When the Words Suddenly Stopped


Book Description

What would you do if a stroke stole your voice? Former television broadcast journalist Vivian King was taking a seemingly harmless prescription pill and suddenly suffered a stroke that robbed her of her voice. If you have suffered a health emergency impacting you, your family and friends, this book is your guide.




Mental Health and Relationships from Early Adulthood through Old Age


Book Description

This unique text encourages young adults to reflect on their prospective longevity for setting goals and making decisions, become aware of the aspirations and concerns of other generations, and consider personal direction in relation to peer group norms. The sources for learning about mental health and relationships include a blend of academic research, insights from literature, student interviews with older and younger relatives, and personal observations. Stages of adulthood including early adulthood, middle adulthood, retirement age, and old age, are described showing how people can pursue individual growth and nurture the mental health of relatives throughout life. The main themes of younger and middle-aged adults include stress, parenting, peer socialization, family conflict, career readiness, domestic abuse, intergenerational relationships, and mental health. In addition, the educational needs of older adults focus on mental health, family caregiving, grandparenting, physical and social health, problems of younger generations, retirement, loneliness and social isolation, elder abuse, death, grief, and recovery. All chapters conclude with a section about Generational Perspectives Activities, assignments with agenda for class and family discussions, problem-solving scenarios, key concepts, and criteria for self-evaluation. This will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate college students enrolled in lifespan courses offered by family studies, educational psychology, human development, counselling, social work, gerontology, nursing, and business.




My Stroke of Insight


Book Description

"Transformative...[Taylor's] experience...will shatter [your] own perception of the world."—ABC News 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.




Stronger After Stroke


Book Description

Billions of dollars are spent on stroke-related rehabilitation research and treatment techniques but most are not well communicated to the patient or caregiver. 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 simple to follow instructions for reaching the highest possible level of healing. Written for stroke survivors, their caregivers, and loved ones, Stronger After Stroke presents a new and more effective treatment philosophy that is startling in its simplicity: stroke survivors recover by using the same learning techniques that anyone uses to master anything. Basic concepts are covered, including: Repetition of task-specific movements Proper scheduling of practice Challenges at each stage of recovery Setting goals and recognizing when they have been achieved The book covers the basic techniques that can catapult stroke survivors toward maximum recovery. Stronger After Stroke bridges the gap between stroke survivors and what they desperately need: easily understandable and scientifically accurate information on how to achieve optimal rehabilitation.




Relentless


Book Description

An Incredible Journey of Determination and Recovery In 2005, Ted W. Baxter was at the top of his game. He was a successful, globe-trotting businessman with a resume that would impress the best of the best. In peak physical condition, Ted worked out nearly every day of the week. And then, on April 21, 2005, all that came to an end. He had a massive ischemic stroke. Doctors feared he wouldn’t make it, or if he did make it, he would be in a vegetative state in a hospital bed for the rest of his life. But miraculously, that’s not what happened . . . In Relentless, Ted W. Baxter describes his remarkable recovery. Not only did he live, but he's walking and talking again. He moves through life almost as easily as he did before the stroke; only now, his life is better. He’s learned that having a successful career is maybe not the most important thing. He’s learned to appreciate life more. He's learned that he wants to help people—and that’s what he does. He gives back, volunteering his time and effort to help other stroke victims. ​Relentless is a wonderful resource for stroke survivors, caregivers, and their loved ones, but it is also an inspiring and motivating read for anyone who is facing struggles in their own life.




