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My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
Jill Taylor was a 37-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist when a blood vessel exploded in her brain. Through the eyes of a curious scientist, she watched her mind deteriorate whereby she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Because of her understanding of the brain, her respect for the cells in her body, and an amazing mother, Jill completely recovered. In My Stroke of Insight, she shares her recommendations for recovery and the insight she gained into the unique functions of the two halves of her brain. When she lost the skills of her left brain, her consciousness shifted away from normal reality where she felt "at one with the universe." Taylor helps others not only rebuild their brains from trauma, but helps those of us with normal brains better understand how we can consciously influence the neural circuitry underlying what we think, how we feel and how we react to life's circumstances.
181 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Jill Bolte Taylor
47 books297 followersJill Bolte Taylor is an American neuroanatomist, author, and public speaker. Her training is in the postmortem investigation of the human brain as it relates to schizophrenia and the severe mental illnesses. She founded the nonprofit Jill Bolte Taylor Brains, Inc., she is affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine, and she is the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center.
Bolte Taylor's personal experience with a massive stroke, experienced in 1996 at the age of 37, and her subsequent eight-year recovery, has informed her work as a scientist and speaker. For this work, in May 2008 she was named to Time Magazine's 2008 Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[1] "My Stroke of Insight" received the top "Books for a Better Life" Book Award in the Science category from the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on February 23, 2009 in New York City.
Bolte Taylor's personal experience with a massive stroke, experienced in 1996 at the age of 37, and her subsequent eight-year recovery, has informed her work as a scientist and speaker. For this work, in May 2008 she was named to Time Magazine's 2008 Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[1] "My Stroke of Insight" received the top "Books for a Better Life" Book Award in the Science category from the New York City Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society on February 23, 2009 in New York City.
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September 20, 2008
Jill Bolte Tayor was a 37-year old neuroanatomist when she experienced a massive stroke that severely damaged the left hemisphere of her brain. My Stroke of Insight is her account of what happened that day, her subsequent 8-year recovery, and how these events changed her life for the better.
The most interesting part of the book for me was Bolte Taylor’s discussion of what happened to her on that morning in 1996. With her scientific background, Bolte Taylor was in a unique position to observe the progressive breakdown of her own functioning as the blood from her burst AVM spread throughout her brain. As new areas were affected, different functions were lost, and reading about her experience is a strange kind of real-world brain anatomy lesson.
A significant portion of this book is devoted to the process of Bolte Taylor’s recovery. She realized early on that the attitude and pacing of her caregivers made a big difference in how willing and able she was to respond, and she speaks in detail about what she, personally, found was most effective in helping her heal. There is some useful information in this section for those involved in stroke victim care.
What has catapulted this book onto the bestseller list, however, is the spiritual message underlying Bolte Taylor’s experience. When the language processing areas of her brain shut down, Bolte Taylor found herself bathed in a kind of peace and bliss that was previously unknown to her. With the section of her brain that controls physical boundaries offline, she felt fluid, open, and one with everything around her.
Bolte Taylor considers these experiences to be the result of her right brain suddenly being given the chance to run the show while her left brain was incapacitated. She speaks quite a bit about how she made a conscious decision during her recovery to retain access to these states and to keep these pathways open as she brought her left brain back online. In the latter section of the book, she offers a list of techniques she feels anyone can use to help open up pathways to the expanded capacities of their own right brains.
I learned a number of interesting things while reading this book, and there is no question that Bolte Taylor’s story is a very inspiring one. Ultimately, however, I was disappointed by a number of things about this book. To start, it would have benefited from better editing. Some sections are highly repetitive, I was confused about certain aspects of her level of functioning and recovery, and the flow of the narrative was very uneven. Hers is a great story, and good editing would have made that even more obvious.
My main criticism of this book, however there is a very sloppy blending of hard, scientific information about the brain with Bolte Taylor’s anecdotal experience and personal theories about what happened to her. It was not always obvious which was which, and I suspect many readers will be confused and assume her personal theories are more scientifically grounded than they actually are.
Though Bolte Taylor does not specifically mention religion in the book, her numerous allusions to prayer, visualization, energy, and oneness make it clear that she subscribes to a certain kind of belief system that her experiences are filtered through. While this is to be expected, her inability to see the contradictions in her beliefs was frustrating to me. For example, she speaks about how, after the stroke, she floated in a place of bliss, at one with everything. Yet just a few paragraphs earlier, she refers to a harried, inexperienced medical student as an “energy vampire.” She does not address why her feelings of being at one with and connected to everything did not extend to this person. In addition, she is critical of how the judgmental function of the left brain keeps us shut down from the more expanded perspective of the right brain, yet doesn’t seem to notice her own preference for right-brain dominated experiences seems, well, kind of judgmental.
I’ve had personal experiences of peace and bliss that are similar to what Bolte Taylor describes, so I can certainly understand her preference for them. I also think she gives some good advice to help people find those states themselves without having to have a stroke to get there. But I think this book would have been much more valuable had Bolte Taylor used her scientifically trained left-brain to more clearly separate her anecdotal experience and beliefs what science actually tells us about our fascinating brains.
The most interesting part of the book for me was Bolte Taylor’s discussion of what happened to her on that morning in 1996. With her scientific background, Bolte Taylor was in a unique position to observe the progressive breakdown of her own functioning as the blood from her burst AVM spread throughout her brain. As new areas were affected, different functions were lost, and reading about her experience is a strange kind of real-world brain anatomy lesson.
A significant portion of this book is devoted to the process of Bolte Taylor’s recovery. She realized early on that the attitude and pacing of her caregivers made a big difference in how willing and able she was to respond, and she speaks in detail about what she, personally, found was most effective in helping her heal. There is some useful information in this section for those involved in stroke victim care.
What has catapulted this book onto the bestseller list, however, is the spiritual message underlying Bolte Taylor’s experience. When the language processing areas of her brain shut down, Bolte Taylor found herself bathed in a kind of peace and bliss that was previously unknown to her. With the section of her brain that controls physical boundaries offline, she felt fluid, open, and one with everything around her.
Bolte Taylor considers these experiences to be the result of her right brain suddenly being given the chance to run the show while her left brain was incapacitated. She speaks quite a bit about how she made a conscious decision during her recovery to retain access to these states and to keep these pathways open as she brought her left brain back online. In the latter section of the book, she offers a list of techniques she feels anyone can use to help open up pathways to the expanded capacities of their own right brains.
I learned a number of interesting things while reading this book, and there is no question that Bolte Taylor’s story is a very inspiring one. Ultimately, however, I was disappointed by a number of things about this book. To start, it would have benefited from better editing. Some sections are highly repetitive, I was confused about certain aspects of her level of functioning and recovery, and the flow of the narrative was very uneven. Hers is a great story, and good editing would have made that even more obvious.
My main criticism of this book, however there is a very sloppy blending of hard, scientific information about the brain with Bolte Taylor’s anecdotal experience and personal theories about what happened to her. It was not always obvious which was which, and I suspect many readers will be confused and assume her personal theories are more scientifically grounded than they actually are.
Though Bolte Taylor does not specifically mention religion in the book, her numerous allusions to prayer, visualization, energy, and oneness make it clear that she subscribes to a certain kind of belief system that her experiences are filtered through. While this is to be expected, her inability to see the contradictions in her beliefs was frustrating to me. For example, she speaks about how, after the stroke, she floated in a place of bliss, at one with everything. Yet just a few paragraphs earlier, she refers to a harried, inexperienced medical student as an “energy vampire.” She does not address why her feelings of being at one with and connected to everything did not extend to this person. In addition, she is critical of how the judgmental function of the left brain keeps us shut down from the more expanded perspective of the right brain, yet doesn’t seem to notice her own preference for right-brain dominated experiences seems, well, kind of judgmental.
I’ve had personal experiences of peace and bliss that are similar to what Bolte Taylor describes, so I can certainly understand her preference for them. I also think she gives some good advice to help people find those states themselves without having to have a stroke to get there. But I think this book would have been much more valuable had Bolte Taylor used her scientifically trained left-brain to more clearly separate her anecdotal experience and beliefs what science actually tells us about our fascinating brains.
November 18, 2020
كتاب عظيم بحق، عظمته نابعة من كونه لا يندرج تحت فئة واحدة أو تصنيف واحد بحيث يكون محصورًا لفئة معينة من القراء.. ألا وهم الأطباء أو من لهم علاقة بالطب بوجه عام، بل الكتاب يعتبر مزيج من أدب السيرة الذاتية والرواية والطب، مزيج سلس يلمس القلب ويجذب العقل ببراعة.
تعرضت الكاتبة عالمة المخ والأعصاب لجلطة بالفص الأيسر للدماغ، سخرية القدر في أصعب صورها حين ينقلب الطبيب لمريض من نفس تخصصه، هل تجزع ويصيبها الهلع؟، في الواقع لم يحدث هذا بل تعاملت مع الأزمة وكأنها عالَم جديد تستكشفه، هي مثل معظم الأطباء يدرسون تفاصيل الأمراض لكن نادرًا ما يذوقون ويلاتها بأنفسهم، وما أن يحدث ذلك تكون التجربة فريدة.. وإلى حد ما لها رعب خاص.
استعرضت الكاتبة في البداية ومن خلال فصلين قصيرين مقدمة طبية عن تشريح المخ وشرح كيفية عمله، وتقول أنه بإمكان القارئ غير المهتم بتلك التفاصيل أن يتجاوز هذين الفصلين إلى بداية القصة، وأرى أن الفصلين من السهولة بمكان ومهمان لتصور مدى الإعجاز الإلهي الموجود بالمخ أولا، ومدى كابوسية أن يختل توازن هذا اللغز العظيم المسمى بالمخ البشري ثانيًا.
ثم تبدأ فصول المأساة بصباح يوم الجلطة، تشاركنا الكاتبة أدق التفاصيل التي مرت بها في ذلك اليوم بدءًا من صداع خلف العين وصولا إلى فقدان الاحساس بالزمان والمكان وغياب الفهم والذاكرة مع توقف الذراع الأيمن والقدم اليمنى عن آداء مهامهم
تتوالى الفصول ونرى بعيني الكاتبة مدى جمال علاقتها بأمها، التي كانت السبب الرئيسي والدافع القوي الذي أخرجها من قاع المأساة إلى قمة الأمل من جديد، تستعرض كيف استعادت ذاكرتها التي هي ثروتها كعالمة، كيف تعلمت كل شيء من جديد كأنها طفلة حديثة الولادة، كيف تعاملت مع من حولها وكيف تعامل من حولها معها، ماذا احتاجت وما الذي أتعبها وضاعف من ألمها. لتختم الكتاب بفصول متخمة بفلسفة الحياة العميقة التي تخلب العقل من صدقها ومدى ذكاءها، فكانت هذه الفصول هي الأجمل على الإطلاق، لتعطي نهاية مثالية لهذه التجربة وتلك الرحلة الاستثنائية، والتي لن أنساها لفترة طويلة، لأنها أنارت بصيرتي ايضًا.
تمت
February 24, 2013
I'm a neurologist, so I approached this book from a different angle than most readers, I imagine.
In short, it was not what I expected. Although she was a neuroanatomist prior to the stroke, the book is not science-y at all. That is both good and bad.
The good:
A first-hand account of being afflicted by a brain bleed (with aphasia, or inability to produce language, and other losses of function) is priceless. In medicine, we have a great deal to learn from knowing what our patients are going through. She describes her route fantastically well, including her frustrations with the medical field. Her insights into how she feels, and what functions she lost (and gained!) from her stroke are excellent.
The bad:
Unfortunately, intertwined with her narrative is an explanation of how the brain works that is suspect, to be sure. She compartmentalizes "right brain, left brain" in a way that isn't accurate. She teaches a "this is what I felt, so this is what must be true" kind of doctrine, which is the kind of thing that can be incredibly misleading. She gets very metaphysical, and to me it seems like she takes her internal sensations as facts. Granted, she attests to not being particularly scientific anymore after her stroke, and this shines through.
