Rebooting My Brain: How a Freak Aneurysm Reframed My Life [Kindle Edition]

Maria Ross (Author)

Book Description

Rebooting My Brain is the true story of what happens when you get yanked out of your life by a crisis―and have to get back on the ride all over again. With refreshing candor, Maria Ross shares how the relentless pace of her life came to a screeching halt when an undetected brain aneurysm ruptured and nearly killed her. Along her stubborn road back to health, her resulting cognitive and emotional challenges forced her―sometimes kicking and screaming―to reframe her life, her work and her identity.

With humor and heart, Ross shares what it was like being blind for six weeks, how a TV crime drama and a brain-games website played key roles in her recovery, and why a handmade necklace helped her regain her sense of self.

Ross reveals the keys to her extraordinary comeback and how her perspective is forever changed, mostly for the better. Funny, touching and real, this book not only shares an inspirational story of transformation but reveals the surprising effects of brain injury…and explores the question, “How do our brains define who we are?”

Editorial Reviews

Review

A captivating, deeply authentic memoir of a devastating illness and a heroic recovery. Maria Ross' memoir Rebooting My Brain is a testament to one woman's personal courage and a reminder that health is a tenuous treasure. -- Carol Cassella, best-selling author of Oxygen and Healer

Maria Ross weaves a tale of inspiration, love and hope about an active woman reclaiming her life after an unexpected crisis. Her humorous and honest voice leaps off the page and makes you feel as if you're talking to her over coffee, even when she's describing medical procedures. This is a must-read for anyone who's ever had the rug pulled out from under them, not just brain injury survivors and their families. --Ingrid Ricks, author of Hippie Boy: A Girl s Story

Rebooting My Brain is a deeply moving account of Maria Ross's brain aneurysm and her struggle to come to terms with it. She has written a memoir full of humor, grace, and hope, making it clear such a devastating injury can be overcome and can even serve as a means of discovering what is truly important in this life. --Nick O Connell, author of On Sacred Ground: The Spirit of Place in Pacific Northwest Literature and founder of TheWritersWorkshop.net.

About the Author

Maria Ross is a consultant, writer, speaker and actress who believed that cash flow and creativity are not mutually exclusive. She writes frequently about branding, entrepreneurship, inspiration and even great wine for outlets including San Francisco Downtown, IntoWine.com, Sharp Skirts, DiningOutSF, Entrepreneur.com, American Express Open Forum and Seattle Business. Maria is also a dynamic keynote and workshop speaker and has been featured in Entrepreneur and on MSNBC and NPR. She is a lover of animals, red wine, travel, independent film, crime dramas, dry humor, football and Jeopardy. Maria lives with her husband Paul and their Black Lab mix, Eddie, in Seattle, Washington but they are soon headed back to the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• File Size: 330 KB
• Print Length: 189 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0984893903
• Publisher: Red Slice Press (January 30, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0073X6I26
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,916 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Nervous System
  • #9 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Nervous System
  • #16 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Medical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Rebooting my opinion... March 3, 2012

By Candy Beauchamp TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

I was provided a copy of this book and asked to review it. Because it was such a unique topic and one I was very interested in, I read it pretty quickly. I didn't know a whole lot about aneurysms but from what I knew of them, I thought they were pretty much debilitating and were nearly impossible to recover from.

I was surprised by this author's candor and ability to share her journey so openly. She welcomes in to her life, both pre and post aneurysm and walks us through what she felt like. I felt most connected to her when she was talking about what her work life was like after. As a small business owner myself, this is one of my worst nightmares... what happens if something happens to me? What about my family? How will they deal with that? How will I?

I like that she doesn't have all the answers. I like that she got angry. I like that she got sad. I like that she got frustrated. What I liked the most is that she was able to find her way back. Maybe not exactly where she left off, but to a new life. To a new path. I think that's a testament to who she is and who she is to become. My hats off to her.

The book is well edited and formatted. A dream for someone that reads a lot of self-published works. I wish all were as well done.

My only reservation is that I felt we were missing some hole in her story. I don't really know what that hole is or what part of her life, but there did appear to be some gap there. It doesn't take away from the story and, of course, it may be that she chose to leave it out. Not entirely helpful since I can't place it, but it still nags me a bit.

Overall, this is a great book. I love memoirs and they are my favorite genre. This one did not disappoint, but also gave me a lot insight into something I didn't know a whole lot about. I liked that she was able to entertain while informing. Well done, indeed.

Recommended for anyone that likes memoirs and those who want to learn something about brain injuries.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A excellent description of a brain bleed and recovery February 29, 2012

By Kathryn K. Sweet

Format:Kindle Edition

I really enjoyed this true story of Maria and her recovery from a very very life threatening brain bleed. She has a naturally sunny disposition and I believe this serves her well in her recovery. She says at one point it was like going to her funeral while she was still alive as she learned how important she was in her friend's and families lives something not everyone gets to know. She provides very clear non medical description of her subarachnoid hemorrhage and the treatments that she receives and the stumbling blocks in her miraculous recovery. What amazed me was that she seems not to harbor any ill feelings towards the doctor that missed the diagnosis- if made sooner it might have saved some of her brain tissue and left her without permanent deficits.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it."

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pulls at your smart-strings as well as your heart-strings February 16, 2012

By Betsy Talbot

Format:Kindle Edition

The thing I like about this book is it is about one woman's story, but it really about all of us. Who hasn't had worried about something like this happening to them? Maria's blend of her experience, that of those around her, and the science behind it all is educational and inspirational.

I know Maria and was there through much of this experience, but there were many, many things I did not know. The book is intensely personal, but it contains a level of humor and candor that keeps it from getting too sappy or maudlin.

This is a book for smart people who want to understand more about how their own brains work as well as how to support someone who has suffered any type of brain trauma. The recovery lasts far longer than a hospital stay, and that was my big takeaway from this book. Even with a miraculous recovery like Maria's, some changes are permanent and we need to realize that and adapt.

I'm glad she chose to share her story. If you like smart women, great comebacks, and stories that pull at your smart-strings as much as your heart-strings, you will like this book.

More About the Author

Storytelling is an art but Maria Ross has it down to a science.

Maria Ross is a consultant, author, speaker and actress who believes that cash flow and creativity are not mutually exclusive. As a child doing TV commercials from the tender age of six, she was destined for marketing, sales - or TV show hosting.

Maria runs Red Slice, a branding consultancy and business (and beyond) blog. She writes frequently about branding, marketing, entrepreneurship and--even great wine--for such outlets as San Francisco Downtown, IntoWine.com, Sharp Skirts, DiningOutSF, Entrepreneur.com, American Express Open Forum and Seattle Business.

Maria is also a dynamic keynote speaker and has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and on MSNBC, The Mike Siegel Show, Butler on Business and KUOW Seattle (NPR). She is a lover of animals, red wine, travel, independent film, crime dramas, dry humor, football and Jeopardy. Maria lives in Seattle with her husband Paul and their black Lab mix, Eddie.

Follow Maria on Twitter (@redslice) on Facebook (facebook.com/redslice) or visit her website, www.red-slice.com.