I enjoyed this book. It was a breezy read but I did gain some insights. I don't wholly buy her version of the left brain/right brain split. (Mind you I didn't have her experience of a major stroke, I'm just going on other material I've read.)My Mother died of a brain tumour last year, so there were some bits in the book that I took very personally. I liked the bit about how Taylor needed people to come to her during recovery and give her their emotional support and reach out and touch them. I stroked my Mother and gave her as much verbal and physical support as I could during her last hour. She couldn't communicate, so reading this bit by Taylor about how she felt when she was trapped in a body that couldn't communicate gave me positive feedback. Here is the bit that I'm hoping dominated my Mother's last hours:
Prior to this experience with stroke, the cells in my left hemisphere had been capable of dominating the cells in my right hemisphere. The judging and analytical character in my left mind dominated my personality. When I experienced the hemorrhage and lost my left hemisphere language center cells that defined my self, those cells could no longer inhibit the cells in my right mind. As a result, I have gained a clear delineation of the two very distinct characters cohabiting my cranium. The two halves of my brain don't just perceive and think in different ways at a neurological level, but they demonstrate very different values based upon the types of information they perceive, and thus exhibit very different personalities. My stroke of insight is that at the coree of my right hemisphere consciousness is a character that is directly connected to my feeling of deep inner peace. It is completely committed to the expression of peace, love, joy, and compassion in the world. (p. 133)I do enjoy Taylor's attempt to get rid of the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde presentation of the two brain hemispheres, but she has substituted her own over-ambitious dualism (see p. 134). I believe she has over-generalized her own experience and even over-dramatized the distinction in her own experience. I have no factual basis for what I'm saying. I'm just responding to a story that seems to neat by half. I don't think the world is that crisp and clean.
Ignoring the minor squabbles I have with her presentation, I did enjoy the book. It is meant for the general reader, so it doesn't give you any great scientific insight. But it does provide you with some thoughtful material to inspire you to perhaps dig deeper. The thrust isn't to provide you with brain science. It is meant to provide insight to those dealing with those suffering from a stroke. In that regard, it carries an important message for medical staff, friends, and family. I know from my Mother's experience, the hospital was not the healing place it should have been. Jill Taylor had much more luck and had a better hospital, better support team, and a Mother who -- it appears -- did a heroic job in bringing her daughter back from a massive stroke. I hope the message of this book gets wider circulation because it would both give hope and actually save and improve the lives of stroke victims.
Video: Here's a presentation by Jill Bolte Taylor at a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference where she discusses her book. If you are averse to reading, this 15 minute video gives you the essence of the book. It also shows you her new "right brain ooey-gooey personality" that I'm not entralled with (OK, I'm too analytical). I like her message but I think she goes a bit too far:
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