All in all, I'd like to hear accounts of other left-brain stroke survivors, to see if they had similar experiences to her. I am curious whether all would have similarly nirvana-like, extrasensory perseptory, left-brain-is-evil ideas and experiences.
In short, it was not what I expected. Although she was a neuroanatomist prior to the stroke, the book is not science-y at all. That is both good and bad.
The good:
A first-hand account of being afflicted by a brain bleed (with aphasia, or inability to produce language, and other losses of function) is priceless. In medicine, we have a great deal to learn from knowing what our patients are going through. She describes her route fantastically well, including her frustrations with the medical field. Her insights into how she feels, and what functions she lost (and gained!) from her stroke are excellent.
The bad:
Unfortunately, intertwined with her narrative is an explanation of how the brain works that is suspect, to be sure. She compartmentalizes "right brain, left brain" in a way that isn't accurate. She teaches a "this is what I felt, so this is what must be true" kind of doctrine, which is the kind of thing that can be incredibly misleading. She gets very metaphysical, and to me it seems like she takes her internal sensations as facts. Granted, she attests to not being particularly scientific anymore after her stroke, and this shines through.
All in all, I'd like to hear accounts of other left-brain stroke survivors, to see if they had similar experiences to her. I am curious whether all would have similarly nirvana-like, extrasensory perseptory, left-brain-is-evil ideas and experiences.
October 29, 2020
تجربة انسانية رائعة للأستاذة الأكاديمية في علم الأعصاب
"جيل تيلور" حيث أصيبت بجلطة دماغية توقف على إثرها الفص الأيسر من المخ ، عندئذٍ انفصلت عن مدركات جسمها العقلية والوظيفية ، انغمست في عالم سرمدي ككينونة سائلة لم يعد لديها ما يميزها من حدود مستقلة عن الأخرين ، فقدت ��لمهارة اللغوية ، لم تعد تميز الأصوات فهى ليست سوى ضجيجاً مفزعاً ، باتت عاجزة عن تبين الأشكال ثلاثية الأبعاد وطمست ذاكرتها في غياهب النسيان...
أصبحت غريبة عن ذاتها ..معزولة ووحيدة ، لا يتمكن أحد من قراءة ذهنها....
" أرجوك يا عظيم يا قدير لا تُطفىء حياتي.." هذا ما كانت تردده على نفسها متشبثة بأهداب الحياة ...
بعد أن خضعت لعملية جراحية ، تأتي مرحلة تماثلها للشفاء والذي استغرق ثمان سنوات...لم تكن لتسترد حياتها من جديد دون الدعم والحب غير المشروطين ، جهدها المضني في سبيل استعادة مركز الأنا في الفص الأيسر من جديد ، فتح ملفات جديدة ، استبعاد الملفات السلبية القديمة...
واكتشاف جوهر الفص الأيمن من المخ وثراؤه بالسلام الداخلي والتعاطف الانساني ، لقد انارت الجلطة بصيرتها بإعادة بناء عقلها من جديد بالارتكان على جوهر ذاك الفص في خلق كينونة جديدة تنعم بالرحابة والسلام...
لقد آثرت "الأنا" الكبرى بما يمثلها الفص الأيمن على "الأنا" الصغرى والتي يمثلها الفص الأيسر من المخ...
ترانا الى اى حد يمكننا التحكم بأدمغتنا ؟ وأن نهيمن على ما يجري بداخلها ؟؟...
ان نملك القدرة بتفويض السلطة لاحدى الفصين ليقود حياتنا ؟
هنالك علاقة تناغمية بين الفصين وكل منهما يكمل الأخر، وكم نتوق دوماً لخلق حالة من التوازن الادراكية بينهما إلا أننا نترنح ما بين هذا وذاك في حياة تمضي بنا ما بين الوعي المفكر "الفص الأيسر" والوعي الفطري "الفص الأيمن" ...
أخيراً لقد منحنا الله عز وجل منحة عظيمة لمساعدتنا في ادراك العالم من حولنا ، لقد منحنا دماغاً بما يتمتع به من اللدونة والقدرة على استعادة وظائفه المفقودة أن ينجو في عالم متغير بتغيير نفسه...
"جيل تيلور" حيث أصيبت بجلطة دماغية توقف على إثرها الفص الأيسر من المخ ، عندئذٍ انفصلت عن مدركات جسمها العقلية والوظيفية ، انغمست في عالم سرمدي ككينونة سائلة لم يعد لديها ما يميزها من حدود مستقلة عن الأخرين ، فقدت ��لمهارة اللغوية ، لم تعد تميز الأصوات فهى ليست سوى ضجيجاً مفزعاً ، باتت عاجزة عن تبين الأشكال ثلاثية الأبعاد وطمست ذاكرتها في غياهب النسيان...
أصبحت غريبة عن ذاتها ..معزولة ووحيدة ، لا يتمكن أحد من قراءة ذهنها....
" أرجوك يا عظيم يا قدير لا تُطفىء حياتي.." هذا ما كانت تردده على نفسها متشبثة بأهداب الحياة ...
بعد أن خضعت لعملية جراحية ، تأتي مرحلة تماثلها للشفاء والذي استغرق ثمان سنوات...لم تكن لتسترد حياتها من جديد دون الدعم والحب غير المشروطين ، جهدها المضني في سبيل استعادة مركز الأنا في الفص الأيسر من جديد ، فتح ملفات جديدة ، استبعاد الملفات السلبية القديمة...
واكتشاف جوهر الفص الأيمن من المخ وثراؤه بالسلام الداخلي والتعاطف الانساني ، لقد انارت الجلطة بصيرتها بإعادة بناء عقلها من جديد بالارتكان على جوهر ذاك الفص في خلق كينونة جديدة تنعم بالرحابة والسلام...
لقد آثرت "الأنا" الكبرى بما يمثلها الفص الأيمن على "الأنا" الصغرى والتي يمثلها الفص الأيسر من المخ...
ترانا الى اى حد يمكننا التحكم بأدمغتنا ؟ وأن نهيمن على ما يجري بداخلها ؟؟...
ان نملك القدرة بتفويض السلطة لاحدى الفصين ليقود حياتنا ؟
هنالك علاقة تناغمية بين الفصين وكل منهما يكمل الأخر، وكم نتوق دوماً لخلق حالة من التوازن الادراكية بينهما إلا أننا نترنح ما بين هذا وذاك في حياة تمضي بنا ما بين الوعي المفكر "الفص الأيسر" والوعي الفطري "الفص الأيمن" ...
أخيراً لقد منحنا الله عز وجل منحة عظيمة لمساعدتنا في ادراك العالم من حولنا ، لقد منحنا دماغاً بما يتمتع به من اللدونة والقدرة على استعادة وظائفه المفقودة أن ينجو في عالم متغير بتغيير نفسه...
August 30, 2023
حاز الجزء الأول من هذا الكتاب على إعجابي، بينما أثار التكرار وعدم ترتيب سياق الأحداث في الجزء الثاني مللي وتشتتي.
كما يبدو من العنوان، الكتاب هو حكي لتجربة المؤلفة الشخصية في الاصابة بجلطة في المخ. وكون المؤلفة عالمة في وظائف المخ جعلها قادرة بشكل أفضل على رواية تفاصيل التدهور لوظائف ذلك العقل بعد الجلطة وبعد الجراحة في المخ التي تبعتها.
عندما نفقد شيئاً جوهرياً، نغرق في حسرة تفاصيل "قبل الكارثة/بعد الكارثة"، ولكن المؤلفة هنا لم تدع لنفسها فرصة الغرق في تلك الدوامة اليائسة. وبفضل دعم أمها القوي لها، استطاعت بعد مرور سنوات العودة بعقلها-ولو بشكل جزئي-إلى ما كان عليه قبل تلك الحادث.
أستطيع القول بأن الكتاب لم يرق إلى مستوى توقعاتي. فمدى الحكاية التي اعتمدت عليها المؤلفة هو مدى شديد المحدودية. كانت روايتها لتفاصيل يوم حدوث الجلطة روي شديد الملل وانتابه التكرار والتطويل الذي لا داع له.
أيضا تفاصيل تعافيها من الجلطة والتي استغرقت عدة سنوات لم تكن "مقنعة زمنيا". ففي الوقت الذي تخبرك فيه بانعدام قدرتها التام على التمييز بين أبسط موجودات حياتها بعد الجلطة-مثل معرفة الألوان والأشكال-تفاجىء بأنها كانت تحلل في ذلك الوقت مشكلة عقلها بتفاصيل طبية وعقلية لا تتأتي منطقيا لمن هم في مثل حالتها.
وقياسا على ذلك، تفقد قدرتها على الحساب، ولكنها بشكل أعجوبي تعود قدرتها اليها على القاء محاضرة علمية بعد تحضير لأسبوع فقط!!!!
في الجزء الثاني تتحدث عن فضل الجلطة في تغير شخصيتها الى نسخة أفضل وأكثر سلاما مع النفس ومع الأخرين. وكان ذلك جيدا في البداية. ولكن الى نهاية الكتاب تعيد وتكرر على مدى أكثر من ثلاثة فصول نفس الفكرة عن السلام وعن تقبل الذات وعن التسامح وما إلى ذلك.
أيضا، برغم جهلي بتشريح العقل ووظائفه، أحسست بعد منطقية أو "عملية" مقارناتها الفص الأيمن بالفص الأيسر للمخ. فهي توضح الأمر بشكل رأيت فيه نوع من التسطيح الشديد بعمليات عقلية شديدة التعقيد. وعندما عدت إلى مراجعات بعض الأطباء عن ذلك الكتاب، وجدت أنني لم أكن مخطئة. فقد أنكر بعضهم صحة تلك المعلومات الواردة بالكتاب والتي تفصل بين الفص الأيسر وبين الفص الأيمن من المخ.
كما يبدو من العنوان، الكتاب هو حكي لتجربة المؤلفة الشخصية في الاصابة بجلطة في المخ. وكون المؤلفة عالمة في وظائف المخ جعلها قادرة بشكل أفضل على رواية تفاصيل التدهور لوظائف ذلك العقل بعد الجلطة وبعد الجراحة في المخ التي تبعتها.
عندما نفقد شيئاً جوهرياً، نغرق في حسرة تفاصيل "قبل الكارثة/بعد الكارثة"، ولكن المؤلفة هنا لم تدع لنفسها فرصة الغرق في تلك الدوامة اليائسة. وبفضل دعم أمها القوي لها، استطاعت بعد مرور سنوات العودة بعقلها-ولو بشكل جزئي-إلى ما كان عليه قبل تلك الحادث.
أستطيع القول بأن الكتاب لم يرق إلى مستوى توقعاتي. فمدى الحكاية التي اعتمدت عليها المؤلفة هو مدى شديد المحدودية. كانت روايتها لتفاصيل يوم حدوث الجلطة روي شديد الملل وانتابه التكرار والتطويل الذي لا داع له.
أيضا تفاصيل تعافيها من الجلطة والتي استغرقت عدة سنوات لم تكن "مقنعة زمنيا". ففي الوقت الذي تخبرك فيه بانعدام قدرتها التام على التمييز بين أبسط موجودات حياتها بعد الجلطة-مثل معرفة الألوان والأشكال-تفاجىء بأنها كانت تحلل في ذلك الوقت مشكلة عقلها بتفاصيل طبية وعقلية لا تتأتي منطقيا لمن هم في مثل حالتها.
وقياسا على ذلك، تفقد قدرتها على الحساب، ولكنها بشكل أعجوبي تعود قدرتها اليها على القاء محاضرة علمية بعد تحضير لأسبوع فقط!!!!
