Product Description
The astonishing New York Times bestseller 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.

Amazon.com Review
A brain scientist's journey from a debilitating stroke to full recovery becomes an inspiring exploration of human consciousness and its possibilities On the morning of December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist, experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. A neuroanatomist by profession, she observed her own mind completely deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four brief hours. As the damaged left side of her brain--the rational, grounded, detail- and time-oriented side--swung in and out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realties: the euphoric nirvana 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 Jill was having a stroke, and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely. In My Stroke of Insight, Taylor shares her unique perspective on the brain and its capacity for recovery, and the sense of omniscient understanding she gained from this unusual and inspiring voyage out of the abyss of a wounded brain. It would take eight years for Taylor to heal completely. Because of her knowledge of how the brain works, her respect for the cells composing her human form, and most of all an amazing mother, Taylor completely repaired her mind and recalibrated her understanding of the world according to the insights gained from her right brain that morning of December 10th. Today Taylor is convinced that the stroke was the best thing that could have happened to her. It has taught her that the feeling of nirvana is never more than a mere thought away. By stepping to the right of our left brains, we can all uncover the feelings of well-being and peace that are so often sidelined by our own brain chatter. A fascinating journey into the mechanics of the human mind, My Stroke of Insight is both a valuable recovery guide for anyone touched by a brain injury, and an emotionally stirring testimony that deep internal peace truly is accessible to anyone, at any time. Questions for Jill Bolte Taylor Amazon.com: Your first reaction when you realized what was happening to your body was one you would expect: "Oh my gosh, I'm having a stroke!" Your second, though, was a little more surprising: "Wow, this is so cool!" What could be cool about a stroke? Taylor: I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who is only 18 months older than I am. He was very different in the way he perceived experiences and then chose to behave. As a result, I became fascinated with the human brain and how it creates our perception of reality. He was eventually diagnosed with the brain disorder schizophrenia, and I dedicated my career to the postmortem investigation of the human brain in an attempt to understand, at a biological level, what are the differences between my brain and my brother’s brain. On the morning of the stroke, I realized that my brain was no longer functioning like a "normal" brain and this insight into my brother's reality excited me. I was fascinated to intimately understand what it might be like on the inside for someone who would not be diagnosed as normal. Through the eyes of a curious scientist, this was an absolutely rare and fascinating experience for me to witness the breakdown of my own mind. Amazon.com: What did you learn about the brain from your stroke and your recovery that your scientific training hadn't prepared you for? Taylor: My scientific training did not teach me anything about the human spirit and the value of compassion. I had been trained as a scientist, not as a clinician. I can only hope that we are teaching our future physicians about compassion in medicine, and I know that some medical schools, including the Indiana University School of Medicine, have created a curriculum with this intention. My training as a scientist, however, did provide me with a roadmap to how the body and brain work. And although I lost my left cognitive mind that thinks in language, I retained my right hemisphere that thinks in pictures. As a result, although I could not communicate with the external world, I had an intuitive understanding about what I needed to do in order to create an environment in which the cells in my brain could be happy and healthy enough that they could regain their function. In addition, because of my training, I had an innate trust in the ability of my brain to be able to recover itself and my mother and I respected the organ by listening to it. For example, when I was tired, I allowed my brain to sleep, and when I was fresh and capable of focusing my attention, we gave me age-appropriate toys and tools with which to work. Amazon.com: Your stroke affected functions in your left brain, leaving you to what you call the "la-la land" of your right hemisphere. What was it like to live in your right brain, and then to rebuild your left? Taylor: When the cells in my left brain became nonfunctional because they were swimming in a pool of blood, they lost their ability to inhibit the cells in my right hemisphere. In my right brain, I shifted into the consciousness of the present moment. I was in the right here, right now awareness, with no memories of my past and no perception of the future. The beauty of La-la land (my right hemisphere experience of the present moment) was that everything was an explosion of magnificent stimulation and I dwelled in a space of euphoria. This is great way to exist if you don't have to communicate with the external world or care whether or not you have the capacity to learn. I found that in order for me to be able to learn anything, however, I had to take information from the last moment and apply it to the present moment. When my left hemisphere was completely nonfunctional early on, it was impossible for me to learn, which was okay with me, but I am sure it was frustrating for those around me. A simple example of this was trying to put on my shoes and socks. I eventually became physically capable of putting my shoes and socks on, but I had no ability to understand why I would have to put my socks on before my shoes. To me they were simply independent actions that were not related and I did not have the cognitive ability to figure out the appropriate sequencing of the events. Over time, I regained the ability to weave moments back together to create an expanse of time, and with this ability came the ability to learn methodically again. Life in La-la land will always be just a thought away, but I am truly grateful for the ability to think with linearity once again. Amazon.com: What can we learn about our brains and ourselves from your experience, even if we haven't lived through the kind of brain trauma you have? Taylor: I learned that I have much more say about what goes on between my ears than I was ever taught and I believe that this is true for all of us. I used to understand that I had the ability to stop thinking about one thing by consciously choosing to preoccupy my mind with thinking about something else. But I had no idea that it only took 90 seconds for me to have an emotional circuit triggered, flush a physiological response through my body and then flush completely out of me. We can all learn that we can take full responsibility for what thoughts we are thinking and what emotional circuitry we are feeling. Knowing this and acting on this can lead us into feeling a wonderful sense of well-being and peacefulness. Amazon.com: You are the "Singin' Scientist" for Harvard's Brain Bank (just as you were before your stroke). Could you tell us about the Brain Bank (in song or not)? Taylor: There is a long-term shortage of brain tissue donated for research into the severe mental illnesses. Most people don’t realize that when you sign the back of your license as an organ donor, the brain is not included. If you would like to donate your brain for research, you must contact a brain bank directly. There is also a shortage of "normal control" tissue for research. The bottom line reality is that if there were more tissue available for research, then more scientists would be dedicating their careers to the study of the severe mental illnesses and we would have more answers about what is going on with these disorders. The numbers of mentally ill individuals in our society are staggering. The most serious and disabling conditions affect about 6 percent--or one in 17--adults and 9-13 percent of children in the United States. Half of all lifetime conditions of mental illness start by age 14 years, and three-fourths by age 24 years. For more information about brain donation to the Harvard brain bank, please call 1-800-BRAINBANK or visit them at: www.brainbank.mclean.org If you would like to hear me sing the brain bank jingle, please visit www.drjilltaylor.com!

