Jul 14, 2010
Jul 14, 2010
By Jill Bolte Taylor
 Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist and one of Time magazines 100 Most Influential People in the World, 2008.
She was interviewed on Oprah Winfrey after her experience with having a massive stroke in 1996.
Jill was at Harvard Medical School performing research and teaching when she experienced a stroke stemming from congenital malformation of the blood vessels in the left hemisphere. This book is the story of her journey from the day of her stroke, what she experienced and how she recovered. It also provides suggestions on caring for someone with a stroke, plus fascinating material on the two hemispheres of the brain.
The book is frightening in that it brings the stroke experience to an immediate and person level. Jill was only 37 years old!
It is also amazing to read her description of what happened to her on the day of stroke, what parts of her left brain were damaged, the results and the incredible experience of her right brain hemisphere with its sense of peace. This occurred after the language and orientation areas in her left brain became non-functional(she couldn't speak, write, walk and had no sense of herself as separate from the world). She links meditation and deep prayer experiences with accessing the same parts of the right brain where she experienced peace and silence.
She learned that the two hemispheres of the brain are very distinct in function on a very personal level and "my goal during this process of recovery has been not only to find a healthy balance between the functional abilities of my two hemispheres, but also to have more say about which character dominates my perspective at any given moment. I find this to be important because the most fundamental traits of my right hemisphere personality are deep inner peace and loving compassion. I believe the more time we spend running our inner peace/compassion circuitry, then the more peace/compassion we will proejct into the world.....we will have on the planet".
I felt increased compassion just reading this book and her courage, insight and passion to communicate this is an inspiration to all of us!
Linda Varro
RW Business Coach |
