Overcoming a Traumatic Brain Injury with Beth Castrodale

Episode 035 — Overcoming a Traumatic Brain Injury with Beth Castrodale

A traumatic brain injury can change everything in an instant—your memory, your identity, your confidence, and the way you see your future. In this episode of Overcoming Anything, host Anne Vryonides sits down with Beth Castrodale to share her powerful story of recovery after a sudden fall caused her to fracture her skull and experience a serious brain injury. Beth opens up about the fog, fear, and uncertainty—especially the haunting question: Will I ever be able to write again?—and how persistence, rehabilitation, and deep gratitude helped her rebuild her life.

Beth Castrodale is an award-winning novelist and former newspaper reporter turned editor. Her acclaimed literary horror has earned multiple indie book awards, and her journey is a testament to what’s possible when you keep going—one day, one step, one page at a time. 

Key Takeaways
• The best way out is through: healing requires patience, persistence, and refusing to give up on yourself
• Brain injury recovery isn’t linear—progress happens through daily effort, rest, and the willingness to accept help
• Your identity can evolve after trauma: Beth returned to writing—and published her first novel after her brain injury 

Timestamps
• 00:00 — Introduction: overcoming a traumatic brain injury
• 02:20 — Beth’s mantra: “The best way out is always through” (Robert Frost)
• 05:00 — The incident: passing out in a supermarket and fracturing her skull
• 08:30 — The medical reality: bruising, bleeding, and waking up days later in the hospital
• 12:00 — The emotional weight: what her loved ones went through while she was “checked out”
• 15:30 — The fear that hit hardest: “What if I can’t write again?”
• 19:00 — Rehab and retraining: cognitive, physical, and occupational therapy (real-life tasks + navigation)
• 25:00 — The crushing pamphlet moment: “You’ll never be the same”—and the decision to fight back
• 29:00 — Returning to writing: opening the manuscript again and rebuilding momentum
• 34:00 — The breakthrough: finishing the novel and stepping into authorship after injury
• 39:00 — What helped most: persistence, movement, short runs, and doing something daily
• 45:00 — Creative process: idea-dumps, releasing perfectionism, and letting the story arrive
• 52:00 — Advice for recovery: be patient, sleep, ask for help, and accept support

Connect with Beth Castrodale
• Beth’s website: https://www.bethcastrodale.com | Instagram | Facebook 

Resources
• Beth’s books page (to explore her novels): https://www.bethcastrodale.com/my-books/ 

If this episode gave you hope, share it with someone recovering from a brain injury, caring for a loved one, or rebuilding their confidence after a medical setback. I’ll see you next time on Overcoming Anything.
 ❤️ Anne

Disclaimer
The content of this episode is for informational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional therapy, diagnosis, legal, or medical care.

#overcominganything #midlifetransformations #energyhealing #resilience #mentalhealth #personaldevelopment #selfimprovement #healingjourney #traumaticbraininjury #tbi #braininjuryrecovery #concussionrecovery #neurorehabilitation #occupationaltherapy #cognitiverehab #caregiverSupport #selfcompassion #gratitudepractice #resiliencebuilding #overcomingadversity #hopeandhealing #lifetransition

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

Welcome to Overcoming Anything, the podcast where we dive deep into stories of resilience, transformation, and growth. I'm your host, Anne Vryonides, and today we have an incredible guest who has overcome a traumatic brain injury. Joining me today is Beth Castro Dale. She is an award-winning novelist, former newspaper reporter, turned editor, who's acclaimed literary. Horror novels has earned her multiple indie book awards and has an amazing story of overcoming. Welcome to the show, Beth.

Speaker 2 0:27

Thank you so much for having me. It's really a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 0:30

It's a pleasure to have you. So before we dive in, I always love to ask, what's one quote or mantra that keeps you going in tough times?

