After reading Stephen Dale's frank retelling of his near fatal accident and agonising recovery I think, perhaps for the first time, I know what it's like inside someone else's mind, writes Kim Bauman.

Bouncing Back is about a young man who fell off a steep cliff onto exposed rocks below; the shocking injuries he suffered, and the resulting brain damage. It is about Dale's rediscovery of his identity and his long road to healing facing what seem like insurmountable obstacles with sheer doggedness.

But beyond the accident itself, Dale begins his story as a child, well before that fateful day on the cliff. He takes us through the daily torment he suffered for years at the hands of schoolyard bullies and how his methods for coping gradually become his worst enemies. An overbearing attitude along with drugs and alcohol would literally become his downfall.

Dale's broken body took a year to mend, his damaged brain much longer. His present-tense recounting of his months in hospitals, the searing pain and coming to terms with cognitive failure is never sugar coated, but is told with a self effacing wit that often had me laughing aloud.

Whilst reading, I lived through the embarrassing helplessness and crippling depression that Dale describes with blunt eloquence. Although it was his unique ability to illustrate the confusion, paranoia and disassociation of brain damage that was truly insightful.

For this reason alone, I would highly recommend Bouncing Back to doctors, nurses and family members of patients suffering from brain injury. Likewise, the realities and repercussions of bullying make Dale's book essential reading for education professionals and parents.

As for me, I don't fall into any of these categories; but taking Dale's journey of determination with him was truly inspirational and proved to me that with willingness anything is possible.

Kim Bauman