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highly recommended |
An inspiring book 
This is a book about a neuroanatomist who suffers a cerebral haemorrhage. Apart from the first three chapters, which explain to us in detail the structure of the brain, with its two halves, detail necessary for us to understand what happened to the author, the first part of the book reads like a thriller and is unputdownable.
She, Jill, wakes up early one morning to a sharp pain behind her left eye. This is the beginning of a blow-by-blow account of her haemorrhage. This takes place in the left, logical, side of her brain. The account is fascinating, in that we experience Jill's gradual awareness of the fact that something absolutely serious is happening, something she realizes she will have to do something about, get help with, while at the same time she is more and more being drawn into the euphoria and now-consciousness of the right side of the brain. The left side was gradually filling up with blood and her ability to move, talk, and think logically, was disappearing. Part of her knew that she had to act quickly, but she was constantly distracted by the wondrous feeling of being one with the universe (not to mention by the splitting headache). It was a struggle to focus enough to find out what to do to get help, and how to do it. Who to call, what number to call, and how to call a number.
Eventually of course, as we can figure out, she does manage to alert the world to her predicament. After a brain operation and aided by her loving mother and much sleep, she gradually returns to health, though it takes her eight years fully to regain her faculties. Of course she needs to learn how to walk, talk, read and understand numbers, the latter proving to be the most difficult.
Now, I believe that everything happens for a reason. And Jill herself later realized how fortunate she was to have the whole experience, that enabled her to release a number of negative characteristics and create a new Jill with a new understanding of the fact that we are all connected to each other and to the universe: all we have to do to contact "Nirvana" is to quieten the left half of the brain.
Owing to this personal experience of the very differing characteristics of the two sides of the brain, Jill obtains a new understanding of the field of her work, neuroanatomy.
Perhaps the most important part of the book are the final chapters, where the author explains her new-found insights, how she can control her thoughts (not continue to dwell on negative ones) and return to the now. She can thereby choose to be loving and peaceful (as exemplified by her right brain) no matter the circumstances.
She quotes a Dr. Jerry Jesseph as saying "Peace should be where we begin and not where we strive to get to." (I read this book in translation, so the wording of the quote may not be exactly correct.) This is practically the same thing as I have recently read in a book by Thich Nhat Hanh. He quotes A. J. Muste as saying "There is no path to peace, peace is the path." (Same comment as previously as regards wording.)
Jill realizes that the way we think, what we say to ourselves, is decisive for our mental health. (Abraham, as revealed in the books of Esther and Jerry Hicks, goes much further and teaches us that the way we think is also decisive for our physical health, and in general for everything that happens to us in life.)
Jill's stroke (of insight) is thus veritably life-changing and this book, in which she communicates her insights to us, offers us all a chance to change our lives correspondingly without we too having to suffer a stroke first.
Deep inner peace is just a thought/feeling away. And peace is experienced in the now (again exactly as formulated by Thich Nhat Hanh).
The book contains two useful appendices designed to help others in the same situation as she was. The first appendix comprises questions by which to assess the state of your brain (to help to alert you to the possible necessity of seeking immediate help). The second appendix contains forty pieces of advice to caregivers attending to those who have suffered a stroke or the like, advice about how most respectfully to treat the patient.
I strongly recommend that you all read this book. Not only will it be extremely useful to all those with relations who suffer something similar, but will also in general help every-one to lead their lives more successfully.
Best book I have ever read.
I absolutely loved this book. I could read it over and over again and again. She was so fortunate to get help in time. Another moment later and she might not be here today to tell her story. This book will have you laughing, crying, and on the edge of your seat. She had been through so much and yet her mother never left her side. She constantly challenged her mind so that she would one day be able to function again in this world. If you think the book is great, you should look her up on youtube and hear her miraculous story. It will have you laughing, crying and then crying again. The tears I cried were a resounding cry of joy. She is a very brave and strong woman to survive what she had been through. I guarantee if you buy this book you won't be disappointed.
A MUST read for adult children, paramedics, ER docs, EVERYONE!
I'm reading this book for my profession. However, it is very interesting and informative about what happens during a stroke. It gives you an insight to what the person having the stroke is feeling and experiencing and will have you reacting totally different should someone you know have a stroke. Of course there are different types of stroke, but this opens your eyes to what it might be like when it does happen and how to respond to the person having it. Excellent reading!
My Stroke of Insight
I feel that everyone would benefit from reading this book. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's documented journey through her stroke and recovery is, in my opinion, a vital collection of information and inspiration, not only for stroke victims and their caretakers but for everyone that is searching for ways to improve the functionality of their brain...to work in harmony with their brain and to allow a pathway for the full potential of our brain to floruish. Dr. Jill has presented the wonder of neuroanatomy in such a way that it is easily understood as well as enjoyable. I recommend this book to everyone from 12 to 112!
True Insight
My family used this book in a stroke support group with my mother who had suffered a stroke. This book is a great asset for anyone who has suffered a stroke or who has a family member who has suffered from a stroke.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
The astonishing New York Times bestseller that chronicles how a brain scientist-s own stroke led to enlightenment
On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven- year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life-all within four hours-Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized she was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was completely lost. It would take her eight years to fully recover.
For Taylor, her stroke was a blessing and a revelation. It taught her that by -stepping to the right- of our left brains, we can uncover feelings of well-being that are often sidelined by -brain chatter.- Reaching wide audiences through her talk at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference and her appearance on Oprah-s online Soul Series, Taylor provides a valuable recovery guide for those touched by brain injury and an inspiring testimony that inner peace is accessible to anyone.
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my stroke of, brain, insight, journey, personal, scientist, stroke
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based on 351 reviews
