If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- What if you could witness your own brain shutting down from the perspective of a trained neuroscientist?
- Did you know that silencing the "logical" side of your brain could unlock an unexpected state of deep inner peace and euphoria?
- Are you curious about how the human brain can completely rewire itself to relearn everything from basic colors to the concept of identity?
Listen to My Stroke of Insight — Free Audiobook
Loading player...
Key Takeaways from My Stroke of Insight
- Discover how a personal connection to schizophrenia inspired the author to become a neuroanatomist and study the differing realities of the human brain.
- Understand the critical differences between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, including how a malformed capillary bed caused the author's own life-threatening hemorrhage.
- Explore the sensory-driven nature of the brain's right hemisphere, which anchors you in the present moment, processes nonverbal cues, and governs creative intuition.
- Learn how the brain's left hemisphere organizes fluid experiences into linear time, language, and logical sequences, working in tandem with the right brain to shape your reality.
- Find out what it actually feels like to suffer a brain hemorrhage, as the author details her firsthand experience of rapid cognitive decline coupled with an unexpected state of mental bliss.
Learning Tools
Reinforce what you learned from My Stroke of Insight
Mind Map
My Stroke of Insight
Author's Background
Motivation
Brain Hemispheres
Right Hemisphere
Left Hemisphere
Collaboration
Stroke Science
Ischemic Stroke
Hemorrhagic Stroke
The Stroke Experience
Physical Decline
Mental Shift
Recovery Process
Medical Treatment
Rehabilitation
Key Epiphanies
Neuroplasticity
Power of Support
Accessing Nirvana
Quiz — Test Your Understanding
Question 1 of 7
What initially inspired Jill Bolte Taylor to pursue a career as a neuroanatomist?
My Stroke of Insight — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: The author became a neuroanatomist to study her schizophrenic brother.
Chapter 3: Ischemic and hemorrhagic are the two kinds of stroke; Bolte Taylor had one hemorrhagic.
Chapter 4: The brain’s two hemispheres are different yet complement one another.
Chapter 5: On the morning of her stroke, she felt disconnection, fleeting awareness, and deep bliss.
Chapter 6: The days that followed were hard for Bolte Taylor, yet her physical abilities soon began to improve.
Chapter 7: Bolte Taylor went home and steadily improved both mentally and physically.
Chapter 8: The author realized she needed people to believe in her, and she aimed to help others experience nirvana.
My Stroke of Insight Summary & Overview
My Stroke of Insight (2008) is about Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist who suffered a stroke in her mid-thirties. These blinks detail her personal story from medical school to experiencing a stroke to learning how to walk, talk and even identify colors again.
Who Should Listen to My Stroke of Insight?
- Medical students
- Friends and relatives of individuals with mental illnesses or brain traumas
- Anyone interested in learning more about the human brain
Books Similar to My Stroke of Insight
Readers who enjoyed this also liked these titles.
Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon
★ 4.6 / 5 • 414 ratingsThe New Science and Stories of the Brain
Reclaim Your Brain
★ 4.3 / 5 • 273 ratingsHow to Calm Your Thoughts, Heal Your Mind and Bring Your Life Back Under Control
On Intelligence
★ 3.9 / 5 • 78 ratingsHow a New Understanding of the Brain Will Lead to the Creation of Truly Intelligent Machines
The Brain’s Way of Healing
★ 4.4 / 5 • 291 ratingsStories of Remarkable Recoveries and Discoveries