discovers a woman who once lived and loved. Her search to find out more of Grace's story leads her to discoveries about herself as well. Rachel soon realizes she is completely unprepared and clueless about what it will require to properly take care of Grace. As Rachel opens herself up to a new world of experiences, she is forced to admit that she doesn't know everything. In fact, she has a great deal to learn about becoming a more compassionate and caring person. Knowing and caring for Grace has opened up this possibility..

This synopsis was written by a San José Public Library librarian

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