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 302 reviews)

Genuinely Insightful Peek Into the Workings of the Mind

5 Stars
November 20, 2009
I wholeheartedly commend this work to everyone. One of my first observations to my fiancee after reading of the experience Jill went through was to be that I wanted to be sure she had read this book if anything like this ever happened to me. I would desperately want those on the outside to have the perception provided here regarding what might be happening inside my mind. I also find myself much more aware of my Left Brain internal dialog, which seems to cause me so much misery. No matter who you are or what you have been through, or not been through, read this book! The insights are priceless.

Life Changing by J. Worley (Dallas, TX United States)

5 Stars
November 20, 2009
I found out about this book from a radio interview with Dr. Taylor. I found what she was discussing fascinating and eventually got around to reading it. I wish I hadn't waited even a day. Although I am blessed to currently be healthy, and I have no close family or friends who have ever had strokes, I still found this book, literally, life changing. It has completely changed my perspective and outlook on the world. Dr. Taylor is a secular saint as far as I am concerned and we are blessed to hear her message.

Close but no cigar by finneus gage

3 Stars
November 19, 2009
This book offered great insight into traumatic brain injury through the eyes of one of its "victims". This book was written for the general public but as a student of the hard sciences i found it to be on the "touchy feely", metaphysical side (You are one with the universe.. i get it, next). With that being said, there are still lessons to be learned from the life of Taylor. If you are looking for book about nuerological science and brain injuries this may not be the book for you. But I can see it as a great self help/inspirational book for those who are affected by stroke/brain injuries in any way.

Review by L M Isensee

5 Stars
November 16, 2009
I haven't finished reading the book yet but expect it to be exciting and fun to read based on what I've read so far and the description of the book. The book I received is used (as I requested) but is in excellent condition. It seems to me that it took awhile for the book to arrive but I haven't checked dates, etc. This is my first Amazon review . . .

Many strokes - many insights by W. Jamison (Eagle River, Ak United States)

5 Stars
November 13, 2009
This was a fascinating selection for our book group November 2009. There are some things the book does not do. It does not discuss all kinds of strokes but is limited to the kind Jill had. It also does not discuss any differences there might be between male and female brainedness which is something discussed in books like "Brain Sex: The Real Difference Between Men and Women" by Anne Moir and David Jessel but that might be significant in both the occurrence of a stroke and the impact/ recovery afterwards. This may be especially of importance if male brained individuals are less likely to recover. Apart from issues of this sort, the book does describe some things that seem incredibly useful not only to care providers but to those of us who might use these insights in controlling their own brains. Jill discovers ways to control her attitudes towards things by interpreting some attitudes as right brained and others as left brained. This enables her to choose and she unabashedly chooses the right brained attitudes having discovered she is not fated to have a certain type of character but instead can choose what kind of person she will be. Some of this may related to a book from the 70s called "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes" at least with regard to the relationship between right and left brain ways of thinking. Apart from a stimulating read Jill's book leads to stimulating discussions that might not necessarily be on the book but about personal experiences that seem pertinent in light of the book.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Brain, Heal Thyself: A Caregiver's New Approach to Recovery from Stroke, Aneurysm, And Traumatic Brain Injuries by Madonna Siles (Author), Lawrence J. Beuret (Author) When Eve suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm, Madonna Siles, her housemate and friend, too quickly found herself making critical short- and long-term medical care decisions without any help. When the insurance and financial resources ran out and the conventional therapy providers discharged zombie-like Eve to the homecare of a solitary caregiver, both their futures seemed hopeless. Instead of giving up, Siles drew on life experience and her marketing career to develop a rehabilitation...
	The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books) by Norman Doidge (Author) An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. In this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they’ve transformed. From stroke patients learning to speak again to the remarkable case of a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole,...
	Conquering Stroke: How I Fought My Way Back and How You Can Too by Valerie Greene (Author) "A true story of triumph over tragedy, this book is a must-have guide for anyone affected by stroke." —William S. Maxfield "Valerie Greene's courage, persistence, and willingness to search for the healing energies within her have shifted her body, mind, and spirit. Her story is an inspiration to all." —Donna Eden Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States today and the leading cause of adult disability. Now Valerie Greene, a stroke...
	Stronger After Stroke: Your Roadmap to Recovery by Peter G. Levine (Author) Billions of dollars are spent each year researching stroke rehabilitation and treatment techniques, but most are not well communicated to patients or caregivers. As a result, many stroke survivors are treated with outdated or ineffective therapies. Stronger After Stroke puts the power of recovery in the reader’s hands by providing easy instructions for reaching the highest possible level of healing. Written for stroke survivors, their caregivers, and their loved ones, the book presents a new...
	Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle (Author) In Stillness Speaks, best-selling author Eckhart Tolle illuminates the fundamental elements of his teaching, addressing the needs of the modern seeker by drawing from all spiritual traditions. At the core of the book is what the author calls "the state of presence," a living in the "now" that is both intensely inspirational and practical. When the pressures of future and past thinking disappear, fear and frustration also vanish, conquered by the moment. Stillness Speaks takes the form of 200...