Published September 1, 2018
Wherever You Are: A Memoir of Love, Marriage, and Brain Injury, by Cynthia Lim
Cynthia Lim thought she had the perfect life: a husband who was a successful attorney, a fulfilling career in education, two teenage sons in private school, and a home in Los Angeles rich in books, music, and art. Then in 2003, her husband Perry suffers a cardiac arrest and brain injury, lingering in a coma for ten days before slowly awakening. A different person emerges, one who has lost his short-term memory and is fully dependent on others. Married for twenty years, she doesn’t know how much of his former self will return as she fights for the treatment and care he needs.
She struggles with caregiving and working full-time while finding connection with the man she once knew and loved, whose brain will never again function as it did before. While wrestling with the urge to leave him in an institution and walk away, she discovers the strength and resolve that will allow her to build a new life. Wherever You Are is the story of a marriage after a spouse is forever changed by a catastrophic event. It is a story of redefining life with disability and discovering the real truth of love and marriage.
Other Publications:
- “Yes or No,” The Legendary, August 20, 2011, Issue 30.
- “A Life Worth Living,” in Hawai’i Pacific Review, Volume 26, September 2012.
- “Rezo para Obtener Favores (I Pray for Blessings),” Rougarou: an Online Literary Journal, Fall 2012, Volume 8, Issue 2.
- “The Gum Chewing Notary,” Kaleidoscope: Exploring the Experience of Disability Through Literature and the Fine Arts, Winter/Spring 2013, Number 66.
- “My Absolution,” Gemini Magazine, June 2013.
- “Night Terrors,” Hobart, September 12, 2013.
- “A World of Pain,” Forge Journal, October 2, 2013, Volume 7.1.
- “Flytime,” Wild Violet Literary Magazine, October 21, 2013.
- “After the Plane Crash,” Witness Magazine, November 2016.
- “The Presence of His Absence,” Months to Years, Summer 2018.
Praise for Wherever You Are
“Wherever You Are answers the question ‘What makes a life worth living?’ […]A beautifully written love story by a courageous woman who finds the capacity to experience joy and love in the face of devastating loss.”
– Maureen Murdock, author of Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory
“…a heartwarming reminder of love, commitment, marriage and how to make your way forward after the unimaginable. Lim’s honest prose and compelling story… is a wonderful account of all of the emotions, heartbreak, acceptance and ultimately small joys that come with a ‘slowed down life.’ As life moves forward for all of us, the lesson is to continually accept the new shape of our lives.”
– Lee Woodruff, author of In An Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing
“I can’t get this story out of my head. It haunts me. It makes me wonder, Would I be that brave? That strong? That full of joy?”
– Jennie Nash, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, AuthorAccelerator.com
“If you’re a caregiver for someone who has life changing health issues, or know a caregiver, grab this book. With depth and brutal honesty, Cynthia Lim shares her journey and hard-won lessons about life after her husband’s heart attack and resulting brain injury. In this beautifully written memoir she learns gratitude…. Ultimately this is a love story; a marriage and a family that has held fast in spite of overwhelming challenges.”
– Barbara Abercrombie, author of A Year of Writing Dangerously and Kicking in the Wall