في الجزء الثاني تتحدث عن فضل الجلطة في تغير شخصيتها الى نسخة أفضل وأكثر سلاما مع النفس ومع الأخرين. وكان ذلك جيدا في البداية. ولكن الى نهاية الكتاب تعيد وتكرر على مدى أكثر من ثلاثة فصول نفس الفكرة عن السلام وعن تقبل الذات وعن التسامح وما إلى ذلك.
أيضا، برغم جهلي بتشريح العقل ووظائفه، أحسست بعد منطقية أو "عملية" مقارناتها الفص الأيمن بالفص الأيسر للمخ. فهي توضح الأمر بشكل رأيت فيه نوع من التسطيح الشديد بعمليات عقلية شديدة التعقيد. وعندما عدت إلى مراجعات بعض الأطباء عن ذلك الكتاب، وجدت أنني لم أكن مخطئة. فقد أنكر بعضهم صحة تلك المعلومات الواردة بالكتاب والتي تفصل بين الفص الأيسر وبين الفص الأيمن من المخ.
February 20, 2009
The author, an accomplished neuroanatomist, suffers a massive CVA at the age of 37. She takes the reader through the events of her stroke and the recovery. (8 long years of recovery!) She gives basic brain science for understanding, and speaks from the heart.
The grouch in me wanted to poo-poo the whole book when she started in with how she uses "angel cards" to start her day. I ignored the alarm in my head, screaming, "New age kook! Abort! Abort!" But it was too late. I was suckered in. And really, if those cards help her start her day with a clear intention, and bring her comfort and peace, more power to her. Maybe more of us need to do that.
Or not.
Anyway, this book gets 5 stars alone for Appendix B in the back. The list of "forty things I needed the most" should be printed out and handed to family and friends of stroke/brain injury patients. Heck, maybe it should be mandatory reading material for all medical professionals as well. (you know, respect that the patient is wounded, not dumb. Don't treat them as if they are deaf unless they are. Protect them, but don't stand in the way of progress)
My favorite on the list is #23: Trust that my brain can always continue to learn.
Because they can.
And do.
Jill Bolte Taylor is living proof.
18 min. video of Jill speaking... Thanks, D2!
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_...
The grouch in me wanted to poo-poo the whole book when she started in with how she uses "angel cards" to start her day. I ignored the alarm in my head, screaming, "New age kook! Abort! Abort!" But it was too late. I was suckered in. And really, if those cards help her start her day with a clear intention, and bring her comfort and peace, more power to her. Maybe more of us need to do that.
Or not.
Anyway, this book gets 5 stars alone for Appendix B in the back. The list of "forty things I needed the most" should be printed out and handed to family and friends of stroke/brain injury patients. Heck, maybe it should be mandatory reading material for all medical professionals as well. (you know, respect that the patient is wounded, not dumb. Don't treat them as if they are deaf unless they are. Protect them, but don't stand in the way of progress)
My favorite on the list is #23: Trust that my brain can always continue to learn.
Because they can.
And do.
Jill Bolte Taylor is living proof.
18 min. video of Jill speaking... Thanks, D2!
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_...
April 8, 2017
I read this years ago --- still own it. I thought the insights were amazing --and a fascinating story. --
Emotional too....This was a woman's 'life'.
Interesting how books pop into our space when we are meeting new friends on Goodreads....
Brings back memories of books we read!
A treasure in itself! -- make a new friend = re-visit books we have read.............nice deal!
Emotional too....This was a woman's 'life'.
Interesting how books pop into our space when we are meeting new friends on Goodreads....
Brings back memories of books we read!
A treasure in itself! -- make a new friend = re-visit books we have read.............nice deal!
December 8, 2008
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I wanted this book to be several other books than the one it actually was. I found it alternately fascinating and incredibly irritating.
Taylor is a brain scientist who had a stroke and recovered enough to write about it. The chance to learn about what that experience was like seemed compelling enough to me to start reading the book. When her left brain went offline due to the stroke, she experienced only living in her right brain --what she describes as a blissful nirvana. She's spent years getting her left brain back, and as a result has a unique perspective on the relationship of the two halves.
I stuck with the book because I'm sympathetic to at much of what she was saying -- that if you can turn down the volume on the ego's chatter to attain a sense of calm, your life is better off. It's just that most of us approach that goal through meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, or philosophy. Her writing resolutely avoids any such discussion. So it was kind of like reading a book about God written by an autistic person -- it seemed incredibly flat, devoid of emotion, even when she was talking about feelings.
I suspect that this book is the result of divided intentions about its goals and audience -- perhaps between the author and her editor, or between the author's two brain halves, I don't know. It's one part pop-science, 1 part survival memoir, 1 part oddly cold narcissism, and 1 part new age metaphysics. The audiences for these things are really different, and to successfully blend them would take a much more compelling writing style than Taylor's. It's unfortunate that a book that should be the demonstration of her recovery kept making me wonder whether she was expressing herself so badly because of her brain injury.
There are grains of interesting stuff in here, and it's a quick read. It's definitely been on my mind for the past few days, despite my irritation with it. I've heard from friends that audio interviews with Taylor are very warm and charming, which is the exact opposite of my impression from reading the book. Maybe that would be a better place to start if you're curious.
Taylor is a brain scientist who had a stroke and recovered enough to write about it. The chance to learn about what that experience was like seemed compelling enough to me to start reading the book. When her left brain went offline due to the stroke, she experienced only living in her right brain --what she describes as a blissful nirvana. She's spent years getting her left brain back, and as a result has a unique perspective on the relationship of the two halves.
I stuck with the book because I'm sympathetic to at much of what she was saying -- that if you can turn down the volume on the ego's chatter to attain a sense of calm, your life is better off. It's just that most of us approach that goal through meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, or philosophy. Her writing resolutely avoids any such discussion. So it was kind of like reading a book about God written by an autistic person -- it seemed incredibly flat, devoid of emotion, even when she was talking about feelings.
I suspect that this book is the result of divided intentions about its goals and audience -- perhaps between the author and her editor, or between the author's two brain halves, I don't know. It's one part pop-science, 1 part survival memoir, 1 part oddly cold narcissism, and 1 part new age metaphysics. The audiences for these things are really different, and to successfully blend them would take a much more compelling writing style than Taylor's. It's unfortunate that a book that should be the demonstration of her recovery kept making me wonder whether she was expressing herself so badly because of her brain injury.
There are grains of interesting stuff in here, and it's a quick read. It's definitely been on my mind for the past few days, despite my irritation with it. I've heard from friends that audio interviews with Taylor are very warm and charming, which is the exact opposite of my impression from reading the book. Maybe that would be a better place to start if you're curious.
September 15, 2008
whoa. i probably should have paid more attention to the little tagline under her name that proudly proclaims "the singin' scientist" and put it down immediately. but that wasn't how it worked.
see, the author is a brain scientist who had a stroke. i heard her speak on NPR and she was insightful and funny and had very interesting things to say about the brain, so i put the book on hold at the library and a eagerly picked it up a few days ago.
i loved the section of the book that gave us an intro course on the science of the brain. it was well written and engaging. AND it totally fooled me into thinking that the rest of the book would be more of the same.
not so. i felt invested after reading the first 30 or so pages of brain science and then her minute by minute description of what was happening when she suffered a stroke, which is the only somewhat logical reason that i didn't actually throw this book across the room.
it was her sappy, polyanna, and ridiculously one-dimensional tale of recovery that made me actually hate this book. her insanely upbeat self-narrative was too much for me. in the words of another reviewer on this site "The information in this book could have been stopped at phamplet size. Instead we have to read chapter after chapter of 4th grade happy talk."
yep. only now YOU know, so you don't have to.
see, the author is a brain scientist who had a stroke. i heard her speak on NPR and she was insightful and funny and had very interesting things to say about the brain, so i put the book on hold at the library and a eagerly picked it up a few days ago.
i loved the section of the book that gave us an intro course on the science of the brain. it was well written and engaging. AND it totally fooled me into thinking that the rest of the book would be more of the same.
not so. i felt invested after reading the first 30 or so pages of brain science and then her minute by minute description of what was happening when she suffered a stroke, which is the only somewhat logical reason that i didn't actually throw this book across the room.
it was her sappy, polyanna, and ridiculously one-dimensional tale of recovery that made me actually hate this book. her insanely upbeat self-narrative was too much for me. in the words of another reviewer on this site "The information in this book could have been stopped at phamplet size. Instead we have to read chapter after chapter of 4th grade happy talk."
yep. only now YOU know, so you don't have to.
June 18, 2020
تحية إكبار لامها و إرادتها
March 12, 2011
Oh, gag. Yes, really. I'm glad the author used her stroke to find nirvana, but honestly, stroke just ain't this pretty.
The first half of this book, more or less, was a page turner and I was fascinated. Dr. Taylor was a successful 37-year-old neuroanatomist who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke as a result of a congenital condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Partly because of her training and knowledge and partly, I suspect, because of the way the stroke's effects developed and progressed, she was able to observe herself and analyze the process as it was happening (and somehow remembered or recovered this information later -- which seems to me the amazing part (perhaps a little too amazing?). She was functioning enough (barely) to be able to call for help when she realized she was having a stroke. I would guess this is highly atypical. The book is about the events of that day, as well as Dr. Taylor's slow recovery with her damaged brain.
I particularly liked the earlier chapters and Taylor's recounting of what she experienced when the stroke occurred (she was alone in her apartment) and the immediate aftermath, the progressive loss of function. There's also a great deal of valuable information about recognizing signs of a stroke, as well as how to treat people who have sustained a stroke. (Patience, patience, patience. And don't holler. They're not deaf.) The book also teaches us about the brain's plasticity and resilience.
I felt the book got a bit redundant after a while, but it's hard to fault the author for wanting to underscore her points. She's not just a memoirist. She's a teacher and advocate for people with mental impairment.
But after the first few chapters, Taylor wanders off into the la-la land of pseudoscience, pop psych mythology, personal opinion, and belief. Another Goodreads reviewer (Lena) has said: "[T]here is a very sloppy blending of hard, scientific information about the brain with Bolte Taylor’s anecdotal experience and personal theories about what happened to her. It was not always obvious which was which, and I suspect many readers will be confused and assume her personal theories are more scientifically grounded than they actually are." I concur and find this irresponsible and troubling.
Unfortunately, this led me to have more and more doubts about the veracity of the story she recounted in the early chapters. (How much is accurate, how much a plausible reconstruction? And really, how plausible is it?) Her pop-psych perspective isn't informed by science. Her views on right brain / left brain function are vastly oversimplified and just not consistent with contemporary cognitive neuroscience. I expected more from a PhD neuroanatomist! But perhaps she hasn't kept up with the field since her 1996 stroke.*
Of course, some specific functions are lateralized. Most notably, the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. Linear thinking, logic, language, and math skills are primarily grounded in the left hemisphere. Broca's area (language production) and Wernicke's area (language comprehension) are in the left hemisphere. But many language processes take place in the right hemisphere, along with visual, spatial, and auditory functions. Many other cognitive functions are bilateral.
However, the notion that a person is right-brained or left-brained (or that one's personality is right-brain or left-brain dominant) is largely a pop psych myth that derives from research in the 1960s on split-brain patients (people whose corpus collosum connecting the two sides of the brain had been severed). The conclusions of this research were later found to be premature. The two sides of the brain are far more interdependent than once thought. There's a lot of good science and high-tech brain imaging to support this. All complex cognitive function and information processing require complex interactions of various regions of the brain in both hemispheres. This has been well known for over a decade now.
The only left-brained or right-brained people are those who've had one of their brain hemispheres removed.
By the last few chapters, I felt as though Taylor were just making stuff up. It's a lot of New Age blathering -- a mishmash of personal opinion and belief based on memory and subjective experience, which we well know to be poor indices of objective reality.
Most, or certainly many, people who have strokes end up with physical and mental disabilities that are not so easily overcome. And I'm not saying Taylor had an easy time of it, but she does romanticize the whole process which culminates in her ability to be "one" with the universe. If she tells us once, she tells us a hundred times.
