MADreads

The tissue issue

March 27th, 2009 Molly - Central

We all have rational and irrational fears.  I would put falling down an elevator shaft and being attacked by a pack of giant rodents on my irrational list.  To my rational list I would add exploratory surgery and stroke.  Did you know that the Journal of the American Medical Association places stroke at the number three slot of top killers after heart attack and cancer?  That is scary.  But I truly believe that knowledge is power and what better way to deal with fear than to immerse yourself in the topic you fear?  My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey helped assuage my fear.

Shortly after Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor was elected the youngest member of the Board of Directors of the National NAMI organization (National Alliance on Mental Illness), she suffered a massive stroke.  She was only 37-years-old. A Harvard-trained neuroanatomist with a specialty in the postmortem investigation of the human brain as it relates to schizophrenia and severe mental illness, Dr. Jill was by all accounts working her left brain to the max.  Because of her knowledge of the brain and science, she was acutely aware of what was happening during her stroke and recovery and very clearly and comfortingly explains it all to the common reader.

A great teacher has the ability to make a very complicated topic easily understood and Dr. Jill really excels at this.  My Stroke of Insight is more than just an account of one woman’s stroke, though.  Dr. Jill also has a talent for evangelizing about something I knew nothing about prior to reading this book.  Donations are needed - there is a long term shortage of brain tissue donated for postmortem research by individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.  Dr. Jill travels as the National Spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Harvard Brain Bank) and by recounting the details of her stroke and recovery, she also raises awareness of this scientific necessity.  Please spread the word.

Entry Filed under: Nonfiction