On the morning of the 10th December 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 lost the ability to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four hours. As the damaged left side of her brain - the rational, logical, detail and time-oriented side - swung in an out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realities: the euphoric Nirvana of the intuitive and emotional right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace; and the logical left brain, that realized Jill was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely. In My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, Taylor brings to light a new perspective on the brain and its capacity for recovery that she gained through the intimate experience of awakening her own injured mind. The journey to recovery took eight years for Jill to feel completely healed. Using her knowledge of how the brain works, her respect for the cells composing her human form, and an amazing mother, Taylor completely repaired her mind and recalibrated her understanding of the world according to the insight gained from her right brain that December morning.

About the Author

Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. is a neuroanatomist affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. She is the national spokesperson for the mentally ill at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Brain Bank) and the consulting neuroanatomist for the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute. Jill Bolte Taylor will be part of Oprah's Soul Series starting on 12th May 2008. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Reviews

Taylor is a successful neuroanatomist and an advocate for the mentally ill. In 1996, at age 37, a blood vessel exploded in her brain, triggering a massive stroke. This account of the event and its aftermath is not a dry presentation of medical facts but a warm retelling of how the author's family and friends helped her in her eight-year-long ordeal. Taylor manages to buttress her life experiences with solid facts without diminishing the story's personal, human aspects. She does an excellent job with the reading, speaking in a personal manner and holding listeners' attention. Moving and informative; recommended for public libraries. [Audio clip available through us.penguingroup.com; watch Taylor on Oprah's Soul Series webcast at oongua.notlong.com.--Ed.]--Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Lib., Parkersburg Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

'This book is important for everyone ... I love this book' -- Oprah Winfrey