Where did I throw the book across the room?** Maybe when she started talking about how she uses angel cards every day. Or no, maybe here:
"I unconditionally love my cells with an open heart and grateful mind. Spontaneously throughout the day, I acknowledge their existence and enthusiastically cheer them on. I am a wonderful living being capable of beaming my energy into the world, only because of them. When my bowels move, I cheer my cells for cleaning that waste out of my body. When my urine flows, I admire the volume my bladder cells are capable of storing. . . ."
No Oliver Sacks.
Quick, quick! I need an antidote!
___________________________________
* The modern understanding of brain hemisphere function is not exactly new. In 1999, John McCrone wrote in New Scientist
"Many a myth has grown up around the brain's asymmetry. The left cerebral hemisphere is supposed to be the coldly logical, verbal and dominant half of the brain, while the right developed a reputation as the imaginative side, emotional, spatially aware but suppressed. Two personalities in one head, Yin and Yang, hero and villain. To most neuroscientists, of course, these notions are seen as simplistic at best and nonsense at worst."
**Not really. I'd have thrown it had it not been a library book.
The first half of this book, more or less, was a page turner and I was fascinated. Dr. Taylor was a successful 37-year-old neuroanatomist who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke as a result of a congenital condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Partly because of her training and knowledge and partly, I suspect, because of the way the stroke's effects developed and progressed, she was able to observe herself and analyze the process as it was happening (and somehow remembered or recovered this information later -- which seems to me the amazing part (perhaps a little too amazing?). She was functioning enough (barely) to be able to call for help when she realized she was having a stroke. I would guess this is highly atypical. The book is about the events of that day, as well as Dr. Taylor's slow recovery with her damaged brain.
I particularly liked the earlier chapters and Taylor's recounting of what she experienced when the stroke occurred (she was alone in her apartment) and the immediate aftermath, the progressive loss of function. There's also a great deal of valuable information about recognizing signs of a stroke, as well as how to treat people who have sustained a stroke. (Patience, patience, patience. And don't holler. They're not deaf.) The book also teaches us about the brain's plasticity and resilience.
I felt the book got a bit redundant after a while, but it's hard to fault the author for wanting to underscore her points. She's not just a memoirist. She's a teacher and advocate for people with mental impairment.
But after the first few chapters, Taylor wanders off into the la-la land of pseudoscience, pop psych mythology, personal opinion, and belief. Another Goodreads reviewer (Lena) has said: "[T]here is a very sloppy blending of hard, scientific information about the brain with Bolte Taylor’s anecdotal experience and personal theories about what happened to her. It was not always obvious which was which, and I suspect many readers will be confused and assume her personal theories are more scientifically grounded than they actually are." I concur and find this irresponsible and troubling.
Unfortunately, this led me to have more and more doubts about the veracity of the story she recounted in the early chapters. (How much is accurate, how much a plausible reconstruction? And really, how plausible is it?) Her pop-psych perspective isn't informed by science. Her views on right brain / left brain function are vastly oversimplified and just not consistent with contemporary cognitive neuroscience. I expected more from a PhD neuroanatomist! But perhaps she hasn't kept up with the field since her 1996 stroke.*
Of course, some specific functions are lateralized. Most notably, the right hemisphere of the brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. Linear thinking, logic, language, and math skills are primarily grounded in the left hemisphere. Broca's area (language production) and Wernicke's area (language comprehension) are in the left hemisphere. But many language processes take place in the right hemisphere, along with visual, spatial, and auditory functions. Many other cognitive functions are bilateral.
However, the notion that a person is right-brained or left-brained (or that one's personality is right-brain or left-brain dominant) is largely a pop psych myth that derives from research in the 1960s on split-brain patients (people whose corpus collosum connecting the two sides of the brain had been severed). The conclusions of this research were later found to be premature. The two sides of the brain are far more interdependent than once thought. There's a lot of good science and high-tech brain imaging to support this. All complex cognitive function and information processing require complex interactions of various regions of the brain in both hemispheres. This has been well known for over a decade now.
The only left-brained or right-brained people are those who've had one of their brain hemispheres removed.
By the last few chapters, I felt as though Taylor were just making stuff up. It's a lot of New Age blathering -- a mishmash of personal opinion and belief based on memory and subjective experience, which we well know to be poor indices of objective reality.
Most, or certainly many, people who have strokes end up with physical and mental disabilities that are not so easily overcome. And I'm not saying Taylor had an easy time of it, but she does romanticize the whole process which culminates in her ability to be "one" with the universe. If she tells us once, she tells us a hundred times.
Where did I throw the book across the room?** Maybe when she started talking about how she uses angel cards every day. Or no, maybe here:
"I unconditionally love my cells with an open heart and grateful mind. Spontaneously throughout the day, I acknowledge their existence and enthusiastically cheer them on. I am a wonderful living being capable of beaming my energy into the world, only because of them. When my bowels move, I cheer my cells for cleaning that waste out of my body. When my urine flows, I admire the volume my bladder cells are capable of storing. . . ."
No Oliver Sacks.
Quick, quick! I need an antidote!
___________________________________
* The modern understanding of brain hemisphere function is not exactly new. In 1999, John McCrone wrote in New Scientist
"Many a myth has grown up around the brain's asymmetry. The left cerebral hemisphere is supposed to be the coldly logical, verbal and dominant half of the brain, while the right developed a reputation as the imaginative side, emotional, spatially aware but suppressed. Two personalities in one head, Yin and Yang, hero and villain. To most neuroscientists, of course, these notions are seen as simplistic at best and nonsense at worst."
**Not really. I'd have thrown it had it not been a library book.
July 14, 2008
This book wasn't what I was expecting. I expected to read a memoir of sorts. Maybe a before and after or even a during the process what was happening. And JBT does write "lightly" about those things. But mainly she is writing a self-help book that seeks to influence the rest of us to embrace the right side of our brains. As a brain scientist, she has a stroke then discovers she is one with the universe. Her brain and her cells are beautiful! Oh how lovely the world and everyone in it! The information in this book could have been stopped at phamplet size. Instead we have to read chapter after chapter of 4th grade happy talk. I can imagine most people aren't as masochistic as I and will quit mid-book on this one . . .
August 18, 2019
الجلطة (Cerebrovascular accident)
المص��دفة الجميلة هي قرأتي لهذا الكتاب المتزامنة مع دراستي لطب الباطنة - فرع الجهاز العصبي (Internal medicine neurology)
Haemorrahgic (المدهش هو أن د.جيلي تعرضت للنوع الأقل حدوثاُ من الجلطة (النزفي
والذي يشكل 15 %من إجمالي الحالات ، كذلك ليس نزفاً نتيجة ضغط زائد أوغيره ؛ بل نوع أندرفي الحدوث وهو تشوه خُلقي في جدار الشريان ِ
Arteriovenous malformation :Aneurysm
برغم الإصابة الكبرى لمناطق واسعة في الدماغ و أثرها السيء على مختلف وظائف الفص الأيسر (الرئيسي لذى أغلبية الناس) إلا إن عزيمتها للشفاء وخبرتها كمختصة أكاديمية في علم الأعصاب مكنتها من مجابهة هذا المرض القاتل لتعود للحياة وتتعلم كما الطفل لمدة 8 سنوات لتستعيد ما خسرته في صباح أحد الأيام.
أدركت المعأناة التي يكابدها المرضى الجلطة و التي تحتاج لمعاملة خاصة من قبل الأطباء المعالجين والأهل في سبيل راحة وشفاء المصاب.
أنارت الجلطة عقل جيلي و كشفت عن عواطفها وإنسانيتها الكامنة في الفص الأيمن واستطاعت تعلم الموازنة بينهما لتحيا كإنسانة جديدة بوعي محتلف عما كانت عليه.
مما لم يعجبني تداخل الحديث عن الفصيين الأيمن والأيسر والإسهاب في القدرة على الفصل بينهما ، بينما في الحقيقة هما متشابكان كعضو واحد ومتكاملان في الوظائف ولا أعتقد بأنه يمكن الفصل والاختيار بين أينهما يعمل على حسب الموقف الذي يمر به الإنسان
بالمجمل كتاب جيد جيداً
المص��دفة الجميلة هي قرأتي لهذا الكتاب المتزامنة مع دراستي لطب الباطنة - فرع الجهاز العصبي (Internal medicine neurology)
Haemorrahgic (المدهش هو أن د.جيلي تعرضت للنوع الأقل حدوثاُ من الجلطة (النزفي
والذي يشكل 15 %من إجمالي الحالات ، كذلك ليس نزفاً نتيجة ضغط زائد أوغيره ؛ بل نوع أندرفي الحدوث وهو تشوه خُلقي في جدار الشريان ِ
Arteriovenous malformation :Aneurysm
برغم الإصابة الكبرى لمناطق واسعة في الدماغ و أثرها السيء على مختلف وظائف الفص الأيسر (الرئيسي لذى أغلبية الناس) إلا إن عزيمتها للشفاء وخبرتها كمختصة أكاديمية في علم الأعصاب مكنتها من مجابهة هذا المرض القاتل لتعود للحياة وتتعلم كما الطفل لمدة 8 سنوات لتستعيد ما خسرته في صباح أحد الأيام.
أدركت المعأناة التي يكابدها المرضى الجلطة و التي تحتاج لمعاملة خاصة من قبل الأطباء المعالجين والأهل في سبيل راحة وشفاء المصاب.
أنارت الجلطة عقل جيلي و كشفت عن عواطفها وإنسانيتها الكامنة في الفص الأيمن واستطاعت تعلم الموازنة بينهما لتحيا كإنسانة جديدة بوعي محتلف عما كانت عليه.
مما لم يعجبني تداخل الحديث عن الفصيين الأيمن والأيسر والإسهاب في القدرة على الفصل بينهما ، بينما في الحقيقة هما متشابكان كعضو واحد ومتكاملان في الوظائف ولا أعتقد بأنه يمكن الفصل والاختيار بين أينهما يعمل على حسب الموقف الذي يمر به الإنسان
بالمجمل كتاب جيد جيداً
August 11, 2019
هذا الكتاب هو في الحقيقة مزيج رائع من السيرة الذاتيّة والرواية وبين علم فسيولوجيا الأعصاب! غريب؟ ربما، لكنّ المؤلفة في واقع الأمر استطاعت توليف هذه العناصر لتقدّم تجربتها للقارئ -العاديّ- بسلاسة ودون أيّ تعقيد، د.جيل تيلور هي العالمة واختصاصيّة في علم التشريح العصبي وانتُخبت ضمن هيئة المدراء للمنظّمة الوطنيّة للأمراض العقلية وهي في الخامسة والثلاثين فقط من عمرها، سردت هنا تجربة إصابتها بالجلطة الدماغيّة ورحلة شفائها التي استغرقت ما يقارب 7 سنوات كاملات أو ربما يزيد، لكن ليست هنا المشكلة، المشكلة تكمن بعد مرحلة العلاج، حيث عادت كطفل صغير كما وصفت نفسها، تتعلّم كلّ شيء من جديد من طريقة الأكل والشرب، التواصل الفهمي حتى طريقة ربط الحذاء، كما وصل بها الحال إلى تساؤل مهمّ حيث قالت قالت في كتابها: (كان مخّي متضرّرًا جدًّا، وفكّرت هل سيسحبون منّي شهادة الدكتوراه؟ إنّني لا أتذكّر الآن شيئًا في علم التشريح!)
لطالما كان الدماغ البشريّ وكيفيّة عمله من استقبال أدّق تفاصيل يومنا ومعالجتها ومن ثمّ التفاعل معها كردّ فعل طبيعيّ من الأعاجيب التي لم يحطِ العلم بكلّ تفاصيلها، ولعلّ مثل هذه التجارب الملهمة تجعلنا نقدّر أكثر نعمة هذا السيّد الذي يسيطر على كل أقوالنا وأفعالنا في حياتنا اليوميّة.