Speaker 2 0:38

I think of a line from a Robert Frost poem. The best way Out is always through. I think about that. And I think about if there's a difficulty or a challenge in life, I feel like skirting or denying it sometimes can make it bigger or more daunting. And I feel as hard as it is sometimes it's just okay, I just have to roll up my sleeves and get, try to get through it,

Speaker 0:56

yes. And so how has that mantra helped you in your life?

Speaker 2 0:59

Yeah. It's funny, I think about you know, I've always had a little bit of a stubborn streak in me, and, every now and then, my dear husband and other field they'll notice it. I try to, it manifests in different ways and I feel like with my brain injury, I felt like. I was out of it for, quite a long time, or days afterward. But when I came to and I started to feel like, okay, I have to decide what's my life is gonna be going forward. I feel like that stubborn streak really helped me there for sure.

Speaker 1:27

So let's start at the beginning. Can you tell us about your brain injury and how it happened?

Speaker 2 1:32

Yeah, sure. So I was in a supermarket just shopping and, I just, I passed out and I fractured my skull on the floor. And I have no memory of, I just, I remember reaching for some chrysanthemums. I was there to buy a chrysanthemums for the grave of a friend of mine who her mother had just passed. So I was, I remember reaching for the chant, and that's the last memory I have. And then. The next moment of awareness I had was, I was in the hospital. It was it was a number of days later. I can't recall exactly how many days, but my brothers were at my bedside and there was an Ohio State football game on the, television. And I thought, what am I doing here? What am my, I was happy to see my brothers. You know this. And, I was, but I was just so odd. And then they gradually, people told me what, what had happened to me, that I'd gone to the a trauma center in the Columbus, Ohio area where I was visiting. And my brothers came up to visit me and my husband came in, my parents were there, and I had a cousin who. It just drove all these miles to be there. So they were just wonderful. But that's the immediate story. And then after that I had to, be in hospital and then rehabilitation for a number of weeks and months. So it carried on from there.

Speaker 2:33

Wow. So was it the impact when you hit the floor after you passed out?

Speaker 2 2:38

Yeah, it was the impact. And what happened was like your brain kind of rattles around your skull. So I had the fracture, but then I had, I had bruising of the brain and then I had it's called a subarachnoid hemorrhage where you have bleeding between the brain and the tissues that surround it. So that was the what was, hap what happened in inside my head, basically. So

Speaker 2:55

how, when you heard that diagnosis, what was the first thing that came to your mind and how did you mentally overcome tho those thoughts?

Speaker 2 3:04

Yeah. I was so out of it for those first hours and days that I really, I don't even know, that's a good question, Anne, and that I'm not sure about. When I actually formally heard that diagnosis, I knew that I'd fractured my skull. And, but in terms of all of the, bruising and the bleeding and so forth, that the technical aspects of it weren't clear to me. I just knew that, I was very foggy in the early days and, as I gained regained consciousness, I realized that, I, they had to run some tests and, try to test my cognitive ability in my physical ability. In the early days, yeah, that was my, my perspective on it,

Speaker 3:35

so what made this experience particularly challenging for you?

Speaker 2 3:39

Yeah. So I think, of that in two ways. Like I think it was emotionally challenging and then cognitively challenging. And I think the emotional side came from, those first hours of day is when I was really out of it. It was a blessing for me because I was completely checked out. But like retrospectively, I think what an awful time it was for my husband and my other loved ones because they didn't know, what my future would be or if I, so looking back on that, I just feel ter like emotionally, I just feel so awful that they were going through such a period of uncertainty. And I was checked out, but then on the cognitive side I was worried, that when I started to, when I regained consciousness, I was beginning to think about I was thinking of myself as a writer and I thought, I don't know if I'll be able to write again. I was even having trouble reading in the hospital. I remember I had a magazine and I remember thinking there's a word and there's a word and there's a word, but I couldn't make meaning of. The sentences and the author's point. And I thought, if I can't make meaning of this writer's words, how can I construct my own words to make meaning? So I was very concerned that, I might not be writing again. So I. That was the real challenges. Those were the real challenges.

