Beth and Larry Jameson, authors of Brain Injury Survivor's Guide and this website, met when they were teenagers; Beth was 13 and Larry was 14. Their "first date" was at a revival service at the United Methodist Church in Prescott, Arkansas. Six years later, Beth and Larry were married in that same church. Six days after the wedding, Larry boarded a bus for Ft. Polk, Louisiana. And thus began a marriage that has lasted 37 years (and counting).

The fairy tale had a few glitches, not the least of which was the military. While they were dating, Beth's father, Carol, accepted a job in Benton, Arkansas, and the family moved away from Prescott...and Larry. Beth and Larry, however, became frequent guests of Continental Trailways bus line (back then a ticket was only $12.00).

Larry enrolled at Southern State College (now Southern Arkansas University) and put another 45 miles between them. With no email or cell phones, handwritten letters kept them in touch in between weekend bus rides.

Beth graduated from Benton High School and took a job in Little Rock, adding even more distance to their "love journeys". Larry became active in campus politics and was elected president of Talley Hall, then president of the Association of Men Students. That required more time on campus...and Beth and Larry broke up...for about a week and a half!!!

Beth's job, interestingly enough, was at Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, not knowing that rehabilitation would become an important factor in her later life.

Two years after Beth and Larry said their vows, Chad was born; Sean followed four years later, and the Jameson family was complete.

Chad and Sean became very active in Taekwondo and were quite young when they earned their black belts. They would not be allowed to test for higher rank black belts for a few years. To help keep them interested in the program, Beth enrolled...and earned her black belt as well.

Eventually, Beth took a job in the computer technology sector. Larry was now working at the "job he would retire from", except the Arkansas Gazette went out of business and he joined the ranks of the unemployed.

It was while Larry was a circulation manager for the newspaper that Beth suffered that life-changing brain injury. Those of you who have read Brain Injury Survivor's Guide know that it was 15 months after the injury when Beth was finally admitted to Timber Ridge Ranch for treatment -- two weeks after Larry lost his job!

The seventeen years since the brain injury have been filled with apprehension, guilt, depression, anticipation and sheer joy. Beth is working fulltime in the computer sector for an S & P 500 company. Now their weekends are spent watching grandson Blake play baseball or soccer or football. And, Blake has also taken an interest in the family tradition - taekwondo.

We've provided a small photo album to show how you can use photo albums to recreate old memories and create new memories. Click here to see Beth and Larry's photo album.

Please see the Dedication for both Brain Injury Survivor's Guide and this website.