Before Ms. Bauser’s injury and subsequent disability, she describes herself as an active, liberal rebellious college student. She remembers being very social, well organized, intelligent and goal oriented. She recalls laughing a lot, handling stress without much thought or anxiety, and being able to manage multiple demands with ease. On one mid- November afternoon, her world collapsed. She sustained a severe brain injury. From requiring life-support to physical, occupational and speech therapies, Ms. Bauser developed questions that survivors of any trauma may need or want to ask themselves, as they attempt to resume as mainstream life, as is possible.

Frank Farrelly, ACSW from Madison, Wisconsin is a former clinical professor, author and internationally known psychotherapist. In a review for her website, Mr. Farrelly writes, “Acceptance Groups for Survivors is a well organized intelligently tough but compassionately realistic guide for professionals leading groups of survivors of brain injury and other disabilities. Politically correct victimhood rhetoric is conspicuously absent in her writing. Instead, she gives us a healing breath of fresh air, pure-emotional oxygen, for the survivors, their families, and friends. Her clarity and spare, pithy style I found startling at times, and her focused, refreshing honesty in dealing with key issues for group members penetrated through irrelevancies like a laser. Clearly, this is not a ‘library researched’ book. Nancy Bauser has lived this, which explains her book’s unmistakable ring of authenticity.”

Everyday Nancy lives the underlying message of her book and that is: RECOVERY IS MAKING PROGRESS! With that thought fixed in her mind, she is at peace with her limitations and allows herself to be content with her life.

Acceptance Groups for Survivors: A Guide for Facilitators (ISBN: 9780759622630) is available through Ingram and Jones Harvest Publishing and at Nancy’s website, www.survivoracceptance.com. For more information on purchasing this title, please visit Ms. Bauser’s website or call Jones Harvest Publishing at 877 400-0075.

Nancy Bauser's Acceptance Groups for Survivors: A Guide for Facilitators is a book that lends help to victims who have survived harrowing accidents leading to disabilities. A victim of a devastating accident in which she sustained extensive brain injury, Bauser draws on her own experiences of trauma and recovery to formulate a program that assists victims of extensive injuries and trauma.

Bauser's book opens with a note about the need for victims to find self "acceptance" in order to recover. She says that the key to victims' returning to normalcy is their ability to accept themselves for what they are. She points out that the process of rehabilitation essentially consists of recognition, admittance, and acceptance. This book follows a step-by-step approach to be put to use in a series of twenty-four sessions. Each weekly session is designed to guide facilitators in their attempts to help survivors as they come to terms with their loss by grieving and overcoming it. She mentions that with patience, facilitators can help survivors develop their inner strengths so that they can form and achieve noteworthy goals. Once survivors are able to come to terms with themselves, they try to cope with people around them. Survivors may struggle to be accepted by other people, but this problem can be solved with the assistance of support groups. Bauser suggests that survivors get involved in volunteer work; so that they realize that they too have the potential to make valuable contributions to society. Active participation in charity work can help survivors recognize the value of support groups and make the most of the interactive sessions.

Written in a straightforward manner, this book reaches out to other survivors and lends them a helping hand in bringing their lives back on track. The empathetic treatment of the subject and hands-on approach make this book a valuable guide for survivors and rehabilitation experts alike.

BookWire Review
July 13, 2005

Author Biography

Nancy Bauser, ACSW, BCETS, BCDT

Nancy Bauser, ACSW, BCETS, BCDT, is a survivor of a severe traumatic brain injury, which she sustained in an automobile accident in 1971. Following her injury, she had to relearn to walk, talk, think, and function independently. Nine months later, she went on to complete her undergraduate and subsequently, a graduate degree in social work. Nancy Bauser has lived for more than 35 years experiencing the triumphs and defeats that accompany living with a traumatic brain injury.

Nancy Bauser developed: Acceptance Groups for Survivors: A Guide for Facilitators out of her life experiences. This structured group program for survivors of trauma and those who are recovering from disabling mental or physical diseases and/or addictions is based on the concept of acceptance of one’s life common to survivors coping with trauma. It employs interactive discussions of a series of themes and questions.