Book Talk Thursday

Today I'm sharing my first book! I've read 4 and I have a stack the size of a small mountain to still delve into!

May I now present...

My Stroke of Insight
by
Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D

What's in the title?

This book tells the unlikely story of a neuroanatomist who endures a stroke and remembers many details of her actual stroke as well as that of her entire recovery. Talk about INSIGHT! She studies the brain and she lives to tell about the trauma of her own brain injury.

Tell about the main characters.

Jill--a young to middle aged, single, childless, intelligent scientist

G.G.--Jill's caring, do-all mother

Setting?

Jill's home, the hospital

Who's telling the story?

Jill Bolte Taylor

What is the book's genre?

Biography / Memoir

How does the book start? How does it end?

Jill's days before the stroke, the stroke
What Jill has learned and appreciated post-recovery

What is the problem in the story?

Jill's stroke!

How does the problem get solved?

Her recovery which ultimately took 8 years; she's now considered fully recovered!

What was the purpose of this book?

To provide insight to those who have not had such a massive brain injury about what it's like to endure and recover from a stroke.

What kind of connection did you have with the story or character?

She and I both have survived a stroke. Pointblank we have that in common. But the recovery, while different in some ways, is poignantly the same. There were so many times while reading that I wished those around me had read certain passages of this book because there was no way to understand such an injury without having been through it themselves or reading someone's words who had been through it.

What is the lesson or moral of the story?

People who've had strokes often are slower. Their brains are slower their actions are slower. They need you to be slower too when approaching them.

When moving slower you often can appreciate certain aspects of life that you may miss when moving through your day quickly.

What is your favorite part of the story?

Jill's recovery. I experienced many of the same things that she dead and appreciated her insight! 

"Because every brain is unique in its neurological wiring, every brain is unique in this ability to recover from trauma."

"On this special day I learned the meaning of simply being."

"Think about the last time you reached out to someone or something with genuine compassion. How did it feel inside your body? To be compassionate is to move into the right here, right now with an open heart consciousness and a willingness to be supportive."

"when I am simply grateful, life is simply great!"

"I have learned so much from this experience with stroke that I actually feel fortunate to have taken this journey. Thanks to this trauma, I have had the chance to witness firsthand a few things about my brain that otherwise I would never have imagined to be true. For these simple insights, I will always be grateful--not just for myself but for the hope these possibilities may bring to how we, as a people, choose to view and nurture our brains and consequently behave on this planet."

"I must be willing to give up but I am in order to become what I will be." Einstein