STROKE REBEL


Book Description

STROKE REBEL is the story of how Linda, an entrepreneur and former model is fighting her way back to living life successfully after a massive stroke at a young age. Linda's story serves as a blueprint and source of realistic hope for stroke survivors. In April 2016, she suffered a massive stroke at the age of 43, which turned her life upside down. Unfortunately, a blood clot was treated too late and caused extensive damage to the right side of her brain. The stroke left her completely paralyzed on her left side and unable to speak. The doctors could not provide any answers about whether or not she would regain use of her left arm and leg, or talk again. Linda's road to recovery looked bleak. The process was long, stressful, painful, and filled with setbacks. She had to deal with neuropathic pain so severe that she contemplated giving up on life. In a recent interview, she shared, "That was absolute rock bottom. At that point, I made a decision--to fight and become 'a warrior and a rebel' in my own life, and find ways to help other stroke survivors." Doctors told Linda that the six months following her stroke were critical. For Linda, six months was a mental ticking time bomb. But they were also a point of reference from where she had to move forward to take her life back. Linda uncovered a wealth of knowledge that she would later use to help her on the path to recovery. With these new insights, she began to tap into her brain and physical capacity to enable the maximum amount of improvement. In her quest for recovery, she met Arjan Kuipers, who specializes in applied clinical neuroscience. They joined forces to create worldwide home training and tools for stroke survivors and those with brain injuries. Before the stroke, Linda labeled herself a "control freak" and a "workaholic." Now she perceives herself as an ongoing experiment of neuroplasticity. She has made tremendous progress and is still recovering every day.




I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die


Book Description

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.




Still Here


Book Description

More than thirty years ago, an entire generation sought a new way of life, looking for fulfillment and meaning in a way no one had before. Leaving his teaching job at Harvard, Ram Dass embodied the role of spiritual seeker, showing others how to find peace within themselves in one of the greatest spiritual classics of the twentieth century, the two-million-copy bestseller Be Here Now. As many of that generation enter the autumn of their years, the big questions of peace and of purpose have returned demanding answers. And once again, Ram Dass blazes a new trail, inviting all to join him on the next stage of the journey.




The Defiant Mind


Book Description

" What is a stroke?" This is the question that plagues Ron Smith as he emerges from the carpet bombing of his brain. The Defiant Mind: Living Inside a Stroke is a first-person account of a massive Ischemic stroke to the brain stem. Smith takes the reader inside the experience and shows how recuperation happens ? the challenges of communication, the barriers to treatment, the frustrations of being misunderstood and written-off, the role of memory in recovering identity, the power of continuing therapy, and the passionate will to live. Full of arresting anecdotes, enlivened by a vivid and vigorous style, the book tells of successes and failures and draws on the newest research in stroke treatment. This is a necessary book for stroke survivors still dealing with the effects of their trauma and for care-givers, vital to the process of recuperation, who feel hampered and harried by concern and confusion. The book is a caring companion, offering support to people navigating the fear and bewilderment that accompanies a stroke. For medical professionals, the book offers insights into the workings of the brain, the power of the brain to heal, critiques of conventional limits imposed on therapy, and suggestions for ways to improve care. More than an evocative memoir, more than an incomplete history, more than a breathtaking journey out of stroke and back to a literary life, The Defiant Mind is a beautifully written love story; it is a glimpse inside the tender and fulfilling relationship between the author and his wife. Smith makes clear that defiance (with unconditional support) is the first step to making hope a reality. This is a story about time which affirms life in the face of terror and death. A book for everyone.




Don't Leave Me This Way


Book Description

Julia Fox Garrison refused to listen to the professionals she called Dr. Jerk and Dr. Panic, who—after she suffered a massive, debilitating stroke at age thirty-seven—told her she'd probably die, or to Nurse Doom, who ignored her emergency call button. Instead she heeded the advice of kind, gifted Dr. Neuro, who promised her he would "treat your mind as well as your body." Julia figured if she could somehow manage to get herself into a wheelchair, at least she'd always find parking. But after many, many months of hospitalization and rehab—with the help of family, friends, and her own indomitable spirit—Julia not only got into a wheelchair, but she got back out. Don't Leave Me This Way is the funny, inspiring, profoundly moving true story of a woman's fight for her life and dignity—and her determined quest to awaken an entrenched, unfeeling medical community to the fact that there's always a human being inside every patient.