What is the main message of My Stroke of Insight?

The main message of My Stroke of Insight is that we have the power to choose how we perceive and respond to life's challenges.

Who is the author of My Stroke of Insight?

Jill Bolte Taylor is the author of My Stroke of Insight.

Biography & Memoir

My Stroke of Insight Book Summary - My Stroke of Insight Book explained in key points

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My Stroke of Insight summary

Name: My Stroke of Insight
Rating: 3.9 (44 reviews)
Author: Jill Bolte Taylor

Jill Bolte Taylor

A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey

3.9 (44 ratings)

14 mins

Brief summary

"My Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor is a memoir about the author's experience of suffering a stroke and her journey to recovery. She shares insights on brain function, mindfulness, and the power of the human spirit.

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Memoirs Neuroscience

Table of Contents

My Stroke of Insight
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Get insight into the workings – and malfunctions – of the human brain.

Have you ever had that feeling of getting an epiphany, grasping something you didn’t before? Most of us have experienced that moment when a stroke of insight makes us understand or see something in a new light. Now imagine that it was an actual stroke.

That was what happened to the author on 10 December 1996 when she was 37 years old.

Up to that point, she’d spent most of her life figuring out the workings of the human mind. The stroke made her experience first hand the different traits of the two halves of her brain. Here we will get her personal story, and the resulting wisdom, of suffering a grave blow – and recovering from it.

You will also find out

how schizophrenia made the author interested in understanding the brain in the first place;
the remarkable differences between the brain’s right and left hemispheres; and
how the author’s stroke made her experience bliss

The author became a neuroanatomist to understand her schizophrenic brother.

The author, Jill Bolte Taylor, grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was actually inspired to become a neuroanatomist – a doctor who specializes in human anatomy and how the nervous system functions – by one of her brothers, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Bolte Taylor was intrigued that his view of the world was disparate from hers despite the fact that they were siblings so close in age. The way he processed information, and therefore his behavior, differed from hers.

Consequently, the author became interested in the way the human brain functions. She embarked upon intense academic training so that she could research the biological grounds for schizophrenia.

Bolte Taylor was accepted as an undergraduate at Indiana University where she studied human biology. At the same time, she got a job at the Terre Haute Center for Medical Education. It was here that she worked as a lab technician in both the Human Anatomy Lab and the Neuroanatomy Research Lab.

Later, the author joined a six-year Ph.D. program in the Department of Life Science at Indiana State University. In 1991, she received her Ph.D. and a couple of years later spent time at Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Neuroscience.

Eventually, she landed her dream job at the Laboratory for Structural Neuroscience at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. The lab was run by renowned neuroscientist Dr. Francine M. Benes. Bolte Taylor admired Benes for her expertise in analyzing the postmortem brain in order to understand schizophrenia.

This is how Bolte Taylor became interested in, and began working with, the human brain. In the following blink, you’ll find out some scientific facts behind the harrowing, life-changing experience she endured when she had her stroke.

Ischemic and hemorrhagic are the two types of stroke; Bolte Taylor suffered the latter.

Most people know what a stroke is to some extent. It's commonly understood that it involves the brain, is dangerous and can be fatal. What's less well-known is that there are two types of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic.

The first type of stroke, ischemic, occurs when blood clots in the artery. This prevents the oxygen normally carried in the blood from flowing to the brain's cells and neurons.

The two cerebral hemispheres are different but complement each other.

Structurally, your brain has two halves – the left and right hemispheres – which look very similar but have completely different functions.

The right hemisphere controls all sensory aspects; here, what you see, smell and taste is combined with you thoughts. This is then translated into a big picture of what's happening at any given moment.

On the morning of her stroke, the author experienced disconnection, momentary awareness and bliss.

Bolte Taylor woke up on 10 December 1996 with an awful headache which she could feel behind her left eye. Trying to alleviate the feeling, and unaware of the danger she was in, she began to exercise.

As the morning continued, she felt increasingly disconnected from herself and her surroundings. The author experienced a peculiar feeling that gradually took over both her mind and body. She was oversensitive to light and sound and felt her cognitive function disintegrate as if she were observing rather than participating in her own life.

The days that followed were tough for Bolte Taylor, but her physical abilities quickly started to improve.

When a person has a stroke, their doctor usually orders an angiogram. This is an x-ray used to see the blood vessels in the brain so that the doctor can understand what type of stroke they’re dealing with and treat the patient accordingly.

Three days after Bolte Taylor’s stroke, the doctors had the results of her angiogram. She had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke caused by an undiagnosed arteriovenous malformation. The neurosurgeon suggested that they perform a craniotomy – a surgery that involves removing a piece of the skull to access the brain.

Bolte Taylor returned home and steadily improved both mentally and physically.

Five days after her stroke, the author was released from the hospital. In the months that followed, her mother stayed by her side and helped her recover from surgery. She had to learn how to talk, read, write and walk from scratch.

Luckily, her mother intuitively knew how to support her with such tasks. The pair would regularly go for walks together, and every time Bolte Taylor made progress, her mother would celebrate with her.

The author realized that she needed people to believe in her and wanted to help others experience nirvana.

The surgery was a success – with the clot removed from her artery, Bolte Taylor felt like her usual self again and was no longer separated from reality.

While she was recovering, she had several epiphanies. Firstly, she realized the importance of being surrounded by others who believed in her recovery and treated her accordingly. On several occasions, she heard doctors say that those who have survived a stroke shouldn't expect to ever fully recover – especially if they haven’t done so within six months of the incident.

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What is My Stroke of Insight about?

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.

My Stroke of Insight Review

My Stroke of Insight (2008) by Jill Bolte Taylor presents a captivating account of the author's personal journey through a stroke and her subsequent recovery. Here's why this book is worth reading:

Offers a unique perspective on the brain and its functions, shedding light on the complexities of stroke and how it impacts our lives.
Shares insights into the profound transformation the author experienced during her recovery, providing inspiration and hope for those facing life-altering challenges.
Combines scientific knowledge with personal storytelling to create an engaging narrative that educates and entertains, ensuring the book is never dull or dry.

Best quote from My Stroke of Insight

According to the American Stroke Association, 83 percent of all strokes are ischemic strokes.

—Jill Bolte Taylor

Who should read 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

About the Author

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is an American neuroanatomist who specializes in mental illnesses. Her TED talk was the first of its kind to go viral and inspired many to buy her book, which subsequently became a New York Times bestseller. For over a decade, Bolte Taylor was the president of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and is now the NAMI president emeritus for Bloomington, Indiana.

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Biography & Memoir Science

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