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Our Divide: Two Sides of Locked-In Syndrome
Our Two Sides of Locked in Syndrome is the story of the other side—the side of the young, pregnant wife of a man who, at age twenty-seven, is struck down by an obstruction in the brain stem, leaving him with a rare neurological disorder called locked-in syndrome. Like Jean-Dominique Bauby of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , Cleve is rendered mute and paralyzed by the syndrome—but unlike Bauby, he is unable to move at all, unable to sit up in a wheelchair or communicate by blinking an eye.
Our Divide is a beautifully written, honest account of the experience of watching a loved one suffer. Harrison delivers both a peek into the world of a unique other and an intimate view of one young woman’s grieving process. A heartbreaking story that’s at once a grief, a coming-of-age, and a survival narrative, this genuine, honest portrayal of one woman’s mistakes and courage while learning how to take responsibility and create a life for herself will sweep readers away.
Our Divide is a beautifully written, honest account of the experience of watching a loved one suffer. Harrison delivers both a peek into the world of a unique other and an intimate view of one young woman’s grieving process. A heartbreaking story that’s at once a grief, a coming-of-age, and a survival narrative, this genuine, honest portrayal of one woman’s mistakes and courage while learning how to take responsibility and create a life for herself will sweep readers away.
- GenresMemoir
320 pages, Paperback
Published August 10, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 28, 2021
LaDonna Harrison has pursued and earned several degrees – some at an advanced level. She has taught at colleges of all levels on many campuses around the country. She is retired now, having enjoyed a long career. Yet, you would never know . . .
Her background is totally unrelated to what appears in the paragraph above. She grew up in a rather indigent home in a very small town in an area of Minnesota swathed with more small towns just like hers. After her high school years, she picked up jobs here and there, and she was, as the saying goes, picked up by guys who populated the taverns and bars in the area. She floated along the waves of the social norms of the area and of the day. It may be fair to say her horizons had no east or west, north or south, so she wandered quite aimlessly through these years.
Her only anchor was Cleve, who eventually became her husband. They drank together, they rode snowmobiles together, they fished together. They lived in a handful of houses and apartments that were not much better than her childhood home. Their circle of friends and family was no different – same lifestyle, same desires and pursuits, same horizons.
And then Cleve, still in his twenties, suffered a bizarre and lengthy illness, leaving him totally unresponsive and in the care of a hospital staff – and later, a nursing home staff. She came to know the phrase “Locked-In Syndrome” applied to her Cleve. Ladonna visited often, but as time passed, the Cleve she knew was more than likely not going to return.
In OUR DIVIDE, the reader can certainly feel the post-teen angst LaDonna experiences as she goes through life. Happiness appears in some ways, but then they are swallowed up. She sometimes manages to shrug off the down times, and sometimes they consume her as they eat away at her emotions and her thoughts of Cleve. Questions abound of what has happened to her life, what will become of Cleve, and how it will all affect her and her expected child.
As it turns out, LaDonna finds herself taking a few college classes on a whim – and we get the lady of the first paragraph. There is little in the pages of OUR DIVIDE that foreshadow her academic success – but that title alone reveals the separation between Ladonna and Cleve, as well as the separation between her early years and her later career as a college professor.
OUR DIVIDE is a testament to the idea that horizons can indeed change – and life can indeed go on. Ladonna Harrison has shared that with us.
Her background is totally unrelated to what appears in the paragraph above. She grew up in a rather indigent home in a very small town in an area of Minnesota swathed with more small towns just like hers. After her high school years, she picked up jobs here and there, and she was, as the saying goes, picked up by guys who populated the taverns and bars in the area. She floated along the waves of the social norms of the area and of the day. It may be fair to say her horizons had no east or west, north or south, so she wandered quite aimlessly through these years.
Her only anchor was Cleve, who eventually became her husband. They drank together, they rode snowmobiles together, they fished together. They lived in a handful of houses and apartments that were not much better than her childhood home. Their circle of friends and family was no different – same lifestyle, same desires and pursuits, same horizons.
And then Cleve, still in his twenties, suffered a bizarre and lengthy illness, leaving him totally unresponsive and in the care of a hospital staff – and later, a nursing home staff. She came to know the phrase “Locked-In Syndrome” applied to her Cleve. Ladonna visited often, but as time passed, the Cleve she knew was more than likely not going to return.
In OUR DIVIDE, the reader can certainly feel the post-teen angst LaDonna experiences as she goes through life. Happiness appears in some ways, but then they are swallowed up. She sometimes manages to shrug off the down times, and sometimes they consume her as they eat away at her emotions and her thoughts of Cleve. Questions abound of what has happened to her life, what will become of Cleve, and how it will all affect her and her expected child.
As it turns out, LaDonna finds herself taking a few college classes on a whim – and we get the lady of the first paragraph. There is little in the pages of OUR DIVIDE that foreshadow her academic success – but that title alone reveals the separation between Ladonna and Cleve, as well as the separation between her early years and her later career as a college professor.
OUR DIVIDE is a testament to the idea that horizons can indeed change – and life can indeed go on. Ladonna Harrison has shared that with us.
August 19, 2021
I read this book in 2 days. I could not put it down. LaDonna Harrison writes a beautiful memoir about her life as a young woman who falls in love, marries, finds out she's pregnant, and then faces a harrowing tragedy when her new groom suffers a terrible brain bleed and lives in locked-in syndrome. Locked in syndrome is when a person is completely paralyzed living in what appears to be a vegetative state, but they are completely aware of their surroundings unable to communicate in any capacity. What adds to this book is that LaDonna is from my beloved Emily, Minnesota... my own stomping grounds. Hearing about her life in my hometown was so familiar. LaDonna tells her story with so much honesty, and transparency. By the end of the novel I was completely torn apart and closed the last page unable to see through my tears. What an incredible true story told with so much bravery.
August 7, 2021
Our Divide is a deeply personal memoir about LaDonna's life as a young woman, who is thrust into adulthood by an unhealthy attraction to a violent man. She writes candidly about their brief but passionate romance, her pregnancy, his devastating illness, and her search for self and purpose. I felt a personal connection to this story, the attraction to a powerful man and the conflicting emotions, as well as the feelings of waiting and hoping for a loved one to recover from a devastating illness. LaDonna’s skills as a writer give you the feeling that you’re walking that journey with her.
April 3, 2023
A heartbreaking tale of an uncommon, horrifying syndrome. Harrison puts her younger self right out there on the page, unafraid to show her weaknesses and vulnerability during this traumatic time in her life.
May 11, 2024
Ok, so I am biased to love this author because she’s my mom and she passed away just after the book was published. This book is her memoir and I suppose it’s also my origin story, traumatic though it may be. It took a great deal of courage and years of hard work for her to complete this memoir with such openness and honesty. I hope other readers will appreciate her just as much as I do.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews