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

Jill Bolte Taylor

3.89 · Rating details · 24,658 ratings · 3,562 reviews

Jill Taylor was a 37-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist when a blood vessel exploded in her brain. Through the eyes of a curious scientist, she watched her mind deteriorate whereby she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Because of her understanding of the brain, her respect for the cells in her body, and an amazing mother, Jill completely r ...more

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Paperback, 188 pages

Published November 1st 2006 by Lulu.com (first published 2006)

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Sep 17, 2008 Lena rated it liked it

Shelves: memoir

Jill Bolte Tayor was a 37-year old neuroanatomist when she experienced a massive stroke that severely damaged the left hemisphere of her brain. My Stroke of Insight is her account of what happened that day, her subsequent 8-year recovery, and how these events changed her life for the better.

The most interesting part of the book for me was Bolte Taylor’s discussion of what happened to her on that morning in 1996. With her scientific background, Bolte Taylor was in a unique position to observe the Jill Bolte Tayor was a 37-year old neuroanatomist when she experienced a massive stroke that severely damaged the left hemisphere of her brain. My Stroke of Insight is her account of what happened that day, her subsequent 8-year recovery, and how these events changed her life for the better.

The most interesting part of the book for me was Bolte Taylor’s discussion of what happened to her on that morning in 1996. With her scientific background, Bolte Taylor was in a unique position to observe the progressive breakdown of her own functioning as the blood from her burst AVM spread throughout her brain. As new areas were affected, different functions were lost, and reading about her experience is a strange kind of real-world brain anatomy lesson.

A significant portion of this book is devoted to the process of Bolte Taylor’s recovery. She realized early on that the attitude and pacing of her caregivers made a big difference in how willing and able she was to respond, and she speaks in detail about what she, personally, found was most effective in helping her heal. There is some useful information in this section for those involved in stroke victim care.

What has catapulted this book onto the bestseller list, however, is the spiritual message underlying Bolte Taylor’s experience. When the language processing areas of her brain shut down, Bolte Taylor found herself bathed in a kind of peace and bliss that was previously unknown to her. With the section of her brain that controls physical boundaries offline, she felt fluid, open, and one with everything around her.

Bolte Taylor considers these experiences to be the result of her right brain suddenly being given the chance to run the show while her left brain was incapacitated. She speaks quite a bit about how she made a conscious decision during her recovery to retain access to these states and to keep these pathways open as she brought her left brain back online. In the latter section of the book, she offers a list of techniques she feels anyone can use to help open up pathways to the expanded capacities of their own right brains.

I learned a number of interesting things while reading this book, and there is no question that Bolte Taylor’s story is a very inspiring one. Ultimately, however, I was disappointed by a number of things about this book. To start, it would have benefited from better editing. Some sections are highly repetitive, I was confused about certain aspects of her level of functioning and recovery, and the flow of the narrative was very uneven. Hers is a great story, and good editing would have made that even more obvious.

My main criticism of this book, however there is a very sloppy blending of hard, scientific information about the brain with Bolte Taylor’s anecdotal experience and personal theories about what happened to her. It was not always obvious which was which, and I suspect many readers will be confused and assume her personal theories are more scientifically grounded than they actually are.

Though Bolte Taylor does not specifically mention religion in the book, her numerous allusions to prayer, visualization, energy, and oneness make it clear that she subscribes to a certain kind of belief system that her experiences are filtered through. While this is to be expected, her inability to see the contradictions in her beliefs was frustrating to me. For example, she speaks about how, after the stroke, she floated in a place of bliss, at one with everything. Yet just a few paragraphs earlier, she refers to a harried, inexperienced medical student as an “energy vampire.” She does not address why her feelings of being at one with and connected to everything did not extend to this person. In addition, she is critical of how the judgmental function of the left brain keeps us shut down from the more expanded perspective of the right brain, yet doesn’t seem to notice her own preference for right-brain dominated experiences seems, well, kind of judgmental.

I’ve had personal experiences of peace and bliss that are similar to what Bolte Taylor describes, so I can certainly understand her preference for them. I also think she gives some good advice to help people find those states themselves without having to have a stroke to get there. But I think this book would have been much more valuable had Bolte Taylor used her scientifically trained left-brain to more clearly separate her anecdotal experience and beliefs what science actually tells us about our fascinating brains.
...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it really liked it

Shelves: work, memo-auto-bio, brainz

The author, an accomplished neuroanatomist, suffers a massive CVA at the age of 37. She takes the reader through the events of her stroke and the recovery. (8 long years of recovery!) She gives basic brain science for understanding, and speaks from the heart.

The grouch in me wanted to poo-poo the whole book when she started in with how she uses "angel cards" to start her day. I ignored the alarm in my head, screaming, "New age kook! Abort! Abort!" But it was too late. I was suckered in. And rea ...more

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Apr 08, 2017 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing

I read this years ago --- still own it. I thought the insights were amazing --and a fascinating story. --
Emotional too....This was a woman's 'life'.

Interesting how books pop into our space when we are meeting new friends on Goodreads....
Brings back memories of books we read!

A treasure in itself! -- make a new friend = re-visit books we have read.............nice deal!

...more

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Nov 29, 2008 Natalie rated it it was ok

Shelves: memoir-essay

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I wanted this book to be several other books than the one it actually was. I found it alternately fascinating and incredibly irritating.

Taylor is a brain scientist who had a stroke and recovered enough to write about it. The chance to learn about what that experience was like seemed compelling enough to me to start reading the book. When her left brain went offline due to the stroke, she experienced only living in her right brain --what she d I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I wanted this book to be several other books than the one it actually was. I found it alternately fascinating and incredibly irritating.

Taylor is a brain scientist who had a stroke and recovered enough to write about it. The chance to learn about what that experience was like seemed compelling enough to me to start reading the book. When her left brain went offline due to the stroke, she experienced only living in her right brain --what she describes as a blissful nirvana. She's spent years getting her left brain back, and as a result has a unique perspective on the relationship of the two halves.

I stuck with the book because I'm sympathetic to at much of what she was saying -- that if you can turn down the volume on the ego's chatter to attain a sense of calm, your life is better off. It's just that most of us approach that goal through meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, or philosophy. Her writing resolutely avoids any such discussion. So it was kind of like reading a book about God written by an autistic person -- it seemed incredibly flat, devoid of emotion, even when she was talking about feelings.

I suspect that this book is the result of divided intentions about its goals and audience -- perhaps between the author and her editor, or between the author's two brain halves, I don't know. It's one part pop-science, 1 part survival memoir, 1 part oddly cold narcissism, and 1 part new age metaphysics. The audiences for these things are really different, and to successfully blend them would take a much more compelling writing style than Taylor's. It's unfortunate that a book that should be the demonstration of her recovery kept making me wonder whether she was expressing herself so badly because of her brain injury.

There are grains of interesting stuff in here, and it's a quick read. It's definitely been on my mind for the past few days, despite my irritation with it. I've heard from friends that audio interviews with Taylor are very warm and charming, which is the exact opposite of my impression from reading the book. Maybe that would be a better place to start if you're curious. ...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Marlan rated it it was ok

I'm a neurologist, so I approached this book from a different angle than most readers, I imagine.

In short, it was not what I expected. Although she was a neuroanatomist prior to the stroke, the book is not science-y at all. That is both good and bad.

The good:
A first-hand account of being afflicted by a brain bleed (with aphasia, or inability to produce language, and other losses of function) is priceless. In medicine, we have a great deal to learn from knowing what our patients are going through ...more

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Jul 16, 2008 cat rated it did not like it

whoa. i probably should have paid more attention to the little tagline under her name that proudly proclaims "the singin' scientist" and put it down immediately. but that wasn't how it worked.

see, the author is a brain scientist who had a stroke. i heard her speak on NPR and she was insightful and funny and had very interesting things to say about the brain, so i put the book on hold at the library and a eagerly picked it up a few days ago.

i loved the section of the book that gave us an intro c ...more

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Jun 29, 2008 Cindy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone dealing with the injured brain

Shelves: memoir

This book wasn't what I was expecting. I expected to read a memoir of sorts. Maybe a before and after or even a during the process what was happening. And JBT does write "lightly" about those things. But mainly she is writing a self-help book that seeks to influence the rest of us to embrace the right side of our brains. As a brain scientist, she has a stroke then discovers she is one with the universe. Her brain and her cells are beautiful! Oh how lovely the world and everyone in it! The inform ...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Antonia rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2011

Oh, gag. Yes, really. I'm glad the author used her stroke to find nirvana, but honestly, stroke just ain't this pretty.

The first half of this book, more or less, was a page turner and I was fascinated. Dr. Taylor was a successful 37-year-old neuroanatomist who suffered a hemorrhagic stroke as a result of a congenital condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Partly because of her training and knowledge and partly, I suspect, because of the way the stroke's effects developed and progress ...more

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Apr 22, 2018 Cheryl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

5 stars means, to me, that everybody should read it, not that it's necessarily a perfect book.

Everybody is fairly likely to have a stroke, watch someone who is having a stroke, know someone who is recovering from a stroke, or at least visit a rehabilitation clinic or nursing home. The recommendations at the end are important. First there's a page that reminds you what a stroke feels like, and tells you to get help immediately.* Then there's a list of advice on how to help someone who is in thera ...more

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May 25, 2008 Happyreader rated it really liked it

Shelves: health-and-diet, bio-and-memoir

For me, the most fascinating part of this book is the description of the actual stroke and the immediate aftermath. To have suffered such a traumatic brain injury and live to tell about it in such detail is amazing. Doubly amazing for verbalizing what a brain is like when it goes non-verbal.

One funny detail during the stroke is that, while she's rapidly losing the ability to conceptualize numbers and language, somehow part of her brain still knew she needed HMO approval prior to using emergency ...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Anne (on semi-hiatus) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bio-memoir, favorites, 2010, health

Amazing story about a neuroscientist who observes herself as she has a stroke. She is not expected to recover, but with her knowledge, the dedication of and help from her mother as well as keeping naysayers out of her life Bolte regained all of her pre-stroke functioning. An important and inspirational memoir about the ability of the brain to heal, otherwise known as neuroplasticity. Read this or listen to Bolte's amazing Ted talk. ...more

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Feb 09, 2009 Erin rated it did not like it

Shelves: memoir

Warning: This is long, contains ranting, and is rather harsh at times.

From a biology perspective, this book was crazy cool, as are most things biological. The brain is ridiculously amazing. It completely blows my mind whenever I think about it. However, from a writing perspective, I was not a fan.

I would now like to preface the rest of my analytical, left-brain comments by saying that: The author had a stroke, it is absolutely incredible how well she has recovered, and I have no idea whatsoever Warning: This is long, contains ranting, and is rather harsh at times.

From a biology perspective, this book was crazy cool, as are most things biological. The brain is ridiculously amazing. It completely blows my mind whenever I think about it. However, from a writing perspective, I was not a fan.

I would now like to preface the rest of my analytical, left-brain comments by saying that: The author had a stroke, it is absolutely incredible how well she has recovered, and I have no idea whatsoever how the stroke may have affected her writing capabilities. Also, I really did approach this expecting to really, really like it, so this one can't be blamed on a negative attitude. That said, I found the book ridiculously redundant. I'd read one paragraph, move on to the next, and then have to return to the previous paragraph to try and find the difference between the two (other than word order). This frustrated me, and I felt she could have condensed things from 20 chapters to about 8. The parts that I really appreciated were her account of the actual experience of having a stroke and the initial chapters that explained some basic brain science. I'm sure the description of her recovery is very helpful to those dealing with a stroke or helping someone else deal with it, but this was the point where the repetition got out of control. After about page 100, it took serious effort for me to finish (and that rarely happens).

Also, I was unaware when I began the book that the second half would be filled with motivational, self-help type crap. Had I known that, I probably would not have read it. That kind of thing drives me insane (and yes, I DO realize that I'm allowing myself to be driven insane) because they try to make it sound easy, and it's not. What particularly bothered me in this instance was that only after the author suffered tremendous brain trauma was she able to "step to the right [side of her brain:]" and, to simplify, let a bunch of crap go. I, however, have not suffered from a stroke, still experience the two hemispheres of my brain as a single consciousness, and am generally much harder-pressed to "step to the right." So back off, lady!

Some other notes: When I first heard the title, I thought it was very clever. However, I began to worry after the 5th or so time she used it in the first 2-3 chapters. And sure enough, the phrase didn't go away. It instead became so overused that it practically triggered my gag reflex by the end of the book. Also, the purpose of having an editor is to make a book better, especially by adding/removing things that will drive people to want to burn the book. This editor was either asleep, drunk, or high, as evidenced by the truly apalling and nauseating over-use of italics and exclamation points. ...more

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Feb 14, 2012 Bonnie Jean rated it did not like it

I absolutely couldn't stand this book. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that until I was over a third of the way into it, at which point I had to finish it, detesting myself the entire time.

The woman who wrote this book is a neuroanatomist who had a unique and amazing opportunity to document the experience of having a hemorrhagic stroke from someone who understands how different parts of the brain function.

That being said, she is not a brain surgeon. She is not a clinician. And yet from the way s I absolutely couldn't stand this book. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that until I was over a third of the way into it, at which point I had to finish it, detesting myself the entire time.

The woman who wrote this book is a neuroanatomist who had a unique and amazing opportunity to document the experience of having a hemorrhagic stroke from someone who understands how different parts of the brain function.

That being said, she is not a brain surgeon. She is not a clinician. And yet from the way she writes this book, she acts as though she knows more than everyone who took care of her, without a real understanding of practical application.

For example, she criticizes the nurses who wake her up on an hourly or near hourly basis to do neuro exams--not realizing that is, in fact, a safety check designed to save her life if her bleed became worse. She criticizes doctors for asking questions that she could not answer such as "Who is the president?" and felt they should have asked questions that she would have actually been able to answer--such as who the president was married to--not recognizing that the point of asking a simple question such as "who is the president?" is not an effort to make her feel good about herself, but to recognize deficits and thus help her to work past them. It would be fruitless to only ask questions she knew she could get right.

I felt that the entire book was her outcry to the world, her defense about her embarrassment of being a stroke victim and to show how actually competent she was the entire time. She writes as though she is the only person ever who this has happened to. Although hemorrhagic strokes are the least common kind of stroke, we see them all the time where I work. We don't judge people who are having strokes because they cannot speak properly--we care for them, we monitor them, we help them. No educated medical professional would accuse a stroke victim of being stupid--and yet she seems to feel the need to show everyone how smart and aware she is.

Instead of taking this opportunity to truly examine the human condition of stroke victims everywhere, she makes a narcissistic, egotistical, and what I view as a dangerously false view of the stroke experience. I would be highly concerned for family members of my patients and what they may take away from reading this book. The author, although very well versed in brain anatomy, has a poor understanding of how intensive care and hospital care really work--but because of her degree and viewpoint, people may mistake her opinions for truth.

The good things I took away from this: a reminder of what it is like to be the patient (always important to keep in mind. ) I agreed with her about the importance of sleep and healing the brain--with the caveat that a patient's safety (you know, ensuring they don't herniate their brain)--should come first, depending on the gravity of the situation. I enjoyed her contrast of left and right brain. Other than that, I wish I hadn't my time and highly recommend that you don't waste yours. There are other, better, and more accurate materials out there for your reading pleasure.

PS: This is the only negative book review I have ever added to this website. That's how concerned I am about the spread of misinformation delivered by this book.

PPS: You would think that someone with a PhD with a career in brain science would have known better than to get on a treadmill and take a shower while being actively aware that she had stroke symptoms. This should discredit her story from the start. Time is brain, people! If you have stroke symptoms, call 911! ...more

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Nov 01, 2008 Stephy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone who has had a stroke, or knows someone who has had a stroke

Shelves: autobiography, health, drama, have_to_be_able_to_think, life-and-living, survival, non-fiction, reference, biography, self_help

Everyone who has ever had a stroke must have this book read to them, slowly. Everyone who ever knew anyone who had a stroke must read this book. The author was a brain scientist with a Ph.D. in neuroanatomy. She described her experience of having a stroke, the loss of her faculties, her surgery, and recovery over a period of almost a decade, to someone like the woman she was before the stroke.

Her description of how to help a stroke victim on their return from a hospital are remarkable. The relat ...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Ken rated it liked it

You couldn't invent a more interesting premise: Dr. Taylor, a brain scientist, has a major stroke and goes through years of rehabilitation after the left hemisphere of her brain is severely damaged. She ultimately recovers and records her detailed memories of the stroke and its aftereffects.

Dr. Taylor has given a talk on this subject at a TED Conference -- see the video at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ji...

This is what drew me to reading My Stroke of Insight, and the book does deliver on You couldn't invent a more interesting premise: Dr. Taylor, a brain scientist, has a major stroke and goes through years of rehabilitation after the left hemisphere of her brain is severely damaged. She ultimately recovers and records her detailed memories of the stroke and its aftereffects.

Dr. Taylor has given a talk on this subject at a TED Conference -- see the video at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ji...

This is what drew me to reading My Stroke of Insight, and the book does deliver on its promise before it veers off into territory that I couldn't quite appreciate.

Dr. Taylor begins with some basic, fundamental brain science, to set the scene. It's written to be understandable to the layperson, and succeeds on that account. She then describes the day of her stroke, combining recollections of her experience with reminders of the science behind the events that occurred.

This is fascinating stuff, allowing us to satisfy our curiosity and learn something at the same time.

Then, Dr. Taylor spends the rest of the book sharing her recovery experience, including the epiphany that she had as a result of the stroke. She explains that her damaged left hemisphere gave her right hemisphere a chance to flourish, and thus taught her the value of her right hemisphere. She contrasts her blissful experience of right-brained living with our culture's emphasis on the left hemisphere's reason, task-orientation and linear thinking.

She has a point -- but I didn't really appreciate the feeling that I was reading a self-help book with no clear path to actually helping one's self! This part of the book features too much repetition, and too many shiny promises of bliss awaiting us, if we only knew how to get there. Short of having a stroke, all we get is advice that amounts to: meditate, and tell your left hemisphere to be quiet. Prune it back. It sounds good in theory, but this is slippery stuff.

I recommend this book for its unique look into how our brains work and what happens when they go wrong. Just know, going in, that you may or may not appreciate the unusual combination of science, memoir and self-help. ...more

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Aug 23, 2015 Lauren rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: neuroscience, science, bios-memoirs, medicine

There's great value here - but you have to wade through a lot to get to it. Taylor's step-by-step recalling of her hemorrhagic left-hemisphere stroke was both enlightening and tedious. She was so acutely aware of what was happening - enough to describe in full detail here - but unable to really do anything about it. Once discovered, completely unable to comprehend and communicate, she goes through months of recovery, including a surgery to clear the blood clot. Her mother gently and compassionat ...more

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Aug 16, 2013 LindaH rated it it was amazing

When this fascinating book, My Stroke of Insight, came into my life...my husband picked it up at the library...I thought, Nice title! and that was that. I wasn't up for a book about a person having a stroke. Even when I heard that the author, Jill Bolte Taylor, is a brain scientist, I didn't appreciate how riveting and instructive her narrative could be. Fortunately, after a barrage of raves from my husband, I finally started to read it. Taylor was 36, and alone at home, when she had her stroke. ...more

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Jul 16, 2018 Mary Vogelsong rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, mental-health, memoir, med-gen

This book is an amazing story of a neuro-scientist who experiences her own stroke. She not only recognizes obvious symptoms like loss of speech and one-sided paralysis, but she can envision what is happening on the cell level in her brain.

Fortunately, with the extreme patience and love of her mother, she eventually regains enough function to live on her own and resume work. Some parts of her job are too stressing and now too difficult, so she works out a different job description with her boss. ...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Linda Robinson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

From the anatomically correct stained glass brain on the front (which the author made, a second version displayed at Harvard) to the back cover praise, this is an intriguing, educational, dually mindful book about the 50 trillion cells that make a human being go. Dr. Bolte Taylor's journey back into both sides of her brain, after the left hemisphere of her brain took an unauthorized 8 year sabbatical is a story that needs to be required reading for staff at nursing homes, assisted living centers ...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Catherine rated it did not like it

I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this book more if I weren't a neuroscientist myself. First the good parts -- her account of lucidly experiencing a hemorrhagic stroke, when combined with her basic knowledge of human brain structure, was the most interesting part of the book. Furthermore, she provides excellent advice for doctors, nurses, and caretakers of patients dealing with a stroke and its aftermath.

Where the book began to go wrong for me was its overly simplistic view of brain structur I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this book more if I weren't a neuroscientist myself. First the good parts -- her account of lucidly experiencing a hemorrhagic stroke, when combined with her basic knowledge of human brain structure, was the most interesting part of the book. Furthermore, she provides excellent advice for doctors, nurses, and caretakers of patients dealing with a stroke and its aftermath.

Where the book began to go wrong for me was its overly simplistic view of brain structure and function. Now, I realize that this was written for a general audience and it is not meant to be a neuroscience textbook. But, for some people this may be one of very few books on the brain that they may read, and she uses her neuroscience background as a selling point. Therefore I think she has a greater responsibility to be more clear about which "facts" she is presenting come from actual scientific studies, and which come from her personal experience and opinion. Very few scientific statements are backed up with citations of peer-reviewed literature. Her reduction of the brain into "left" and "right" is far too simple and rather misleading.

Where the story really went off the rails was the rather repetitive section on her life now and how she "steps over to" the right side of her brain to be "at one with the universe," and how she gives thanks for the "molecular geniuses" in her cells that allow her to, among other things, poop.

This may sound mean, but my general impression on reading her story is that Taylor has a rather inflated sense of her accomplishments as a neuroscientist. Out of curiosity I checked her publication record and, frankly, it was not impressive - only two first author papers, one of which was in a tiny online-only journal that is now defunct. This is not a crime, of course, but she has been promoting herself as a "Harvard neuroscientist," which to the general public brings with it a sense of authority and scholarship. Overall, I think the book would have benefited greatly by having a currently active researcher or neurologist as a co-author, to provide the "science" side while Taylor would provide the "personal" side. But I reckon that Taylor's ego and pride (which she claims has been lessened as a result of her stroke) wouldn't have let her entertain that arrangement. ...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Mark Picketts rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In a nut shell: I control my brain, my brain controls how I interpret the world - I am in control of my world.
(so choose a good world - for everyone's sake)

I thought this book was really great. It had moments of greatness, and moments of "really?", but I thought the message was solid and something worth being reminded of. Particularly Dr. Taylor's experience while her stroke was happening was really an intense and one of the powerful sections i have read in a long time. The physiology and knowle ...more

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Oct 24, 2016 Brian Eshleman rated it really liked it

This compact memoir of a neuroscientist's experience of stroke and recovery made for extremely compelling reading. She was able to vividly describe the symptoms of her oncoming stroke and also affect if we describe the impact of the experience. Her candor about the immediate and ongoing impact of the attitude of her caregivers, whether condescending, patient, or encouraging, definitely made me as a reader involved in another helping profession examine the messages I give off in my verbal and non ...more

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Aug 21, 2014 Heidi The Reader rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, memoirs, tedtalks

My takeaway learning moment from this is Jill's idea that a powerful emotion, once triggered, only remains a pure physical process for about 90 seconds. After that time, we make a conscious decision to "hook" into that emotion to prolong it or not. We can chose to react a different way if we desire. I found that to be empowering. ...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Helen (Helena/Nell) rated it liked it · review of another edition

This book had quite an interesting effect as soon as it entered the house. My other half, who doesn't read this kind of thing, immediately picked it up and read the first few chapters. Then he got quite agitated. It appeared it was a very accurate account of what it's like to have a stroke from the inside. He should know because he's had one. I haven't. However, he didn't read the whole book.

I read the whole book. It is extremely interesting. Not just because of the account of having a stroke fr This book had quite an interesting effect as soon as it entered the house. My other half, who doesn't read this kind of thing, immediately picked it up and read the first few chapters. Then he got quite agitated. It appeared it was a very accurate account of what it's like to have a stroke from the inside. He should know because he's had one. I haven't. However, he didn't read the whole book.

I read the whole book. It is extremely interesting. Not just because of the account of having a stroke from the inside -- which I could closely relate to. I'm not a scientist but I imagine that in this situation I too would be watching and wondering about what was happening to me.

The most interesting point of the book, I guess, is the way Jill Bolte Taylor gains access to the deep peace part of her brain, through the experience of damage. She stops being her everyday functional self. That means she can just be, and being is a blissful experience for her. I want to think this sense of ourselves is there, so I'm halfway to liking this book from the start.

As it went on, the simplicity of the division between "the euphoric nirvana of the intuitive right brain" and "the logical awareness of the left brain" began to irritate me somewhat, much as it does in any simplified right brain left brain stuff. Towards the end -- and this is not at all a rational reaction to the book -- I began to wonder how much I liked the author as a person.

There was something that made me a bit uneasy. I still don't quite know what it was. It is probably to do with the way she writes, which to me is part of who she is. Something about the phrase "my two hemispheric personalities" does not agree with me.

