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Damaged: After the coma, after the headlines, the story of a family
The mother who gives up her own life to fight a battle she cannot win
The father who is shunted aside
The husband who becomes a pariah
The daughter who can’t save her parents
The child who lost her mother
Damaged is about the changing dynamics of a family faced with an injury no one could heal. This intimate memoir, written by Klein's sister, reveals what happened to her and her family after the news cycle moved on.
Nancy Klein was a beautiful, highly successful designer in the first trimester of her second pregnancy when she made headlines as "Coma Mom."
Emerging from the coma, Nancy’s body was paralyzed and her memories were destroyed.
The ripple effect of Nancy’s injuries demanded the most powerful kind of strength from every member of her family, the resilience to bend when needed and the will never to give up, even when giving up is the only thing that makes sense.
This book describes how over the decades the lives of family members were altered because of that single accident on a cold December evening.
Damaged challenges the reader to think along at every could I have done better?
The father who is shunted aside
The husband who becomes a pariah
The daughter who can’t save her parents
The child who lost her mother
Damaged is about the changing dynamics of a family faced with an injury no one could heal. This intimate memoir, written by Klein's sister, reveals what happened to her and her family after the news cycle moved on.
Nancy Klein was a beautiful, highly successful designer in the first trimester of her second pregnancy when she made headlines as "Coma Mom."
Emerging from the coma, Nancy’s body was paralyzed and her memories were destroyed.
The ripple effect of Nancy’s injuries demanded the most powerful kind of strength from every member of her family, the resilience to bend when needed and the will never to give up, even when giving up is the only thing that makes sense.
This book describes how over the decades the lives of family members were altered because of that single accident on a cold December evening.
Damaged challenges the reader to think along at every could I have done better?
291 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 23, 2022
My review seems to have disappeared. Suffice it to say that I did not care for this book.
March 13, 2023
This is tough to review as I’ve been the one whose health changed a family. Compelling, interesting study of trauma, but also uneven. The book begins as a tirade against pro-life activists who forced a court case, but then really becomes anger at her parents and sister, and in the case of her sister, it’s things the author agrees her sister can’t control. But even as she writes that, it really comes off as she thinks her sister is manipulating the situation. And apparently the author is the only one in the family who has done all the right things and made no mistakes, so, yeah, a little smug.
December 28, 2022
Could not get the real point of the story, except what happened to the author at ten years old. The tragedy of Nancy is a common story to many families. However, that doesn’t make it any less of a tragedy.
September 9, 2023
This book was poorly written and very repetitive. It also showed how jealous the author was of her sister. She also complained endlessly about how her mother wasted her life by caring for her injured daughter. She comes off as very heartless.
July 5, 2023
Such a riveting read, a family tragic accident that impacts the family dynamics over decades.
January 14, 2024
This is a story that will pull you in and you will feel emotions with the characters, it is an incredible story, one you will not want to forget.
February 2, 2023
I could relate to this story and was awed with the authors understanding and forgiveness.
April 5, 2026
Damaged: After the Coma, After the Headlines, the Story of a Family by Janet Smuga is not simply a memoir about tragedy. It is a deeply intimate exploration of what happens after the world stops watching.
At its core, this book examines the quiet, enduring aftermath of crisis. While the headline of “Coma Mom” captures attention, what follows is far more complex and emotionally layered. Smuga shifts the focus away from the spectacle and into the lived reality of a family navigating irreversible change, fractured roles, and unspoken pain.
What stands out most is the emotional honesty. There is no attempt to simplify grief or resolve it neatly. Instead, the narrative embraces contradiction. Love exists alongside resentment. Devotion coexists with exhaustion. Guilt lingers in ways that are both subtle and consuming. This refusal to sanitize the experience gives the book its power.
The family dynamics are portrayed with remarkable depth. Each member carries a different burden, shaped by both the present tragedy and unresolved wounds from the past. The author’s perspective as a sister adds a unique layer, revealing how trauma does not exist in isolation but reverberates across relationships in ways that are often invisible to outsiders.
There is also a quiet but important undercurrent addressing themes of gender, blame, and emotional inheritance. The book speaks directly to women who have carried shame that was never theirs to hold, and to daughters who have tried to make sense of the pain within their families.
What makes Damaged especially compelling is its focus on the “after.” It asks difficult questions about what healing really looks like when restoration is not possible, and what it means to continue loving in situations where nothing can be fixed.
This is not an easy read, but it is an important one. It is a book that lingers, not because it offers answers, but because it tells the truth with clarity, restraint, and courage.
At its core, this book examines the quiet, enduring aftermath of crisis. While the headline of “Coma Mom” captures attention, what follows is far more complex and emotionally layered. Smuga shifts the focus away from the spectacle and into the lived reality of a family navigating irreversible change, fractured roles, and unspoken pain.
What stands out most is the emotional honesty. There is no attempt to simplify grief or resolve it neatly. Instead, the narrative embraces contradiction. Love exists alongside resentment. Devotion coexists with exhaustion. Guilt lingers in ways that are both subtle and consuming. This refusal to sanitize the experience gives the book its power.
