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 enlarge | Author: Jill Bolte Taylor
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $13.75
You Save: $11.20 (45%)
New (63) Used (21) from $12.75
Rating:  121 reviews
Sales Rank: 81
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 192
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0670020745
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.196810092
EAN: 9780670020744
ASIN: 0670020745
Publication Date: May 14, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 What did my grandmother feel after her stroke? November 2, 2008
Mark Meyer (Kenmore, NY USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
25 years ago, my grandmother suffered a massive left hemisphere stroke that left her half paralyzed and unable to speak. That was a traumatic experience for me and all my family. My beloved grandma died 5 days later, probably of pneumonia. But I always feared to enter her mind during those 5 days in ICU, wondering what it would be like to be buried alive, figuratively, after a massive stroke. So I read this book with trepidation but I am glad I did because it is an enormously positive book, partly because Jill Taylor's outcome was positive. If it hadn't have been, the book would probably not have been written, naturally. The advice towards the end sounds a lot like what Zen masters and other spiritual teachers say, so that tantalizing link makes it more believable and also makes us wonder about spiritual experiences. The only disappointment I must voice is that there is no real practical advice for those of us who haven't had strokes (and don't want to have one in order to become spiritually advanced!) I know, I know... meditation. This merely proves that there is a link between brain function and spiritual states, and also proves that we as a culture are not there yet, with regards to advancing spiritually en masse. We have a long ways to go and the vehicles that can take us there are not easy to drive!
Unique view of our energy bodies October 30, 2008
Sue Trumpfheller (Orange County CA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Jill Bolte Taylor captures my attention with her view on energy fields. A must read! Read on to see what I mean. It may mean a major change in health care. br / br /Early on in her experience with her stroke she mentions feeling fluid, flowing in a field without boundaries. She felt part of the universal energy and it was tranquil, safe and blessed. This is a woman who had diminished or no functioning in her left brain. br / br /As she worked to get help she observed the energy of business cards as she held them. She then, after finding the "right" energy, did she match the patterns on the card to patterns on the phone. She did not recognize them as numbers. Some phone numbers she only remembered as patterns...or rhymes. When her co-worker answered the phone it was his reassuring tone/energy that let her know help was on the way. She could not understand what he was saying. br / br /Help arrives and later a kind-hearted paramedic's energy which is compassionate and comforting transported me to the hospital. She really appreciated his response to her. Arrival at the Emergency room was confusing with all the different energies, some good, some not so. It was difficult with all the noises, energy fields (Bodies) moving about and all the questions. What she really appreciated was when the staff connected with her by touching her gently, making eye contact, speaking slowly and softly. She knew these people were there to help her. Her request of them: "Respect me. I am in here. Come find me". br / br /As her treatment continued it was the "kind" energy she responded to and to their requests. If the staff person was `off energy" she wished they would leave as they were sucking her energy. She didn't have any energy to give anyone as she began her recovery. TV was disturbing when the person in the other bed was watching anything. br / br /After she returned home it was the greeting cards that brought joy and good energies. Her mother, who was her caregiver for several months, hung them around her apartment. They helped her heal. Visits from friends were limited or eliminated as it took too much energy to watch their lips as they spoke to her. TV, talk radio and the phone were off limits. br / br /I find it very interesting her readings on the energies around her. Perhaps you can translate Jill's experiences with energy to your life. What will change? Think now how you will respond to a friend or family member in the hospital. How can you support them if they are in recovery, short or long term? Jill's recovery took eight years. If you are the patient, not just a stroke patient, how do you want to be treated? What requests can you, will you ask of your family and friends? br / br /In the bigger picture I hope that the staff, all staff, of hospitals, assisted living, and recovery centers read this book. May they come to some understanding of the importance of meeting the patient or resident with respect from the energy point of view. If you can't find the energy, the attitude to do this then asked to be transferred where you don't have personal contact. It could change the health care system. br /
The "Singin' Scientist" reveals her story of having and recovering from a stroke October 22, 2008
Stephen Pletko (London, Ontario, Canada)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
XXXXX br / br /"The story that follows is my stroke of insight into the beauty and resiliency of the human brain. It's a personal account, as seen through the eyes of a neuroscientist [or brain scientist, which the author is], about what it felt like to experience the deterioration of my left brain [that is, the author experienced a rare form of stroke or cerebrovascular accident in the left cerebral hemisphere of her brain at age 37] and then recover [or survive] it. It is my hope that this book will offer insight into how the brain works in both wellness and in illness. Although this book is written for the general public, I hope you will share it with people you want to help recover from brain trauma [not just stroke patients] and their caregivers." br / br /The above is found in this insightful book authored by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. Note that this book is a record of Taylor's "personal journey" of having and recovering from a stroke. She tells us: br / br /"Every brain has a story and this is mine." br / br /This book divides into four parts: br / br /(1) Pre-stroke: br / br /This part introduces the reader to who Taylor was before she had her stroke. br / br /(2) Stroke: br / br /Recounts the events of the morning she had her stroke. She provides a step-by-step account of the deterioration of her cognitive abilities, as seen through the eyes of a brain scientist. br / br /(3) Recovery: br / br /Here, Taylor shares chronologically her journey to recovery. br / br /(4) What she has learned: br / br /That is, what Taylor has learned about the brain after having and recovering from a stroke. br / br /This book may be unique in that the person who had the stroke was a neuroscientist, neuroanatomist, br /or brain scientist. Taylor was able to thus relate the cognitive deficits she was experiencing to the underlying biology. br / br /Therefore, there are also labelled diagrams in this book. (I counted almost twenty.) Thus, the reader is never lost. As well, there is one dramatic black and white photograph. br / br /What I personally found from reading this book is with regard to the cerebral hemispheres. The cerebral hemispheres are the two symmetrical (at least superficially--histologically they are known to be distinguishable in a variety of ways) hemispherical halves of the cerebrum or more generally but incorrectly, of the brain. The right hemisphere is associated with creativity, the mystical, the metaphysical, and inner peace while the left hemisphere is associated with logic and rationality. (Note that I have mentioned some differences--there are more.) br / br /Finally, one appendix to this book is entitled "Forty Things I Needed Most [after my stroke]." I found this very interesting and informative. This information should be shared with anyone who may benefit from it. br / br /In conclusion, this is a unique book authored by a brain scientist who had a stroke. I leave you with the words of "The World's Oldest Teenager," Dick Clark, who suffered a stroke late in 2004 : br / br /"There is comfort in better grasping what has gone wrong and enlightenment for those around you when they grasp it too. None of us needs sympathy; what we do need is a helping hand and understanding. Someone like [Jill Bolte] Taylor provides that, helping a terrible blow become far less so." br / br /(first published 2006; introduction; 20 chapters; main narrative 175 pages; 2 appendices; the Harvard Brain Bank) br / br /Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada br / br /XXXXX br /
 Helpfull October 22, 2008
New To You
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My husband had a stroke in 2003 and had had a pretty good recovery but is always looking to improve. This book was reccommended by his therapist as good reading. He has gleaned some very helpfull information from it.
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor October 21, 2008
Ben J. Rosenberg (Austin, Texas USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have a good friend who recently had a stroke and this book sure helped make sense of what happened. It also gave us an interesting perspective on how to deal with other people who have gone through a similar situation. I would highly recommend this book.
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