Speaker 4:39

Sounds scary. I can't even imagine what went through your mind when you were going through that. So who was there to support you during this time?

Speaker 2 4:47

Yeah, so my husband was just, 100% there. And then, I had, my parents, my brothers, and then I had friends fly in from different parts to be at my side, and they were so wonderful. They were supporting me, but then they were also supporting my husband, who, I think he was on, on the spear of this whole thing, having to deal with it. He, they, I'm just so incredible. I will never cease to be grateful for all the people who step forward for me and, but also for him too.

Speaker 5:10

Oh, that's beautiful. So how did you recover? Did you go through physical therapy or speech pathology to help you, retrain your brain?

Speaker 2 5:18

Yeah, I had, so I had, immediately after I got out the, outta the hospital, I had rehabilitation at a rehab facility in Ohio, which is, where the injury occurred. And then I live in Boston. So once I got back to Boston. I was at I was doing outpatient therapy at Spalding Rehab, and so that involved everything from, there was like cognitive therapy, but also physical and occupational therapy. For instance, they would, they had a little kitchen and a muffin mix and the ingredients and they said, can you follow the directions on the box and make muffins, just to make sure that your. Kind of activities of daily living. And then, they took me to a train station and they said, try to find your way to these different things. You're gonna buy this and that. Where would you go? Just to see where I was in terms of those occupational and cognitive capacities. And, fortunately I was doing pretty well, and, so yeah, but it was quite an interesting and extended process.

Speaker 6:07

How long was your recovery and was there times when you thought, oh my gosh, I'm sure it's not a linear process, I'm sure it's up and down, you know, any type of healing recovery is. So were there moments you're like, am I ever gonna be the same again?

Speaker 2 6:22

Oh, totally. Yeah. It was a long process. When I, I got out of the hospital, I would say if I had to guess, I would say it was a good year before I was really, just the arc of, from being completely out of it to feeling like I was really, kind of getting back on my feet. But I had a really awful moment when, my husband and I got back. We got back to Boston and I was out of rehab in Ohio, but I was about to start rehab in, in Boston, and I remember I found a pamphlet that my husband had been given a pamphlet for caregivers from, it was either the hospital or the rehab, and it had, I can't remember the exact lines, but it said something to the effect of accept the fact that your loved one will never be the same and they're gonna be diminished. And I just remember reading that and thinking, oh God I'm not only gonna be this, degraded version of my former self, but I'm gonna be this burden on my loved one, and I just had this moment. It was just, I felt. Very despairing, but then at the same time, I got really ticked off and I'm like, I just took the pamphlet to the trash and threw it out. And I thought if I can have that, if I'm enough self-aware to be really upset by this pamphlet, not all could be lost, so

Speaker 7:19

Absolutely. It probably gave you the drive and the inspiration to heal even faster.

Speaker 2 7:24

Totally. Yeah. Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 7:26

So when did you start writing again and did you ever feel like maybe you wouldn't be the same writer you were before? Because you have amazing novels and you're award-winning, and was there ever that panic where you were worried?

Speaker 2 7:41

Yeah, for a while. I, didn't even open up my computer. I'd been working on a novel. I was like, I was a good way through this novel at the time. And I had this idea that I would get back into it, and then I just, but for a long time I didn't even think about it. I thought, I'll just focus on my healing, but at some point I just sat back down in front of the computer, open up the file for this novel, and I can't even explain to you really how it happened, but I just tried to put the time in and sometimes it was just a matter of reading what I'd already written and thinking and reflecting on it. And eventually I just got, I started moving forward with the story and I think one thing that was helpful is that novel was already in progress, so I wasn't starting from scratch. I had a little bit of, once I read through it, I picked up the momentum and then somehow I just got back and got back in the flow and, it actually, it became my first, published novel. That was a real interesting, I was very grateful that I was able to finish it and get it out there.

