I ran into fires for a living. Then the fire moved inside my head. This is a place for brain injury survivors, the ones who look fine and aren't.
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Who I am
I'm Chuck Carroll, a retired CAL FIRE Deputy Fire Chief. After a career spent leading people, communicating, and solving problems, COVID handed me something I didn't ask for: a brain injury that rewrote my life when I wasn't looking.
The part that got to me most was losing my words. Then they came back, just not the way I expected. They came back as poetry.
I believe my brain injury has a purpose: to connect survivors together. I used to lead firefighters into fires. Now I want to lead for brain injury survivors, because we only really understand each other.
My speech isn't what it used to be, and I share anyway. If you see me pause or stumble, that's normal. It's not cut out.
On the channel
Short poems from the books, read in my own voice, with cartoon scenes. Put your favorite line in the comments.
Watch poemsExplainers under 100 seconds on what nobody tells you after a brain injury. Each one ends with one thing to try today.
Watch Brain BrakesWhat it's really like when the tests say you're fine and you know you're not. From the recliner in my studio.
Go to the channelThe books
Poems from the Mind of a Shattered Skull, and the Stories Behind My Words. Book 1 of the UnNormal series. Eleven poems, each with the story behind it, written the way it went for me. I didn't write it so you could read about me. I wrote it so you have somebody walking next to you.
Get it on AmazonNext up: Last Alarm, the prequel, covering the stretch before anyone knew what was wrong.
The UnNormal Shop
Trackers, planners, prompts and a poetry sampler, built big and plain because that's what my own brain needs. Money from the shop goes toward a foundation for brain injury survivors.
Visit the shop on EtsyMy UnNormal Life Story
Brain injury survivors send me their story: before, the day, the change, and now. I turn the ones we select into their own short book of poems in the UnNormal Stories series, with your approval on every word. You keep your story. Nobody pays, nobody gets paid, and anything it earns is meant for the survivors' foundation.
Voice recordings are welcome. People say more out loud than they type.
Send your storyReach me