تقول في رحلتها الشفائيّة:
"لقد منحتني تلك الجلطة التي أنارت بصيرتي عطيّة لا تقدّر بثمن، وهي إدراك أنّ السلام العميق ليس سوى فكرة أو شعور مراوغ وناءٍ، فأن تختبر السلام في داخلك، ليس معناه أن تتحول حياتك إلى نعيمٍ دائم. إنّه يعني فقط بأنّك قادرٌ على الولوج إلى حالةٍ من السكينة الذهنيّة وسط فوضى الحياة العارمة"
لطالما كان الدماغ البشريّ وكيفيّة عمله من استقبال أدّق تفاصيل يومنا ومعالجتها ومن ثمّ التفاعل معها كردّ فعل طبيعيّ من الأعاجيب التي لم يحطِ العلم بكلّ تفاصيلها، ولعلّ مثل هذه التجارب الملهمة تجعلنا نقدّر أكثر نعمة هذا السيّد الذي يسيطر على كل أقوالنا وأفعالنا في حياتنا اليوميّة.
تقول في رحلتها الشفائيّة:
"لقد منحتني تلك الجلطة التي أنارت بصيرتي عطيّة لا تقدّر بثمن، وهي إدراك أنّ السلام العميق ليس سوى فكرة أو شعور مراوغ وناءٍ، فأن تختبر السلام في داخلك، ليس معناه أن تتحول حياتك إلى نعيمٍ دائم. إنّه يعني فقط بأنّك قادرٌ على الولوج إلى حالةٍ من السكينة الذهنيّة وسط فوضى الحياة العارمة"
March 20, 2022
5 stars means, to me, that everybody should read it, not that it's necessarily a perfect book.
Everybody is fairly likely to have a stroke, watch someone who is having a stroke, know someone who is recovering from a stroke, or at least visit a rehabilitation clinic or nursing home. The recommendations at the end are important. First there's a page that reminds you what a stroke feels like, and tells you to get help immediately.* Then there's a list of advice on how to help someone who is in therapy to recover.
*Dr. Jill did not get help immediately, and by the time she realized she needed help, she was almost incapable of calling for same, which further delayed her treatment.
Ok, here's the thing. The narrative is only 177 pages, yet I put in 8 bookdarts. Let's see how many I have the energy to share with you. But first, let me tell you more about what's so valuable about this book. It's not just about strokes, or even just about general brain injuries.
For example, you know how there's a bunch of current pop psychology books about how train our brains and how to break bad habits and develop good habits? Dr. Jill, while talking about how she worked toward recovery, gives us a really good, really short, version of the content of those books. Another example: there's the 'insight' Dr. Jill experienced. It's a little bit spiritual, a tiny bit 'new-agey.' But it also makes sense to this atheist.
Ok, anyway, on to the bookdarts:
"I think it is vitally important that stroke survivors share and communicate about how each of their brains strategized recovery.... [O]ur medical professionals could be more effective during those initial hours of treatment and assessment. I wanted my doctors to focus on how my brain was working rather than on whether it worked according to their criteria or timetable. I still knew volumes of information and I was simply going to have to figure out how to access it again."
At home, Jill's mother, G.G., was an amazing therapist. Since much information was lost, G.G. worked to fill in the gaps.
"'For lunch, you can have minestrone soup [and I found the file in mind and remembered what that was] or a grilled cheese sandwich [found it] or tuna salad.' Since I could not find the file for tuna salad, that's what we chose for lunch. That was our strategy if I couldn't find the old file; we made it a point to make a new one."
G.G. also guided Jill by giving her toddlers' toys. A 12 piece jigsaw puzzle enabled two days of teachable moments. Jill learned 'face-up' and 'edge' and 'insies & outsies' but was still not making matches, until G.G. noted, "Jill, you can use color as a clue." "I could not see color until I was told that color was a tool I could use. Who would have guessed that my left hemisphere needed to be told about color for it to register? I found the same to be true for seeing in three dimensions."
... Point of clarification: do know that different stroke victims have different parts of their minds damaged. Most of Jill's book applies to any person who has experienced brain trauma, but some specific details will vary.
Jill wants us to know that doctors are *wrong* to say that "If you don't have your abilities back by six months,... you won't."
"I needed my visitors to bring me their positive energy.... I appreciated when people came in for just a few minutes, took my hands in theirs, and shared softly and slowly how they were doing, what they were thinking, and how they believed in my ability to recover... nervous, anxious, or angry people were counter-productive."
Here's advice to anyone who feels vulnerable to moods like fretfulness, resentment, or self-pity. "Although there are certain limbic (emotional) programs that can be triggered automatically, it takes less than 90 seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body, and then be completely flushed out of our blood stream.... If I remain angry [for example] then it is because I have chosen to let that circuit continue to run. Moment by moment, I make the choice to either hook into my neurocircuitry or move back into the present moment, allowing that reaction to melt away as fleeting physiology."
To help her break that circuit, Dr. Jill says "I wait 90 seconds.. and then I speak to my brain as though it is a group of children. I say with sincerity, 'I appreciate you ability to think thoughts and feel emotions, but I am really not interested in thinking these thoughts or feeling these emotions anymore. Please stop bringing this stuff up."
"In extreme situations of cellular disregard, I use my authentic voice to put my language center's Peanut Gallery on a strict time schedule. I give my story-teller full permission to whine rampantly between 9-9:30... If it accidentally misses whine time it is not allowed to reengage in that behavior until its next allotted appointment.... I am serious about not hooking into those negative loops of thought."
Instead, she keeps a handy list of good things to think about: "1) I remember something fascinating that I would like to ponder more deeply, 2) I think about something that would bring me terrific joy, or 3) I think about something I would like to do."
Whew. Those are all the bookdarts. But I'm glad that I took the time to type them all up. So valuable. :)
Yes, I know this a long review of a short book. Still, Dr. Jill writes clearly and concisely - there's a lot of benefit to you to read the book yourself
Everybody is fairly likely to have a stroke, watch someone who is having a stroke, know someone who is recovering from a stroke, or at least visit a rehabilitation clinic or nursing home. The recommendations at the end are important. First there's a page that reminds you what a stroke feels like, and tells you to get help immediately.* Then there's a list of advice on how to help someone who is in therapy to recover.
*Dr. Jill did not get help immediately, and by the time she realized she needed help, she was almost incapable of calling for same, which further delayed her treatment.
Ok, here's the thing. The narrative is only 177 pages, yet I put in 8 bookdarts. Let's see how many I have the energy to share with you. But first, let me tell you more about what's so valuable about this book. It's not just about strokes, or even just about general brain injuries.
For example, you know how there's a bunch of current pop psychology books about how train our brains and how to break bad habits and develop good habits? Dr. Jill, while talking about how she worked toward recovery, gives us a really good, really short, version of the content of those books. Another example: there's the 'insight' Dr. Jill experienced. It's a little bit spiritual, a tiny bit 'new-agey.' But it also makes sense to this atheist.
Ok, anyway, on to the bookdarts:
"I think it is vitally important that stroke survivors share and communicate about how each of their brains strategized recovery.... [O]ur medical professionals could be more effective during those initial hours of treatment and assessment. I wanted my doctors to focus on how my brain was working rather than on whether it worked according to their criteria or timetable. I still knew volumes of information and I was simply going to have to figure out how to access it again."
At home, Jill's mother, G.G., was an amazing therapist. Since much information was lost, G.G. worked to fill in the gaps.
"'For lunch, you can have minestrone soup [and I found the file in mind and remembered what that was] or a grilled cheese sandwich [found it] or tuna salad.' Since I could not find the file for tuna salad, that's what we chose for lunch. That was our strategy if I couldn't find the old file; we made it a point to make a new one."
G.G. also guided Jill by giving her toddlers' toys. A 12 piece jigsaw puzzle enabled two days of teachable moments. Jill learned 'face-up' and 'edge' and 'insies & outsies' but was still not making matches, until G.G. noted, "Jill, you can use color as a clue." "I could not see color until I was told that color was a tool I could use. Who would have guessed that my left hemisphere needed to be told about color for it to register? I found the same to be true for seeing in three dimensions."
... Point of clarification: do know that different stroke victims have different parts of their minds damaged. Most of Jill's book applies to any person who has experienced brain trauma, but some specific details will vary.
Jill wants us to know that doctors are *wrong* to say that "If you don't have your abilities back by six months,... you won't."
"I needed my visitors to bring me their positive energy.... I appreciated when people came in for just a few minutes, took my hands in theirs, and shared softly and slowly how they were doing, what they were thinking, and how they believed in my ability to recover... nervous, anxious, or angry people were counter-productive."
Here's advice to anyone who feels vulnerable to moods like fretfulness, resentment, or self-pity. "Although there are certain limbic (emotional) programs that can be triggered automatically, it takes less than 90 seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body, and then be completely flushed out of our blood stream.... If I remain angry [for example] then it is because I have chosen to let that circuit continue to run. Moment by moment, I make the choice to either hook into my neurocircuitry or move back into the present moment, allowing that reaction to melt away as fleeting physiology."
To help her break that circuit, Dr. Jill says "I wait 90 seconds.. and then I speak to my brain as though it is a group of children. I say with sincerity, 'I appreciate you ability to think thoughts and feel emotions, but I am really not interested in thinking these thoughts or feeling these emotions anymore. Please stop bringing this stuff up."
"In extreme situations of cellular disregard, I use my authentic voice to put my language center's Peanut Gallery on a strict time schedule. I give my story-teller full permission to whine rampantly between 9-9:30... If it accidentally misses whine time it is not allowed to reengage in that behavior until its next allotted appointment.... I am serious about not hooking into those negative loops of thought."
Instead, she keeps a handy list of good things to think about: "1) I remember something fascinating that I would like to ponder more deeply, 2) I think about something that would bring me terrific joy, or 3) I think about something I would like to do."
Whew. Those are all the bookdarts. But I'm glad that I took the time to type them all up. So valuable. :)
Yes, I know this a long review of a short book. Still, Dr. Jill writes clearly and concisely - there's a lot of benefit to you to read the book yourself
September 19, 2012
I absolutely couldn't stand this book. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that until I was over a third of the way into it, at which point I had to finish it, detesting myself the entire time.
The woman who wrote this book is a neuroanatomist who had a unique and amazing opportunity to document the experience of having a hemorrhagic stroke from someone who understands how different parts of the brain function.
That being said, she is not a brain surgeon. She is not a clinician. And yet from the way she writes this book, she acts as though she knows more than everyone who took care of her, without a real understanding of practical application.
For example, she criticizes the nurses who wake her up on an hourly or near hourly basis to do neuro exams--not realizing that is, in fact, a safety check designed to save her life if her bleed became worse. She criticizes doctors for asking questions that she could not answer such as "Who is the president?" and felt they should have asked questions that she would have actually been able to answer--such as who the president was married to--not recognizing that the point of asking a simple question such as "who is the president?" is not an effort to make her feel good about herself, but to recognize deficits and thus help her to work past them. It would be fruitless to only ask questions she knew she could get right.
I felt that the entire book was her outcry to the world, her defense about her embarrassment of being a stroke victim and to show how actually competent she was the entire time. She writes as though she is the only person ever who this has happened to. Although hemorrhagic strokes are the least common kind of stroke, we see them all the time where I work. We don't judge people who are having strokes because they cannot speak properly--we care for them, we monitor them, we help them. No educated medical professional would accuse a stroke victim of being stupid--and yet she seems to feel the need to show everyone how smart and aware she is.
Instead of taking this opportunity to truly examine the human condition of stroke victims everywhere, she makes a narcissistic, egotistical, and what I view as a dangerously false view of the stroke experience. I would be highly concerned for family members of my patients and what they may take away from reading this book. The author, although very well versed in brain anatomy, has a poor understanding of how intensive care and hospital care really work--but because of her degree and viewpoint, people may mistake her opinions for truth.