Speaker 8:29

How exciting. So this was your first published novel then

Speaker 2 8:32

after Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that it actually happened after my brain engineering, so

Speaker 8:36

Oh my gosh. You must have felt so proud. Like, okay, if I can do this, I can do anything. He,

Speaker 2 8:41

yeah, I was really, I was really happy about it. That was definitely totally a bright spot and, it gave me hope that I could keep going too,

Speaker 8:48

beautiful. So looking back, was there a single decision or action that made the biggest difference in your recovery?

Speaker 2 8:54

Yeah, so I, I don't think there was maybe a single action or decision, but just reflecting back on what we were talking about earlier. I think that, kind of like stubbornness kicked in and I just feel it, the idea of I thought, just persist. Get up and try to do what you can every day. Sometimes, early in the early days that was maybe just, getting up and trying to, I was sleeping a lot as part of the recovery, but I would try to get up every day and do something. And, something else that, has helped me going, I was a runner, but I was a runner before the accident and I wanted to get back to running. So I started to go on little runs and they were very short. But, it got to a point where I thought, oh, I'm gonna just get out and do a little run, and just getting like fresh air and getting some blood flowing. That was really helpful to me too, so

Speaker 9:33

Wow, that's great advice. Just persist and just do a little bit every day. So that's, yeah. For the listeners, so you started as a journalist telling other people's stories. So when was the moment when you realized that you had a story inside of you that you wanted to tell?

Speaker 2 9:48

Yeah, it's, ever since I was a little kid, I was always writing down stories. I used to make my own book, like little Paper Bound Illustrated books, or Staple Bound Illustrated books. So I always had that in me. And then even in college I was, writing some fiction, but I thought i've gotta, I've gotta pay the bills. And that was back in the days I went to journalism school. And that was back in the days where you could actually think of getting a job about a newspaper and being able to make it that way. So I thought that'll be a way that I can write and pay the bills. But, it turned out though that it really, it was the journalism job was such like. It burned up all my gas tank for writing. I feel like you, it's like a long day and the reporting is tired, it was a very rewarding job. But the reporting and the writing and, just that being on deadline. And so I realized I need, if I really wanna write fiction. I need to find another kind of job where it doesn't take up as burned as much of my gas tank for writing. So I ended up going into publishing and I got a job in, college textbook publishing, and I got, that's when I moved to Boston, I got a job and, it was much better suited for fiction writing because I was able to, support myself, but also have more, mental bandwidth for fiction writing. So it, it was a better match for sure.

Speaker 10:54

Awesome. So your novels explore the psychological horror and what haunts people below the surface. So what fears or inner struggles were you personally working through while you were writing them?

Speaker 2 11:07

Yeah, so I've always been a fan of the scary and the spooky. And I think there's always, I think it taps into the fear in all of us of what is unknown and unexplored? And, I think of, I've always been fascinated with, it's like houses and spaces that are Erie. And my novel, the Inhabitants actually focuses on this house that was built by a 19th century architect who believed that he could influence the mind through his architectural creations and. This woman who's, she's an artist, inherits this house. And it turns out that when weird things happen, she starts to wonder, is it the house that's affecting me or is it me? And so just for me personally, I feel for me, the aspects of what's unknown, but also especially being in spaces that are a little bit spooky or a little bit mysterious, that's always haunted on me ever since I was a little kid. So I like exploring those angles.

Speaker 11:53

So how did you get your idea to write that book? Did it just, was it like a channel that came through for you or you just followed your passion of enjoying scary things and,

Speaker 2 12:03

yeah. Little bit, good question. A little bit of both. Like I always, just the first, when I think the first thing that came to me with that novel is the space. Like I imagine this architect and designing this. Space with, these different features that can influence the mind. And then I thought, who would be a better person to live in that space than an artist, because she's visually attuned. So she would be especially sensitive to these, being in these spaces where there's, visual quirkiness and just, so she I feel like she's probably, maybe more susceptible to some of that. So I put those two things together and then things flowed from there. I got the idea for. This charming neighbor who turns out to be not what he seems. And then of course there had to be a housekeeper who, comes with a house and she seems like she stepped right out of the 1960s. So it's has always she seems very much living, but she almost seems like she's part of the past too. So all these different things just flowed forward from that.

