Making Your Own Reality is a collection of the experiences that guided James Meade, Jr. from being an animal-like survivor of a massive brain injury to being a Ph.D in Psychology and an internationally-known speaker who has shared with audiences around the United States and the world. Dr. Meade has worked with brain-injured individuals and their families around the world and has seen people create miracles that even other professionals thought could never happen. Dr. Meade does not cure people but has watched people make their own miracles. Much of what he writes describes what he has experienced and seen changed his own life and the lives of others.

Al Sibert, Ph.D, the author of The Survivor Personality, who wrote that Dr. James P. Meade, Jr., “is a man who KNOWS what this is all about.”

It’s easy for anyone to feel isolated and alone, especially when we feel confused or embarrassed by the experiences we have. Sometimes those we should trust most are the ones who do us harm – and sometimes those we turn to for help surprise us by turning away. When this happens, we learn to distrust others and even ourselves.

These are the heart-wrenching realities facing a young woman named Clair in the pages of A Silent Cry. Enduring sexual abuse at a young age, as well as other personal abuses throughout her life, Clair must struggle with the difficult realization that her family is not a source of safety and security for her. These traumas teach her to feel different, victimized, and defenseless, even into her adult years, and the result is severe depression. Afraid to trust anyone yet afraid of turning them away, Clair eventually reaches out to the counsel of a caring aunt, who tries to show her an alternative to her lonely life through faith in God and finding peace within herself.

The story of Clair’s strong will to move forward, and her aunt’s sincere words and guidance, offers hope for those experiencing similar personal dilemmas, as well as inspiration to those who can reach out to help a loved one through unimaginable difficulties in life.

As early as six, I began to emulate the essance of a boy trying to mimick my brother standing to pee; failing miserably. At twelve, an older neighborhood boy tried to rape me; all I knew, at this point, was no man would ever control me. Continuing in my tom-boy ways, my mother was appalled. The year that followed, puberty struck, remaining to be the most tragic day of my life. However, my athletic ability was revealed that summer during a softball game when I heard, “You should be playing on the other field with the boys!” My naked reflection in the mirror became problematic. My male alter-ego emerged. I bound my chest, changed my name, and headed to Southern California. I didn’t hate life or who I was, only what I was. This was just the begining, so hold on tight.