The good things I took away from this: a reminder of what it is like to be the patient (always important to keep in mind. ) I agreed with her about the importance of sleep and healing the brain--with the caveat that a patient's safety (you know, ensuring they don't herniate their brain)--should come first, depending on the gravity of the situation. I enjoyed her contrast of left and right brain. Other than that, I wish I hadn't my time and highly recommend that you don't waste yours. There are other, better, and more accurate materials out there for your reading pleasure.
PS: This is the only negative book review I have ever added to this website. That's how concerned I am about the spread of misinformation delivered by this book.
PPS: You would think that someone with a PhD with a career in brain science would have known better than to get on a treadmill and take a shower while being actively aware that she had stroke symptoms. This should discredit her story from the start. Time is brain, people! If you have stroke symptoms, call 911!
The woman who wrote this book is a neuroanatomist who had a unique and amazing opportunity to document the experience of having a hemorrhagic stroke from someone who understands how different parts of the brain function.
That being said, she is not a brain surgeon. She is not a clinician. And yet from the way she writes this book, she acts as though she knows more than everyone who took care of her, without a real understanding of practical application.
For example, she criticizes the nurses who wake her up on an hourly or near hourly basis to do neuro exams--not realizing that is, in fact, a safety check designed to save her life if her bleed became worse. She criticizes doctors for asking questions that she could not answer such as "Who is the president?" and felt they should have asked questions that she would have actually been able to answer--such as who the president was married to--not recognizing that the point of asking a simple question such as "who is the president?" is not an effort to make her feel good about herself, but to recognize deficits and thus help her to work past them. It would be fruitless to only ask questions she knew she could get right.
I felt that the entire book was her outcry to the world, her defense about her embarrassment of being a stroke victim and to show how actually competent she was the entire time. She writes as though she is the only person ever who this has happened to. Although hemorrhagic strokes are the least common kind of stroke, we see them all the time where I work. We don't judge people who are having strokes because they cannot speak properly--we care for them, we monitor them, we help them. No educated medical professional would accuse a stroke victim of being stupid--and yet she seems to feel the need to show everyone how smart and aware she is.
Instead of taking this opportunity to truly examine the human condition of stroke victims everywhere, she makes a narcissistic, egotistical, and what I view as a dangerously false view of the stroke experience. I would be highly concerned for family members of my patients and what they may take away from reading this book. The author, although very well versed in brain anatomy, has a poor understanding of how intensive care and hospital care really work--but because of her degree and viewpoint, people may mistake her opinions for truth.
The good things I took away from this: a reminder of what it is like to be the patient (always important to keep in mind. ) I agreed with her about the importance of sleep and healing the brain--with the caveat that a patient's safety (you know, ensuring they don't herniate their brain)--should come first, depending on the gravity of the situation. I enjoyed her contrast of left and right brain. Other than that, I wish I hadn't my time and highly recommend that you don't waste yours. There are other, better, and more accurate materials out there for your reading pleasure.
PS: This is the only negative book review I have ever added to this website. That's how concerned I am about the spread of misinformation delivered by this book.
PPS: You would think that someone with a PhD with a career in brain science would have known better than to get on a treadmill and take a shower while being actively aware that she had stroke symptoms. This should discredit her story from the start. Time is brain, people! If you have stroke symptoms, call 911!
May 16, 2020
Amazing story about a neuroscientist who observes herself as she has a stroke. She is not expected to recover, but with her knowledge, the dedication of and help from her mother as well as keeping naysayers out of her life Bolte regained all of her pre-stroke functioning. An important and inspirational memoir about the ability of the brain to heal, otherwise known as neuroplasticity. Read this or listen to Bolte's amazing Ted talk.
April 22, 2023
"لكل مخ بشري قصة، وهذه قصتي الشخصية مع مخي"
تحكي لنا د. جيل تيلور العالمة المختصه في المخ، عن تجربتها الفريدة التى مرت بها حين أصابتها جلطة مفاجئة في المخ، متتبعه الأعراض والمشاعر، والأجواء التي اختبرتها لحظة بلحظة، ثم رحلة العلاج وأوجاعه، ومكابدات التعلم والتأهل.
ويهدف كتابها إلى:
▪︎ التوعية بأهم الأمراض وأكثرها انتشاراً، وهو الإصابات الدماغية والجلطات.
▪︎الحديث عن جمال ومرونة العقل ا��بشري، وقدرته الطبيعية على التأقلم مع المتغيرات، والسير قدماً في عملية التشافي.
》كتاب صوتى مؤثر، يعيبه بعض التكرار ..
تحكي لنا د. جيل تيلور العالمة المختصه في المخ، عن تجربتها الفريدة التى مرت بها حين أصابتها جلطة مفاجئة في المخ، متتبعه الأعراض والمشاعر، والأجواء التي اختبرتها لحظة بلحظة، ثم رحلة العلاج وأوجاعه، ومكابدات التعلم والتأهل.
ويهدف كتابها إلى:
▪︎ التوعية بأهم الأمراض وأكثرها انتشاراً، وهو الإصابات الدماغية والجلطات.
▪︎الحديث عن جمال ومرونة العقل ا��بشري، وقدرته الطبيعية على التأقلم مع المتغيرات، والسير قدماً في عملية التشافي.
》كتاب صوتى مؤثر، يعيبه بعض التكرار ..
February 24, 2009
Warning: This is long, contains ranting, and is rather harsh at times.
From a biology perspective, this book was crazy cool, as are most things biological. The brain is ridiculously amazing. It completely blows my mind whenever I think about it. However, from a writing perspective, I was not a fan.
I would now like to preface the rest of my analytical, left-brain comments by saying that: The author had a stroke, it is absolutely incredible how well she has recovered, and I have no idea whatsoever how the stroke may have affected her writing capabilities. Also, I really did approach this expecting to really, really like it, so this one can't be blamed on a negative attitude. That said, I found the book ridiculously redundant. I'd read one paragraph, move on to the next, and then have to return to the previous paragraph to try and find the difference between the two (other than word order). This frustrated me, and I felt she could have condensed things from 20 chapters to about 8. The parts that I really appreciated were her account of the actual experience of having a stroke and the initial chapters that explained some basic brain science. I'm sure the description of her recovery is very helpful to those dealing with a stroke or helping someone else deal with it, but this was the point where the repetition got out of control. After about page 100, it took serious effort for me to finish (and that rarely happens).
Also, I was unaware when I began the book that the second half would be filled with motivational, self-help type crap. Had I known that, I probably would not have read it. That kind of thing drives me insane (and yes, I DO realize that I'm allowing myself to be driven insane) because they try to make it sound easy, and it's not. What particularly bothered me in this instance was that only after the author suffered tremendous brain trauma was she able to "step to the right [side of her brain:]" and, to simplify, let a bunch of crap go. I, however, have not suffered from a stroke, still experience the two hemispheres of my brain as a single consciousness, and am generally much harder-pressed to "step to the right." So back off, lady!
Some other notes: When I first heard the title, I thought it was very clever. However, I began to worry after the 5th or so time she used it in the first 2-3 chapters. And sure enough, the phrase didn't go away. It instead became so overused that it practically triggered my gag reflex by the end of the book. Also, the purpose of having an editor is to make a book better, especially by adding/removing things that will drive people to want to burn the book. This editor was either asleep, drunk, or high, as evidenced by the truly apalling and nauseating over-use of italics and exclamation points.
From a biology perspective, this book was crazy cool, as are most things biological. The brain is ridiculously amazing. It completely blows my mind whenever I think about it. However, from a writing perspective, I was not a fan.
I would now like to preface the rest of my analytical, left-brain comments by saying that: The author had a stroke, it is absolutely incredible how well she has recovered, and I have no idea whatsoever how the stroke may have affected her writing capabilities. Also, I really did approach this expecting to really, really like it, so this one can't be blamed on a negative attitude. That said, I found the book ridiculously redundant. I'd read one paragraph, move on to the next, and then have to return to the previous paragraph to try and find the difference between the two (other than word order). This frustrated me, and I felt she could have condensed things from 20 chapters to about 8. The parts that I really appreciated were her account of the actual experience of having a stroke and the initial chapters that explained some basic brain science. I'm sure the description of her recovery is very helpful to those dealing with a stroke or helping someone else deal with it, but this was the point where the repetition got out of control. After about page 100, it took serious effort for me to finish (and that rarely happens).
Also, I was unaware when I began the book that the second half would be filled with motivational, self-help type crap. Had I known that, I probably would not have read it. That kind of thing drives me insane (and yes, I DO realize that I'm allowing myself to be driven insane) because they try to make it sound easy, and it's not. What particularly bothered me in this instance was that only after the author suffered tremendous brain trauma was she able to "step to the right [side of her brain:]" and, to simplify, let a bunch of crap go. I, however, have not suffered from a stroke, still experience the two hemispheres of my brain as a single consciousness, and am generally much harder-pressed to "step to the right." So back off, lady!
Some other notes: When I first heard the title, I thought it was very clever. However, I began to worry after the 5th or so time she used it in the first 2-3 chapters. And sure enough, the phrase didn't go away. It instead became so overused that it practically triggered my gag reflex by the end of the book. Also, the purpose of having an editor is to make a book better, especially by adding/removing things that will drive people to want to burn the book. This editor was either asleep, drunk, or high, as evidenced by the truly apalling and nauseating over-use of italics and exclamation points.
August 4, 2019
.
.
يالله ، إن الإنسان كائن هش سريع العطب ، " جيل تيلور "
عالمة وأخصائية المخ والأعصاب تتعرض إلى جلطة في الفص
الأيسر من الدماغ تُفقدها قدرات متعددة وتمضي في رحلة
علاج استمرت لأعوام هذه المرأة المستقلة المعتمدة كلياً على
ذاتها تجد نفسها بين ليلة وضحاها تعود لتصبح طفلة من جديد
تتلقى الرعاية من والدتها وتتعلم القراءة والكتابة والتحدث .
الكتاب عبارة عن سرد لأحداث حياة الدكتورة تيلور قبل الجلطة
وأثناءها ، وتجاوز حدود السير الذاتية عندما تطرقت به الكاتبة
إلى بعض المعلومات العلمية والتشريحية لكي نفهم ألية عمل
الدماغ البشري ونستوعب الأسباب التي أدت إلى تدهور قدرات
الكاتبة الحيوية .
وعلى الرغم من أهمية العناية الطبية التي حضيت بها الكاتبة
من قبل زملاءها والإختصاصيين إلا أنها أكدت أكثر من مرة
أن الدعم العاطفي والنفسي كان أهم عوامل تشافيها فتقول :
" الجلطة لم تفتح عيني على جمال العقل البشري ومرونته ،
ولكن أيضاً على كرم الروح البشرية وسخائها ، الكثير من الناس
الرائعين غذّوا قلبي بمحبتهم وأنا مُمتنة لكل الطيبة والإحسان
اللذين مُنحتهما ".
كانت الدكتورة جيل محاربة حقيقة ، لم تُصاب بالجزع أو
الخوف على العكس كانت شبه سعيدة وممتنة لهذه الجلطة
لأنها كشفت لها المعنى الحقيقي للحياة فتقول " لقد منحتني
تلك الجلطة التي أنارت بصيرتي عطية لا تُقدر بثمن ، وهي
إدراك أن السلام الداخلي العميق ليس سوى فكرة أو شعور
مرواغ وناءٍ ". " ولكي نتمكن من العيش في اللحظة الأنية علينا
أن نبطئ وتيرة عقولنا بوعي ".
.
.
