Thresholds: Connecting Body and Soul After Brain Injury

by Lawrence Pray

Overview

Though it happens millions of times a year, it takes but a moment or two.

Suddenly, a stroke or traumatic brain injury has come our way. We no longer think the same, feel the same, or understand life as we did just a few moments earlier. We are left to make sense of the world, to unravel what happened and slowly, ever so slowly, discover where it leads.

“What’s it like?” This story addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual side of that simple question. Pastor Lawrence Pray shares his story, and Dr. Gumm explains how the brain works, and what happens when it is injured. This book is written for those who have experienced brain injury, either from a stroke or a TBI. It is also written for their friends, family, religious communities, and physicians as they help piece life together again.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940014319591
Publisher:	Ruder Finn Press
Publication date:	03/12/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	222
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Larry is a writer, teacher, painter and pastor. He is grateful for his education at Beloit College, Johns Hopkins University and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. He has lived with Type One diabetes for over 50 years, has survived two heart attacks and not one but two strokes. Each disability became a new teacher, provided a new occasion to find life, and a new call to heal.

He has written two books, Journey of a Diabetic (1983, Simon and Schuster) and, with Gary Gunderson, the Leading Causes of Life (Abingdon, 2008). His newest book, Thresholds: Connecting Body and Soul after Brain Injury was released in April 2012 by Ruder and Finn Press. Written with Dr. David Gumm, a neuropsychologist, tells the story of God’s disappearance, and powerful reappearance after his strokes. His next book, entitled the Geography of Healing, notes that while we assume people heal in hospitals, they actually don’t. We heal with our families, within our churches, and in our communities. Its interviews with doctors, hospital administrators, pastors and “regular people” help us pay attention to that simple fact.

Larry has been married to Connie Pray for 41 years. They have four grown children–Tim, Ben, Andy and Emily Jane. He and Connie live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He may be reached at

Editorial Reviews

The brain is the center of human thought, personality, emotion, feeling, and will, and mediates all sensory experience and motor activity. In other words, everything we think, feel, and do has its origins in the brain. Pray's story, with the insights of David Gumm, chronicles the recreation of life after brain injury. It is a stunning guide for those living with brain injury, and those who work with them.

SVO, Mission Integration, Catholic Health System, Buffalo NY

Bart Rodrigues

Thresholds: Connecting Body and Soul after Brain Injury, by writer, poet and pastor Larry Pray, affirms a life-centered view of health that insists on looking far beyond illness, failure, and defeat.

Dr. James Struve

Through this book, Larry Pray has lent his own strong voice to many who have literally lost their ability to speak after a stroke. What unfolds is a narrative of healing, hope and even frustration that opens an honest and badly needed dialogue between those who have experienced a stroke, and their loved ones. I highly recommend this book to all who have experienced a stroke, their families, friends and medical professionals.
Robert Snizek, St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings MT

Robert Snizek