Young at heart

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Jill Bolte Taylor

On the morning of December 10, 1996 Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. A neuroanatomist by profession, she observed her own mind completely deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four brief hours. As the damaged left side of her brain – the rational, grounded, detail and time-oriented side – swung in and out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realties: the euphoric nirvana of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace; and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized Jill was having a stroke, and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely.In My Stroke of Insight, Taylor shares her unique perspective on the brain and its capacity for recovery, and the sense of omniscient understanding she gained from this unusual and inspiring voyage out of the abyss of a wounded brain. It would take eight years for Taylor to heal completely. Because of her knowledge of how the brain works, her respect for the cells composing her human form, and most of all an amazing mother, Taylor completely repaired her mind and recalibrated her understanding of the world according to the insights gained from her right brain that morning of December 10th.Today Taylor is convinced that the stroke was the best thing that could have happened to her. It has taught her that the feeling of nirvana is never more than a mere thought away. By stepping to the right of our left brains, we can all uncover the feelings of well-being and peace that are so often sidelined by our own brain chatter. A fascinating journey into the mechanics of the human mind, My Stroke of Insight is both a valuable recovery guide for anyone touched by a brain injury, and an emotionally stirring testimony that deep internal peace truly is accessible to anyone, at any time.

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Sandra Butler and Barbara Rosenblum

Cancer in Two Voices is the remarkable and deeply inspiring collaboration between Barbara Rosenblum and Sandra Butler which began when Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through journal entries and letters. they share the experience of living with cancer and being the partner who survives.

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Miles Harrison & Ted O'Toole

"Table 13 Journals tells in a raw and vivid way the story of a teenager's struggles with drugs, violence, and persistent thoughts of suicide. It also tells the story of the healing effects of a remarkable youth center known as The Key, of the creative writing process ", and of his mentor, Ted and his supportive presence. -- cover.

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Heidi Safia Mirza

Young black women symbolise the effects of the inequalities of British society. They do well at school and are good, efficient workers, yet as a group they consistently fail to secure the economic status and occupational prestige of their white counterparts. Heidi Safia Mirza, a black woman sociologist, charts the experience of a group of young black women as they leave school and enter the world of work, and investigates why black women suffer these injustices. She challenges the widely-held myth that young black women underachieve both at school and in the labour market, and provides evidence that goes beyond current notions of black female identity. She reveals the processes of inequality that, despite meritocratic ideals, persist in western society, shifting the emphasis from an analysis of identity towards an examination of the central role of the social and economic disadvantages in the education system. Through a comparative study of research and writing from America, Britain and the Caribbean, Young, Female and Black re-examines our present understanding of what is meant by educational underachievement, the black family and, in particular, black womanhood in Britain. A forceful and positive reappraisal of the experience of black women, it will be essential reading for students of sociology, education, social policy, race relations and feminist thought.