ماذا بعد قراءة الكتاب ؟
أحيانا وجود الشيء الدائم حولنا وبنا يفقدنا الإحساس بوجوده
ولا نستوعب هذا الوجود ونشعر بأهميتإلا عندما نفقده أما
بشكل جزئي أو بشكل تام في تجربة الدكتورة جيل ما يُعيد
ترتيب قوائم الشكر لله على كل تلك النعم التي تسكُننا ونجهلها .
الحمدلله ❤️ .
.
للكاتبة محاضرة على موقع TEd تحدثت بها عن هذه التجربة .
https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_...
.
.
#تمت
#أبجدية_فرح 5/5
#الجلطة_التي_أنارت_بصيرتي
الكاتبة #جيل_بولتي_تيلور ~📚🌸
صادر عن #دار_مسعى للنشر والتوزيع ~.
.
يالله ، إن الإنسان كائن هش سريع العطب ، " جيل تيلور "
عالمة وأخصائية المخ والأعصاب تتعرض إلى جلطة في الفص
الأيسر من الدماغ تُفقدها قدرات متعددة وتمضي في رحلة
علاج استمرت لأعوام هذه المرأة المستقلة المعتمدة كلياً على
ذاتها تجد نفسها بين ليلة وضحاها تعود لتصبح طفلة من جديد
تتلقى الرعاية من والدتها وتتعلم القراءة والكتابة والتحدث .
الكتاب عبارة عن سرد لأحداث حياة الدكتورة تيلور قبل الجلطة
وأثناءها ، وتجاوز حدود السير الذاتية عندما تطرقت به الكاتبة
إلى بعض المعلومات العلمية والتشريحية لكي نفهم ألية عمل
الدماغ البشري ونستوعب الأسباب التي أدت إلى تدهور قدرات
الكاتبة الحيوية .
وعلى الرغم من أهمية العناية الطبية التي حضيت بها الكاتبة
من قبل زملاءها والإختصاصيين إلا أنها أكدت أكثر من مرة
أن الدعم العاطفي والنفسي كان أهم عوامل تشافيها فتقول :
" الجلطة لم تفتح عيني على جمال العقل البشري ومرونته ،
ولكن أيضاً على كرم الروح البشرية وسخائها ، الكثير من الناس
الرائعين غذّوا قلبي بمحبتهم وأنا مُمتنة لكل الطيبة والإحسان
اللذين مُنحتهما ".
كانت الدكتورة جيل محاربة حقيقة ، لم تُصاب بالجزع أو
الخوف على العكس كانت شبه سعيدة وممتنة لهذه الجلطة
لأنها كشفت لها المعنى الحقيقي للحياة فتقول " لقد منحتني
تلك الجلطة التي أنارت بصيرتي عطية لا تُقدر بثمن ، وهي
إدراك أن السلام الداخلي العميق ليس سوى فكرة أو شعور
مرواغ وناءٍ ". " ولكي نتمكن من العيش في اللحظة الأنية علينا
أن نبطئ وتيرة عقولنا بوعي ".
.
.
ماذا بعد قراءة الكتاب ؟
أحيانا وجود الشيء الدائم حولنا وبنا يفقدنا الإحساس بوجوده
ولا نستوعب هذا الوجود ونشعر بأهميتإلا عندما نفقده أما
بشكل جزئي أو بشكل تام في تجربة الدكتورة جيل ما يُعيد
ترتيب قوائم الشكر لله على كل تلك النعم التي تسكُننا ونجهلها .
الحمدلله ❤️ .
.
للكاتبة محاضرة على موقع TEd تحدثت بها عن هذه التجربة .
https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_...
.
.
#تمت
#أبجدية_فرح 5/5
#الجلطة_التي_أنارت_بصيرتي
الكاتبة #جيل_بولتي_تيلور ~📚🌸
صادر عن #دار_مسعى للنشر والتوزيع ~.
July 22, 2008
For me, the most fascinating part of this book is the description of the actual stroke and the immediate aftermath. To have suffered such a traumatic brain injury and live to tell about it in such detail is amazing. Doubly amazing for verbalizing what a brain is like when it goes non-verbal.
One funny detail during the stroke is that, while she's rapidly losing the ability to conceptualize numbers and language, somehow part of her brain still knew she needed HMO approval prior to using emergency services -- and found the HMO card and called her HMO doctor without really knowing what a doctor or numbers really were. Fear of medical bills is apparently deeply entrenched in our neural circuitry. Which is also the only reason I can think of to explain her medical collegue not calling for an ambulance after she contacted him. Oh, the brain cells that were lost simply because he drove over rather than letting paramedics quickly deal with the situation.
But that's just my left brain talking. While I loved the perspective of what it's like to be temporarily without your left hemisphere, by the end of the book, I felt she was overly left-brain negative. Once the narrative is no longer propelled forward by illness and recovery, the language becomes too cutesy puppies, rainbows, and ponies, pseudo-spiritual for my taste. Lovely message but true spirituality balances the good with real issues, rather than pleasant platitudes.
Five stars for the fascinating insight into strokes and brain function minus one star for the overly cutesy writing towards the end.
One funny detail during the stroke is that, while she's rapidly losing the ability to conceptualize numbers and language, somehow part of her brain still knew she needed HMO approval prior to using emergency services -- and found the HMO card and called her HMO doctor without really knowing what a doctor or numbers really were. Fear of medical bills is apparently deeply entrenched in our neural circuitry. Which is also the only reason I can think of to explain her medical collegue not calling for an ambulance after she contacted him. Oh, the brain cells that were lost simply because he drove over rather than letting paramedics quickly deal with the situation.
But that's just my left brain talking. While I loved the perspective of what it's like to be temporarily without your left hemisphere, by the end of the book, I felt she was overly left-brain negative. Once the narrative is no longer propelled forward by illness and recovery, the language becomes too cutesy puppies, rainbows, and ponies, pseudo-spiritual for my taste. Lovely message but true spirituality balances the good with real issues, rather than pleasant platitudes.
Five stars for the fascinating insight into strokes and brain function minus one star for the overly cutesy writing towards the end.
May 29, 2016
There's great value here - but you have to wade through a lot to get to it. Taylor's step-by-step recalling of her hemorrhagic left-hemisphere stroke was both enlightening and tedious. She was so acutely aware of what was happening - enough to describe in full detail here - but unable to really do anything about it. Once discovered, completely unable to comprehend and communicate, she goes through months of recovery, including a surgery to clear the blood clot. Her mother gently and compassionately cares for her, and over time and with a team of help, she learns to speak, read, move, and drive again.
I wasn't expecting such a metaphysical post-stroke synthesis in the second-half of the book, but I quite liked it - copying quotes down for future reference. (It was because of this section that I decided to go with 3-stars for the review - the beginning was 2-star territory for me.)
Taylor describes neuroplasticity in the simplest of terms. She describes the power to exert control over what areas of her brain to "turn back on" after the stroke. She chose to leave the anxiety "circuitry" unwired, along with the negativity and ego-centers of the left hemisphere. It's an interesting account, but I feel that there is a lot more to the story. I am curious, as this stroke occurred 20 years ago now in 1996, how Taylor's life continued to change after this altering event.
It was a quick read, and I found the section on caring for someone who is in this non-verbal state especially helpful.
I wasn't expecting such a metaphysical post-stroke synthesis in the second-half of the book, but I quite liked it - copying quotes down for future reference. (It was because of this section that I decided to go with 3-stars for the review - the beginning was 2-star territory for me.)
Since the hemorrhage, my eyes have been opened to how much choice I actually have about what goes on between my ears.
Taylor describes neuroplasticity in the simplest of terms. She describes the power to exert control over what areas of her brain to "turn back on" after the stroke. She chose to leave the anxiety "circuitry" unwired, along with the negativity and ego-centers of the left hemisphere. It's an interesting account, but I feel that there is a lot more to the story. I am curious, as this stroke occurred 20 years ago now in 1996, how Taylor's life continued to change after this altering event.
It was a quick read, and I found the section on caring for someone who is in this non-verbal state especially helpful.
March 16, 2020
تجري العادة أنني أُصادف كتبـــــــــــــــــا يقسم عقلي وقلبي أن لن ينساها ما حييت
وهذا تماماً ما حدث لي مع كتاب الجلطة التي أنارت بصيرتي الذي يمثل تجربة شخصية بكامل عواطفها وأفكارها وتعقيداتها لعالمة في المخ.
د. جيل تايلور
تحيك الأقدار لها لأن تصاب بأحد الأيام بجلطة , لتتحول من عالمة في المخ إلى أصابتها بجلطة في فص دماغها الأيســــــــر, جعلتها تفقد القدرة على الحراك والتناسق العضلي, فقد مراكز اللغة , الإدراك
كانت كطفلٍ لا يفقه شيئاً كما قالت " كان عقلي كطفلة , عائدة إلى طفولتها"
تسرد د. جيل حكايتها منذ فاجعة الجلطة , ومدى الروعة لشعورها كمثال حي لما قامت بدراسته , ومحاولات تحليلها لما جرى , إلى طلبها للمساعدة ودخولها المشفى وبدء رحلة العلاج على أمل أن ترجع إلى ما كانت عليه
الجلطة لم تكن طامة على قدر ما كانت نعمة بالنسبة لها
فالجلطة أصابت فصها الأيسر المتحكم بالخوف , والقلق , وثرثرة الدماغ وأيقظت الجلطة فصها الأيمن الهدوء والسلام الداخلي
كانت الجلطة كوقت مستقطع لإعادة ترتيب كيانها وذاتها
هذا الكتاب لم يكن مجرد كتاب فقط اقرأه وأنهيه ويستمد عقلي منه بالمعلومات الرائعة التي حاولت د .جيل تقديمها للقارئ بسلاسة وببساطة ودون أي تعقيد
بل كان كرسالة أن اعطي لعقلك ونفسك الوقت الكافي وأوقف "ثرثرة المخ " كما قالت " اهتموا بحدائق عقولكم"
أحب مثل هذه القصص أحببتُ إصرارها في أن تعود كما كانت
-----------------
مودة آلبـــــــرغثي^^❤
وهذا تماماً ما حدث لي مع كتاب الجلطة التي أنارت بصيرتي الذي يمثل تجربة شخصية بكامل عواطفها وأفكارها وتعقيداتها لعالمة في المخ.
د. جيل تايلور
تحيك الأقدار لها لأن تصاب بأحد الأيام بجلطة , لتتحول من عالمة في المخ إلى أصابتها بجلطة في فص دماغها الأيســــــــر, جعلتها تفقد القدرة على الحراك والتناسق العضلي, فقد مراكز اللغة , الإدراك
كانت كطفلٍ لا يفقه شيئاً كما قالت " كان عقلي كطفلة , عائدة إلى طفولتها"
تسرد د. جيل حكايتها منذ فاجعة الجلطة , ومدى الروعة لشعورها كمثال حي لما قامت بدراسته , ومحاولات تحليلها لما جرى , إلى طلبها للمساعدة ودخولها المشفى وبدء رحلة العلاج على أمل أن ترجع إلى ما كانت عليه
الجلطة لم تكن طامة على قدر ما كانت نعمة بالنسبة لها
فالجلطة أصابت فصها الأيسر المتحكم بالخوف , والقلق , وثرثرة الدماغ وأيقظت الجلطة فصها الأيمن الهدوء والسلام الداخلي
كانت الجلطة كوقت مستقطع لإعادة ترتيب كيانها وذاتها
هذا الكتاب لم يكن مجرد كتاب فقط اقرأه وأنهيه ويستمد عقلي منه بالمعلومات الرائعة التي حاولت د .جيل تقديمها للقارئ بسلاسة وببساطة ودون أي تعقيد
بل كان كرسالة أن اعطي لعقلك ونفسك الوقت الكافي وأوقف "ثرثرة المخ " كما قالت " اهتموا بحدائق عقولكم"
أحب مثل هذه القصص أحببتُ إصرارها في أن تعود كما كانت
-----------------
مودة آلبـــــــرغثي^^❤
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2010
Everyone who has ever had a stroke must have this book read to them, slowly. Everyone who ever knew anyone who had a stroke must read this book. The author was a brain scientist with a Ph.D. in neuroanatomy. She described her experience of having a stroke, the loss of her faculties, her surgery, and recovery over a period of almost a decade, to someone like the woman she was before the stroke.
