In this real-life, insightful book, we are able to see and experience the intricate relationships of arguably the most complex organ in the human body during a major traumatic event from the victim herself who is also an expert on the brain. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor gives us a very rare point of view, in the fact that she is the sister of a mentally impaired person, a Harvard trained neuroanatomist, an advocate for the mentally impaired, a published researcher, a victim of major brain trauma, and a recovering mentally impaired person. Through her well trained brain and perspective she gives us a detailed understanding of her left and right brain interactions before, during, and after her hemorrhagic stroke. This leads to one of the most intriguing neuroscience books I have ever read, which is why I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.
After Taylor tells her history of becoming a well-respected researcher and advocate for schizophrenic minds with the NAMI, she goes into detail on basic brain anatomy. She does a great job of describing basic neuroanatomy from the cerebral cortex to the aneurysm. The "Hemispheric Asymmetries" chapter was really interesting where she was able to give the readers great examples to be able to understand the differences between the two hemispheres. For instance, on page 30, she says that our right brain thinks in pictures and our left-brain "thrives on details, details, and more details about those details." I was able to use the connections that she made between the two hemispheres throughout the book to keep track of why she could not perform certain tasks during her stroke, which I think was her main goal of that chapter. The pictures, along with her tendency to avoid or explain jargon really well, allow anyone with some knowledge of the brain to understand what she was talking about. It is my opinion that someone who has never studied the brain could get a good idea or understanding of the brain as it relates to stroke so they could follow the rest of the book without missing a beat.
Beginning in the chapter "Morning of the Stroke," the reader sees her thinking process and how certain aspects, that is normally associated with the left side of the brain where the stroke is occurring, starts to fade. I find it very hard to believe that she was thinking things like, "Oh my gosh, I'm having a stroke! I'm having a stroke! And in the next instant, the thought flashed through my mind, Wow this is so cool!" However, I have never experienced a stroke so it could be plausible. I loved how she was able to walk the readers through her thought process. It is interesting to see that she could relate the parts of her brain that were affected based on what motor function she was losing (pg. 39). I also liked how during the next few chapters, she gave the readers examples of how her left brain was taking a back seat to her right brain. For example in "Orchestrating my Rescue" (pg 52), she says that she didn't call 911 because " the neurons that coded 911 were now swimming in a pool of blood, so the concept simply didn't exist for me anymore." And even after the stroke when the doctor asked her who the president of the USA was, she had to think about each word and process the entire question, which took hours. The details from her left mind could not be accessed so she eventually gave up. She said it was because she could only think of pictures that the right mind had and not generate the details that the left mind had. Also, she gave the readers insight into things I have never thought about for instance on page 103 when she says that her mother had to tell her about color before she was able to understand or use that as a tool and the same went for 3-D perspectives. She had to be told that things could be positioned in front of other things.
As someone who had a grandmother who was severely affected by a stroke, the chapters 4-13 gave me a large amount of insight into what my grandmother might have been experiencing that day. I can understand that she had no idea what was going on or what was happening to her because it even took Dr. Taylor several minutes to figure this out. These chapters are great for anyone who know or knew someone who had a stroke. It allows the reader into their shoes, and it allows them to understand what they were thinking during their stroke. This is something that is hard to obtain from any other source. It is possible here because Dr. Taylor understood exactly what was going on during each phase of her brain trauma. This is what makes the book so invaluable to families of stroke victims because understanding what she said in these few chapters could go a long way for families or friends of stroke victims.
The rest of the book talks about how she recovered, how she changed her thinking, and how she found inner piece. My favorite was the chapter entitled "My Right and Left Mind." I really enjoyed how she was able to document how her right mind thought differently than her left and how she coped and learned from her left mind as it started to recover. She was about to gain a deep understanding of the characteristics of both sides and then able to learn how to integrate more of her right brain into her everyday life as her left mind healed. It is amazing to see how someone appreciates the brain so much even while it is letting her down to some extent.
All in all, I think that this book accomplished its goal, which was to give a stroke of insight to a wide range of individuals. It is for those who have had a family member or close friend who has had a stroke to researchers who study brain trauma. It is both suitable for the scientist or layperson's mind that will both be intrigued and will gain something from the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the brain during trauma because these same types of processes occur during any brain trauma not just stroke. From the perspective of someone who studies traumatic brain injury, stroke rehabilitation, and neuroscience and someone who had a grandmother who suffered from a terrible stroke, this book has allowed me to appreciate my research more. It made me realize why my work is so important while also allowing me to understand what my grandmother went through and understand what was going on with her during her stroke. This is a life-changing read.
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About the author
Invaluable insight into how the brain works and gaining control of our thoughts
This may not be the kind of book I’d generally pick up for an enjoyable read, but having devoured it, I’m compelled to share. “My Stroke of Insight” takes the reader along through this young brain scientist’s personal experience with a massive hemorrhagic stroke and its aftermath, including her recovery both from the stroke and subsequent surgery to remove a golf ball sized blood clot. It provides fascinating and inspiring insight into how our brains function, particularly the independent natures of the left and right hemispheres, and how best to facilitate and encourage recovery. The bonus in all this is understanding that we can learn to control our own negative brain chatter and achieve inner peace. I found this to be an engaging and highly worthwhile read.
Top reviews from other countries
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- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Spain on November 27, 2021
One of the best books I have ever read in my whole life!! Thank you, Jill.
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