Speaker 12:52

Oh, I love it. Just hearing you describe the book, I'm like visualizing like a movie. Like I'm sitting there watching the movie, Every creative journey has rejection doubt or moments that you just want to quit. So is there a point when you almost walked away from the book and what made you stay?

Speaker 2 13:08

Yeah, I would say throughout my whole writing, writing career, rejection is part of it. Like you submit short stories to journals, you get rejected, you submit, book manuscripts to agents or publishers, you get. It's just so much built into the process that, it almost like you see that as, I think with time I've come to see that it's just part of the deal. It's sometimes it can get very discouraging and I think, it never, it never made me. Wanna quit sometimes. I got very dispirited, and I thought, oh gosh, maybe my writing just will never be up to snuff. But I feel again, just going back to what we were talking about earlier, like stubbornness and persistence kind of kick in and you feel okay, I think, okay, you have a rejection or a bad moment, you think, okay, I'm gonna take that in. Have a moment with it. Yeah, it's, it sucks. It's, I'm gonna allow myself to wallow, and then, okay, what's next? What's my next day gonna be like, so

Speaker 13:53

I love your inner fortitude. So if someone listening feels stuck or they're afraid to share their voice, what has writing taught you about trusting yourself and creating anyway?

Speaker 2 14:04

Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think if someone's doubting, doubting themselves or, I feel like in a way that. Sometimes you kind of like touching on what I was saying, sometimes you have to listen to yourself and think through it and reflect on it. Don't try to deny that feeling, but also feel if you have something that you just feel driven to, write and you really wanna give it a go, then you know, just open up that space. And, for me, sometimes, like I have bad writing days, sometimes I sit down and it's oh God, my, there's nothing coming to me. But you just make that space and time and then gradually, you remain open to it, you can find that space. And often, I don't know, other writers out there will probably could speak to this too, but sometimes when you're not in front of your computer or your writing tablet, you can be out walking around or going around errands and you think, oh gosh, I have this idea. Or you're working on something and you, and an idea for it comes to mind. You're like, oh, wow. So sometimes when you're not in that space. Things come to you. But being in that space and allow, being open to the possibilities is also very good. So if anyone's discouraged, I'd say give yourself some time to, to think it through your families, but also leave the time and space open to just be open to whatever might come to you. Definitely. You

Speaker 15:05

bring up a really good point. So if someone has the, feels the calling of their inner author and they wanna write a book, like what would you recommend as the steps to get started? Do they need to, like you said, like some people write by hand, other people type. So how do you find your writing space and process? What would you share to someone who wants to tap into their inner author?

Speaker 2 15:30

Yeah. It's like it happens, like people have all different kinds of processes. Like I just do, I'm not very neat in way, I don't open up a file and might start and, right from the beginning through the end. Often when I'm starting with a novel starts with a little bit of a germ of an idea. Like I might get a vision of a place or a person. And I just sit with it. And sometimes I'll just sit in front of my computer and just type idea, dump. Here's what I'm seeing, here's what I'm feeling. Here's what this character am I doing. I don't have any sense of a narrative or plot, but I just write. And sometimes I feel like that could be a great first step for people. It's like sometimes if you feel like, oh, the first word, I have to understand the story from the beginning and my first sentences have to be perfect. Try to put your perfectionist aside and just be there with, if you have this idea or image or. Character or scene, just start writing stuff down, and then later you can think through it often. I find like you might have like a inspiration and then when you step away from it, then you get more ideas and then when you come back you can fill it out. But I guess just try to don't restrain yourself too much in the early process. Just let your mind go, okay.

Speaker 16:32

And how has experiencing the traumatic brain injury made you a better rider?