The family dynamics are portrayed with remarkable depth. Each member carries a different burden, shaped by both the present tragedy and unresolved wounds from the past. The author’s perspective as a sister adds a unique layer, revealing how trauma does not exist in isolation but reverberates across relationships in ways that are often invisible to outsiders.
There is also a quiet but important undercurrent addressing themes of gender, blame, and emotional inheritance. The book speaks directly to women who have carried shame that was never theirs to hold, and to daughters who have tried to make sense of the pain within their families.
What makes Damaged especially compelling is its focus on the “after.” It asks difficult questions about what healing really looks like when restoration is not possible, and what it means to continue loving in situations where nothing can be fixed.
This is not an easy read, but it is an important one. It is a book that lingers, not because it offers answers, but because it tells the truth with clarity, restraint, and courage.
March 25, 2023
Tragedy, trials, truth and triumph
I loved this author's honesty and bravery. I am in awe of her ability to see her family members' quirks and shortcomings while finding enough love to persevere through the crush of unspeakable tragedy.
As a country woman, I was impressed with this family's life in the big cities, and almost felt like I haven't really lived at all by comparison. All the air travel, hotels, busy venues!
Yet, the thing that underpins this family and binds their lives so impossibly close is tragedy.
Told from the perspective of the "other daughter" whose childhood bore a scar that, while marking her for life, in the end forced her to find strength. She is a survivor, thanks in no small part to her amazing husband.
Janet Smuga is a writer who will capture you with a well-written story that, while spanning decades, becomes the current moment with each riveting chapter. Simply said, I loved this book!
I loved this author's honesty and bravery. I am in awe of her ability to see her family members' quirks and shortcomings while finding enough love to persevere through the crush of unspeakable tragedy.
As a country woman, I was impressed with this family's life in the big cities, and almost felt like I haven't really lived at all by comparison. All the air travel, hotels, busy venues!
Yet, the thing that underpins this family and binds their lives so impossibly close is tragedy.
Told from the perspective of the "other daughter" whose childhood bore a scar that, while marking her for life, in the end forced her to find strength. She is a survivor, thanks in no small part to her amazing husband.
Janet Smuga is a writer who will capture you with a well-written story that, while spanning decades, becomes the current moment with each riveting chapter. Simply said, I loved this book!
February 15, 2024
The author tells the story of her sister, Nancy, as well as her own childhood. The focus of the book is on Nancy after she is involved in a serious car accident that leaves her brain damaged and unable to walk. The story moves a long at a slow pace, often repeating the same things. This could be because that's all Nancy really knows now: repeating the same things because she forgot she ever said things. It looks at the quandary families find themselves in one member needs 24 hour care. Here, the main caregiver is the author's mom, who loves her daughter and believes she is the only one who can give the right care. But what will happen to Nancy once her mom dies? It's a question wrestled with throughout the book.
August 10, 2023
Sadness
This is a tragic story of a family's way they coped following a car accident that left a daughter and sister to deal with and overcome the sadness of taking care of a very handicapped adult.. It is a can't put it down book
This is a tragic story of a family's way they coped following a car accident that left a daughter and sister to deal with and overcome the sadness of taking care of a very handicapped adult.. It is a can't put it down book
March 14, 2024
Good read for reflection
Well written, well explained. Gives inside look beyond the headlines of a tragedy. Begs the question of how much autonomy vs making better, more realistic workable choices.
Well written, well explained. Gives inside look beyond the headlines of a tragedy. Begs the question of how much autonomy vs making better, more realistic workable choices.
January 14, 2025
Pleasantly surprised!
I came across this book as I was looking through some Kindle choices. I read the entire book in one day. I felt it was very well written and I could personally relate to the authors relationship with her mother .
I came across this book as I was looking through some Kindle choices. I read the entire book in one day. I felt it was very well written and I could personally relate to the authors relationship with her mother .
March 24, 2023
Good read!
Enjoyed the book very much. Makes you realise what you can do for love of family. Emotional and thought provoking.
Enjoyed the book very much. Makes you realise what you can do for love of family. Emotional and thought provoking.
September 10, 2023
Anazing
This story leads the reader to understand brain damaged people and the strain it causes their families. It does drag on but the overall affect make sense.
This story leads the reader to understand brain damaged people and the strain it causes their families. It does drag on but the overall affect make sense.
April 12, 2024
A touching memoir. The author, who writes about the lives of a family touched by a person with a severe disability, tells her (long) story of the day-to-day in a thoughtful reflective way.
April 13, 2024
It was truly a sad story, in the beginning did she really have to bring up abortion just to get attention, it was not necessary to say anything, the baby didn't kill her.
July 25, 2024
Heartfelt but depressing
The author writes well. But the tragedy throughout the book is depressing. A look at a fight against helplessness. A story of trying for salvation.
The author writes well. But the tragedy throughout the book is depressing. A look at a fight against helplessness. A story of trying for salvation.
March 18, 2024
I admire Janet for writing this book and it shows what happens after the severely handicapped person goes home. There were times when I felt it was more about Janet and how she coped with her handicapped sister but I certainly would never want to walk in her shoes.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews