Wounded

What I liked

I liked how the wife said she can’t plan anything more than one day at a time. I liked how she named different parts of her house countries she’d never visit. I liked the tension between wanting to allow herself something meaningful (a new relationship) and wanting to do right by her husband. I liked how angry she was about it, still, even years later and some coping strategies are better than others. It’s hard every day.

What I didn't like

The only glaring part to me was putting the husband on the floor all the time. I appreciate highlighting how physically hard the work and how she has to take him to PT and do exercises everyday. But there is no way you’d ever put him on the FLOOR like that, because lifting him would be way too hard. The ending was ambiguous to me, but that probably intentional! Otherwise, I think the play touched on a lot of topics that resonated with me and I’m glad there are plays about the tolls of caregiving and the cost of war.

My overall impression

I appreciated this show. My dad had a traumatic brain injury 8 years ago and my mom is his primary caregiver. I was 20 and moved home during college and haven’t left. Caregiving is consuming and taxing, both emotionally and physically. The play got a lot of things right — having to disassociate the person who exists “now” from the person who existed (and who you loved) “before”; how hard it is to plan beyond the day-to-day; how isolating and lonely it can be. I was glad I saw it and am grateful the playwright, director and actors all approached this heavy topic with dignity and care.