When traumatic events happen to us we interpret them according to our lights, our instincts, our hemispheric personalities. This book is reassuring in many ways. I loved the idea that the author lost herself "as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated [her] from the entities around" and instead "understood that at the most elementary level" she was "a fluid". That thought interests me enormously. The point at which our sense of ourselves as individuals seeps into whatever we are as life forms.

Towards the end I thought she got a bit repetitive. She had said what she had to say, which was mainly an account of a true experience, but then she kept commenting on it, kept commenting, kept commenting. And she uses an awful lot of exclamation marks. I am English, living in Scotland, a place where exclamation marks only happen in high drama or comedy. I like understatement and this book doesn't do a lot of that.

However, I'm extremely glad I read it. It is life-enhancing and thought provoking, two things you don't get every day. ...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Ondrej rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I listened to CD set recording of Jill’s book only after my own mini-stroke a year ago & small stroke nearly a half-year ago. Like Jill, I was able to feel and observe some very similar feelings and thoughts for from about a few hours & up to about a day during my stroke. Regardless of whether you’re recovering from a stroke or supporting a stroke survivor, I think Jill’s book is a must-read for everyone. It can help us all gain a better understanding of the events & issues surrounding stroke.

M ...more

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May 04, 2012 Judy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Judy by: Mikki

Shelves: bio-memoir, non-fiction, science, audiobook-e-book, 2012-reads

While I found the anatomical explanation of a stroke interesting and the tour of how the brain works equally engaging, the remaining chapters on the possibility of obtaining peace through the right brain fascinated me. IMO,this is Bolte-Taylor's stroke's biggest contribution to science. The impact provides more help to us, average joes and jills than millions of dollars in donations to brain research. I like the author's means of sharing her insight in a practical and understandable way.

What kee ...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: brains, memoir

Four stars for the accessible explanations of brain function and warning signs of stroke. Four stars for the fascinating walk through the day of Dr. Taylor's stroke, and for her descriptions of the recovery process. Four stars for her observations about medical care and the attitudes of doctors and nurses and visitors. Three stars for the lengthy exercises in right brain exploration, which were fascinating but a little too fluffy for me. I listened to the audio version on a lengthy drive, and th ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Tweedledum rated it it was amazing

Shelves: medi-psych, autobiography, 2018-books-read

What a fascinating and inspiring book. Jill's description of her experience of losing her left brain thinking skills due to a stroke in the left hemisphere, which meant that she could no longer read or interpret language, speak or recall words or their meanings but instead experienced the world of the senses much more vividly, often painfully while experiencing a deep sense of belonging and wonder living only in the moment, the now, is profound and rang a lot bells for me. Working with young peo ...more

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Jan 06, 2017 LibraryCin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science, brain, strokes, memoir, medicine, scientists

Jill Bolte Taylor was a single, 37-year old neuroanatomist (brain scientist), when she, herself, suffered a stroke. This book tells her story of the stroke and her 8 year recovery.

The first part of the book explained some of the science of the brain. Have to admit that my mind wandered during parts of this section, but from what I heard, she was making it easy enough to understand. I was listening to the audio, which of course, makes it a bit easier for my mind to wander. The author read the au ...more

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May 24, 2012 Bert Edens rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-autobiography, medical-non-fiction

Like many, I was led to this book by Dr. Taylor's keynote speech of the same name on YouTube. It was fascinating to read her take on not only the morning of the stroke, but who she was before the stroke and who she chose to become after the stroke. The latter half is a key component of the book, as when Dr. Taylor found her left brain, the judgmental, ego-centric portion of our brain, offline and inoperable, needing to be literally rebuilt on a neuron level of eight years, she found she could ch ...more

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About Jill Bolte Taylor

Jill Bolte Taylor

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Jill Bolte Taylor is an American neuroanatomist, author, and public speaker. Her training is in the postmortem investigation of the human brain as it relates to schizophrenia and the severe mental illnesses. She founded the nonprofit Jill Bolte Taylor Brains, Inc., she is affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine, and she is the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Re ...more

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“Just like children, emotions heal when they are heard and validated.” — 96 likes

“Unfortunately, as a society, we do not teach our children that they need to tend carefully the garden of their minds. Without structure, censorship, or discipline, our thoughts run rampant on automatic. Because we have not learned how to more carefully manage what goes on inside our brains, we remain vulnerable to not only what other people think about us, but also to advertising and/or political manipulation.” — 79 likes

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