City: Cape Elizabeth

Brain Injury: I sustained a brain injury in a car accident in 1999.

Explanation of Mask: My mask depicts the journey to accepting my new self after brain injury.  The bottom is black, representing the darkness of my early years.  I was in denial about my limitations.  I couldn’t see what I couldn’t do.  The words denial and lack of awareness are hidden in the black to represent that.  As I became aware how much I’d changed, I grieved the loss of my old self.  It didn’t seem like I’d ever be happy again.  The gray-green of confusion gradually lightened to the yellow of acceptance.  I found new avenues of meaning and purpose.  I am living with a disability, but I will always reach for the stars.