(Retrieved from Netflix)
My Beautiful Broken Brain is the story of Lotje Sodderland, a 34 year old year old female that experienced a cerebrovascular accident. This documentary follows Lotje as she attempts to understand her new world post-stroke and how she must essentially relearn how to do things such as reading, writing, and speaking. Her journey is slow and often times difficult, but because she is determined and committed to regain her abilities, she ultimately succeeds after the many ups and downs that she experiences during her recovery process.
I would recommend this film to all occupational therapy students and healthcare professionals that work with people who have experienced any type of neurological trauma. This documentary does a wonderful job of showing just how frustrating recovering from something of this magnitude can be, while also showing how it is possible to achieve such incredible feats with a lot of hard work and a willing spirit. As healthcare professionals, treating clients with the same diagnoses often makes it easy to look past how the individual you are treating is coping with their new lifestyle, and this documentary is a great reminder of the reality that comes with living after a stroke. Another reason why I chose to write on this film and find it to be especially pertinent to occupational therapists, is because the film was made by Lotje herself during her time recovering, which provides us with a uniquely personal first-hand encounter of what it is like to recover from a stroke. She used her own occupation of film making as a therapeutic tool to help her process and understand what she was going through at the time. Little did she know, but she was essentially using OT think by incorporating her love of making films into her recovery, which was extremely beneficial for her in both cognitive and psychological ways.
Sodderland, L., & Robinson, S. (Directors). (2014). My Beautiful Broken Brain[Video file]. United Kingdom: Netflix.
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