Her description of how to help a stroke victim on their return from a hospital are remarkable. The relationship between herself and her mother, who taught her how to see and think and read and move again, is remarkable and touching. Most important, it offers proof and hope to stroke victims and their families for as complete a recovery as is possible.
If someone you know has a stroke, or if a family member or close friend has a stroke, but this book for them and the people who love them ASAP. I keep a couple of spare copies on hand to give away. There is one in my car in case I need one while I am at a hospital.
Her description of how to help a stroke victim on their return from a hospital are remarkable. The relationship between herself and her mother, who taught her how to see and think and read and move again, is remarkable and touching. Most important, it offers proof and hope to stroke victims and their families for as complete a recovery as is possible.
If someone you know has a stroke, or if a family member or close friend has a stroke, but this book for them and the people who love them ASAP. I keep a couple of spare copies on hand to give away. There is one in my car in case I need one while I am at a hospital.
October 12, 2022
يا لعظمة هذا العقل!
هذه المرّة الأولى التي أقرأ فيها لشخص متخصص في احد مجالات العلوم البحتة، ويكتب بكل تلك الروحانية!
الترجمة بديعة جدًا.
هذه المرّة الأولى التي أقرأ فيها لشخص متخصص في احد مجالات العلوم البحتة، ويكتب بكل تلك الروحانية!
الترجمة بديعة جدًا.
April 3, 2021
واحنا صغيرين في المدرسة كنا بناخد ان كل خلايا الجسم بتجدد نفسها، لو ماتت، الجسم بيصنع غيرها، ودي القدرة على الشفاء الي موجودة في جسمنا.
ما عدا الخلايا العصبية، معندهاش القدرة على الانقسام ولا التجديد، لو ماتت، بتبقى دي النهاية لوظيفتها، دا سبب اننا بنفضل محتفظين بذكرياتنا وخبراتنا وطفولتنا ونضوجنا العقلي بمرور الوقت انما مش بتموت، لو حصل لقدر الله، أي مشكلة خارجية او داخلية ادت لموت الخلية العصبية زي بعض انواع الشلل او الامراض النفسية الي بيفقد فيها المريض خلاياه، مبيبقاش في طريقة تانية لاستعادتها .... ولكن
في طريقة للمخ انه يعوض الضرر الي حصل، مصطلح من لحظة ما سمعته اول مرة من 4 سنين، مازال بيبهرني:
مرونة المخ/ Neuroplasticity / brain plasticity
ان لو في جزء مات في المخ، هيعوضه مكان تاني في المخ، شبه فقدان حاسة البصر بتتعوض بحاسة اللمس بتبقى حادة عن أي شخص آخر.
جيل وصفته بطريقة حلوة اوي، لو عندكم مجموعات من الاطفال بيلعبوا العاب متنوعة ومختلفة، وجيت عند مجموعة اخدت اللعبة منهم، فهما مش هيسيبوا اللعب خالص ويمشوا، لا، هيروحوا يلعبوا في الألعاب التانية المتاحة
الكتاب عن د.جيل تايلور دكتورة مخ وأعصاب اتعرضت لجلطة ادت لضرر كبير افقدها الفص الأيسر للمخ، المسئول عن وظائف مهمة وكثيرة في الجسم، هتعيش رحلة عمرها 8 سنين، تستعيد فيها قدرات بنكون فاكرين اننا اتولدنا بيها، بس الحقيقة اننا بنكتسبها وبنتعلمها واحنا اطفال.
رحلة عظيمة بتظهرلك قد ايه كل حاجة صغيرة جدا جدا بنعملها ببساطة، كان ليها طريق صعب جدا ودقيق بشكل مبهر لاكتسابها، تفاصيل التفاصيل للتفاصيل المربكة للأعصاب بتشق طريقها للحياة.
وبرده كان في أجزاء كثيرة فيها اسهاب ممل وفي تكرارات كثيرة صراحة كنت بعدي بسرعة عليهم.
عجبني اوي فكرة قدرتنا على اختيار الوعي ورؤيتنا واحساسنا، انك تكون قاعد متضايق ومرة واحدة تقول لا انا هنبسط ف تنبسط، بالسهولة دي، ومع التكرار هتتعود على الانبساط وهتكون شخص فرفوش، سعادتك وانبساطك هيوصلك لدرجة سهلة جدا زي قدرتك على التوازن وانت واقف، بس معرفش ليه اغلب الناس مش بيفكروا بالطريقة دي، او ايه سبب اختلاف اثنين عاشوا نفس الظروف والحياة، واحد قرر يبقى متفائل على طول و واحد متشائم على طول ؟!
في المجمل فهو كتاب لطيف اوي، سهل جدا وسلس موجه لكل الناس وليس الدكاترة فقط، ويستحق القراءة.
July 2, 2014
You couldn't invent a more interesting premise: Dr. Taylor, a brain scientist, has a major stroke and goes through years of rehabilitation after the left hemisphere of her brain is severely damaged. She ultimately recovers and records her detailed memories of the stroke and its aftereffects.
Dr. Taylor has given a talk on this subject at a TED Conference -- see the video at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ji...
This is what drew me to reading My Stroke of Insight, and the book does deliver on its promise before it veers off into territory that I couldn't quite appreciate.
Dr. Taylor begins with some basic, fundamental brain science, to set the scene. It's written to be understandable to the layperson, and succeeds on that account. She then describes the day of her stroke, combining recollections of her experience with reminders of the science behind the events that occurred.
This is fascinating stuff, allowing us to satisfy our curiosity and learn something at the same time.
Then, Dr. Taylor spends the rest of the book sharing her recovery experience, including the epiphany that she had as a result of the stroke. She explains that her damaged left hemisphere gave her right hemisphere a chance to flourish, and thus taught her the value of her right hemisphere. She contrasts her blissful experience of right-brained living with our culture's emphasis on the left hemisphere's reason, task-orientation and linear thinking.
She has a point -- but I didn't really appreciate the feeling that I was reading a self-help book with no clear path to actually helping one's self! This part of the book features too much repetition, and too many shiny promises of bliss awaiting us, if we only knew how to get there. Short of having a stroke, all we get is advice that amounts to: meditate, and tell your left hemisphere to be quiet. Prune it back. It sounds good in theory, but this is slippery stuff.
I recommend this book for its unique look into how our brains work and what happens when they go wrong. Just know, going in, that you may or may not appreciate the unusual combination of science, memoir and self-help.
Dr. Taylor has given a talk on this subject at a TED Conference -- see the video at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ji...
This is what drew me to reading My Stroke of Insight, and the book does deliver on its promise before it veers off into territory that I couldn't quite appreciate.
Dr. Taylor begins with some basic, fundamental brain science, to set the scene. It's written to be understandable to the layperson, and succeeds on that account. She then describes the day of her stroke, combining recollections of her experience with reminders of the science behind the events that occurred.
This is fascinating stuff, allowing us to satisfy our curiosity and learn something at the same time.
Then, Dr. Taylor spends the rest of the book sharing her recovery experience, including the epiphany that she had as a result of the stroke. She explains that her damaged left hemisphere gave her right hemisphere a chance to flourish, and thus taught her the value of her right hemisphere. She contrasts her blissful experience of right-brained living with our culture's emphasis on the left hemisphere's reason, task-orientation and linear thinking.
She has a point -- but I didn't really appreciate the feeling that I was reading a self-help book with no clear path to actually helping one's self! This part of the book features too much repetition, and too many shiny promises of bliss awaiting us, if we only knew how to get there. Short of having a stroke, all we get is advice that amounts to: meditate, and tell your left hemisphere to be quiet. Prune it back. It sounds good in theory, but this is slippery stuff.
I recommend this book for its unique look into how our brains work and what happens when they go wrong. Just know, going in, that you may or may not appreciate the unusual combination of science, memoir and self-help.
August 22, 2013
When this fascinating book, My Stroke of Insight, came into my life...my husband picked it up at the library...I thought, Nice title! and that was that. I wasn't up for a book about a person having a stroke. Even when I heard that the author, Jill Bolte Taylor, is a brain scientist, I didn't appreciate how riveting and instructive her narrative could be. Fortunately, after a barrage of raves from my husband, I finally started to read it. Taylor was 36, and alone at home, when she had her stroke. It took her about the same number of minutes (35) to piece together the images in her right brain (her left was hemorrhaging) in order to call her colleague at Harvard. She wasn't able to talk, but he recognized her sounds. It took her eight years to make a full recovery. Not only did she return to teaching, she wrote this book--an intimate account of her brain, during the stroke and during her recovery, AND the by-far best description of right and left brain activity. I am going to recommend this book to all my friends interested in recovery issues (Taylor has a lot of good advice), all the moms in my life (Taylor lays out in detail the left brain/right brain phenomenon), and all the caregivers I know (Taylor has a lot to say about caregiving too).
July 16, 2018
This book is an amazing story of a neuro-scientist who experiences her own stroke. She not only recognizes obvious symptoms like loss of speech and one-sided paralysis, but she can envision what is happening on the cell level in her brain.
Fortunately, with the extreme patience and love of her mother, she eventually regains enough function to live on her own and resume work. Some parts of her job are too stressing and now too difficult, so she works out a different job description with her boss. Part of her job before involved travel and speaking. She moved into that role full time. I watched some videos of the author online, and she is clearly highly intelligent and very articulate. She considerd herself fully recovered at eight years post-stroke.
Taylor's "stroke of insight" (a phrase used over and over in the book) mainly refers to her decision not to allow any negative thoughts, ego, or stress that normally generates from the left brain (the side assaulted by the stroke) to enter her life post-stroke. She makes a conscious effort to verbally thank the cells, organs and systems in her body for doing a good job. She also relates a lot of her understanding of how the right brain works to negative or positive energy that she is now able to intuit to guide her life.
Fortunately, with the extreme patience and love of her mother, she eventually regains enough function to live on her own and resume work. Some parts of her job are too stressing and now too difficult, so she works out a different job description with her boss. Part of her job before involved travel and speaking. She moved into that role full time. I watched some videos of the author online, and she is clearly highly intelligent and very articulate. She considerd herself fully recovered at eight years post-stroke.
Taylor's "stroke of insight" (a phrase used over and over in the book) mainly refers to her decision not to allow any negative thoughts, ego, or stress that normally generates from the left brain (the side assaulted by the stroke) to enter her life post-stroke. She makes a conscious effort to verbally thank the cells, organs and systems in her body for doing a good job. She also relates a lot of her understanding of how the right brain works to negative or positive energy that she is now able to intuit to guide her life.
December 15, 2011
From the anatomically correct stained glass brain on the front (which the author made, a second version displayed at Harvard) to the back cover praise, this is an intriguing, educational, dually mindful book about the 50 trillion cells that make a human being go. Dr. Bolte Taylor's journey back into both sides of her brain, after the left hemisphere of her brain took an unauthorized 8 year sabbatical is a story that needs to be required reading for staff at nursing homes, assisted living centers, hospitals and in homes with anyone living with a mental/cognitive impairment. Her Recommendations for Recovery in the back ought to be posted in all healthcare facilities. This memoir is a personal and scientific account of how our brains function, how we can help improve that function just by being aware of the neurocircuitry and physiological effects of how we think. Did you know the left brain is the storyteller? Given not enough information, the left hemisphere will make stuff up and make us believe it's true. And we can instruct it what to pay attention to. She calls it tending our garden. Dr. Taylor offers the reader the power to create the human being the reader wants to be. Awesome, heady territory. I appreciate her sharing this gift to humankind, and me personally.
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