Speaker 2 16:37

Oh, wow. That's really interesting. I hadn't thought about that. I don't know that, I don't know that I've changed, it's hard to say, I don't know if I'm better, but I feel like I've something that it has done, I think is just reinforced the idea that, I feel like it is giving me hope because I feel like I was able to as far as I know anyhow, like my, writing has been able to persist and not really, my sentences and my ability to think through stories. I don't, I, I feel and hope that hasn't diminished. It has given me kind of hope and, gratitude, I should say, more gratitude that I've been able to keep going with it.

Speaker 17:09

I'm sure it hasn't been diminished. You wrote your first novel after it. So how did you become an award-winning author? Was that something that you posted on your vision board and that you aspired to be, or was there any intention to become an award-winning author?

Speaker 2 17:25

Yeah, it's something I didn't really think about so much, but I felt like when I started getting things published, I thought, I should apply to some of these awards.'cause it's hard to say, sometimes people say, oh, you'll get more, attention on your work or your it's just, good, resume stuff or whatever, it's hard to say, but I just felt it wouldn't hurt to try to, put my stuff self out there that way. Yeah, just you'd go through an application process. And then again, there's a lot of rejections there too. Sometimes you'll get, you won't hear back or you won't, you won't get any sort of awards at all. But, I just thought, why don't I give it a try? And I was pleasantly surprised.

Speaker 17:54

how has the, brain injury changed your life?

Speaker 2 17:57

Yeah, I would say the one thing that is, it's done a lot of things, but I'd say if I had to pick a main thing, and it's just made me so incredibly grateful. The fact that I've been through this, I just think about what could have happened, that I could have been, very deeply cognitively impaired or, wouldn't have been able to write again. Or I wouldn't have been able to maybe maintain my relationships as well, that I feel like it just makes me so grateful that I have great loved ones and friends. I have my writing. It just makes me, I've never been more grateful for it. And I think the, that having gone through that has really, realized how lucky I am

Speaker 18:29

That's beautiful. So if someone listening is going through something similar or they've had some kind of brain injury, what advice would you give them?

Speaker 2 18:37

I would say just be as kind to and as patient with yourself as you can. I feel like with brain injuries you're probably gonna need to sleep a lot and, just, try to, even if you're. Feeling oh, I really shouldn't be doing this or that. Just be patient and kind with yourself. And also don't hesitate for to ask for and accept help. I feel like a lot of times, I count myself guilty of this. I feel like, oh, I don't wanna put people out. But sometimes, if you're in a vulnerable position and you know that there are people who can help you. Then ask and accept I think we understand that, people we care about are going through something like that. We would help them, so try not to limit yourself by saying, oh, I, I really shouldn't ask for that,

Speaker 19:13

absolutely. So is there a book that helped you on your journey that you could recommend to our listeners?

Speaker 2 19:18

I was thinking back about like my early days when I was just, had suffered my brain injury, I wasn't reading very much at all. I just, it took me a while to get back in the swing of things and, I know it was probably like close to a year before I was really reading fiction and fiction is the thing that I love to read most. I would just, recommend maybe like a self-help book, but I would just say find a book that, interests you, fiction, non-fiction. And I feel like some, somehow just escaping into that world, is such a gift and a benefit. So whatever, if you're a reader and just find something that is, that you are fascinated with and dive into it.

Speaker 19:51

I love that. This has been such an inspiring conversation, Beth. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Where can people connect with you, follow your work, or learn more about what you do and purchase your, novels?

Speaker 2 20:03

So yeah, the thank you for asking about that. So the best place to go is my website and that is beth castro dale.com. So it's Beth, C-A-S-T-R-O-D-A-L e.com, and that has my books and., If people are interested in in my books or, I have a blog there and other stuff that people could check out, so

Speaker 20:20

Awesome. Great. We'll link it down in show notes. So if you found this episode helpful, please share with someone who might be facing a similar challenge and needs to hear this message of hope. So don't forget to subscribe and I'll see you next time on overcoming Anything.