My Stroke of Insight : A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

by Taylor, Jill Bolte

• ISBN13: 9780452295544
• ISBN10: 0452295548
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-26
• Publisher: Plume

Summary

The astonishing New York Timesbestseller that chronicles how a brain scientist's own stroke led to enlightenment On December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven- year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain. As she observed her mind deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life-all within four hours-Taylor alternated between the euphoria of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized she was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was completely lost. It would take her eight years to fully recover. For Taylor, her stroke was a blessing and a revelation. It taught her that by "stepping to the right" of our left brains, we can uncover feelings of well-being that are often sidelined by "brain chatter." Reaching wide audiences through her talk at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference and her appearance on Oprah's online Soul Series, Taylor provides a valuable recovery guide for those touched by brain injury and an inspiring testimony that inner peace is accessible to anyone.

Author Biography

Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D., is a neuron-anatomist affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine. She is the national spokesperson at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Brain Bank), and one of Time magazine-'s 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2008.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Heart to Heart, Brain to Brain	p. xiii
Jill's Pre-Stroke Life	p. 1
Simple Science	p. 9
Hemispheric Asymmetries	p. 26
Morning of the Stroke	p. 36
Orchestrating My Reduce	p. 48
My Return to the Still	p. 58
Bare to the Bone	p. 66
Neurological Intensive Care	p. 76
Day Two: The Morning After	p. 83
Day Three: G.G. Comes to Town	p. 89
Healing and Preparing for Surgery	p. 96
Stereotactic Craniotomy	p. 112
What I Needed the Most	p. 115
Milestones for Recovery	p. 128
My Stroke of Insight	p. 138
My Right and Left Minds	p. 144
Own Your Power	p. 153
Cells and Multidimensional Circuitry	p. 157
Finding Your Deep Inner Peace	p. 168
Tending the Garden	p. 185
Resources	p. 189
Recommendation for Recovery
Appendix A	p. 191
Appendix B	p. 193
The Harvard Brian Bank	p. 197
Index	p. 201
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