shifter lever not working

I cannot use the shifter lever to shift my car while driving. But we can put it in gear from under the hood by hand. The lever we put it in gear with seems to be stripped or something because once we put it in park or neutral it would stay there. My brother would like to see a picture of how it all works to see if he can fix it for me. I am on a fixed income and cannot really afford to have it done at a garage. If he cannot fix it I will have to be car less.