Acknowledgements. 1. John. Part I: The Stroke. 2. The Accident. 3. Hell. 4. The Geriatric Ward. 5. The Royal Star & Garter. 6. Vermeer. Part II: Aphasia. 7. The Varieties of Aphasia. 8. Silent in Sadness. 9. Aphasia Today. 10. The Chances of Recovery. 11. The Search for a Cure. 12. A Voyage of Exploration. Part III: John's Aphasia. 13. Cambridge. 14. John's Days. 15. Myths and Metaphors. 16. John's Voice. 17. Hope. Afterword. Postscript to the Revised Edition. Useful Addresses. Notes. Bibliography.
A unique exploration of aphasia - losing the ability to use or comprehend words - from the personal perspective of one couple coming to terms with its challenges and adapting to life after a debilitating stroke
Sheila Hale is a distinguished travel writer and journalist. She has written articles for The New York Times, the Observer, The Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books. She gives lectures and talks about aphasia to primary care trusts, social workers and stroke charities. She is now working on a biography of the sixteenth century Venetian painter Titian.
We have been given a truly inspired description of the power of
love and devotion in the face of adversity. This is essential
reading for anyone who wishes to know more about aphasia and
related conditions.
*Signpost, Journal of Dementia and Mental Health Care of Older
People*
The narrative of the individual case is, of course, highly
personal. But it also drives forcefully home the message that each
aphasia is different and how difficult it is to make
generalizations here.
*Metapsychology Online*
This book provides a moving account of the life of Sir John Hale
following a stroke in 1992 that left him with aphasia. It is
written by his wife Sheila. On one level, this is a love story and,
as such, provides a moving account of the efforts of Sheila and
John to overcome or adapt to the challenges of the loss of
language. In this sense it is an engaging memoir... this book
provides valuable insights into contemporary approaches to
diagnosing and treating aphasia. It illustrates the complexity of
aphasia and the challenges and theories that have been adopted and
tested to try to bring about enhancements for patients and those
who care for them. Sheila and John embark on a journey that will
test their resilience and relationship to the full. It moves the
reader to understand that there can be life after stroke and this
can be exhilarating.
*Nursing Standard*
Reviews of the first edition:
'Sheila Hale's own grief is clear. It emanates from every word,
each one tinged with unalleviated longing for a lover and friend.
Chaplains may read this as a work of medical condition, or a
biography of a great man, but its deepest threads are a story of
grief and loss.
Read this book as a cry of hurt and wonder from a wife looking into
the darkness of a world stripped of words, which she had known,
glimpsed, lived beside; a lost renaissance garden where once the
nymphs of poetry and prose danced in the light of one man's
intellect.'
*Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy*
The Man Who Lost his Language belongs on the same shelf as
Jean-Dominique Bauby describing the stroke that left him paralysed
except for one eyelid, Robert McCrum on the one from which he
recovered, and John Bayley's account of Iris Murdoch's dementia.
But it outstrips them all.
*The Independent*
A triumph... a classic in the same way that Oliver Sacks's
Awakenings is.
*Michael Frayn*
Sheila Hale's book enlarges the language of love.
*Brenda Maddox*
One of the most remarkable additions to the literature of illness
in our time.
*The Times*
A luminous biographical memoir and an enthralling testament of
love... No one can help wondering what surprises the next heartbeat
may bring. Sheila Hale's acute and compassionate book makes the
unknown country seem a little less desolate.
*The Independent*
A moving insight into the redemption of a great man... provocative
- and uplifting.
*The Observer*
I was left moved by this subtle, engaging and devoted memoir.
*The Times Literary Supplement*
Heartfelt, passionate... a beautifully written and extremely
interesting book
*Literary Review*
An extraordinary achievement: a moving account of an intimate
relationship, and a rigorous investigation into the most up-to-date
medical theories and treatments of a mysterious affliction. It
raises all kinds of questions about language, communication and the
brain. Most remarkable, it's full of jokes and surprises. I keep on
thinking what a good movie it would make.
*Anthony Sampson*
An intimate account of what happens when the person you love and
lived a lifetime with is struck by a stroke. It weaves the
emotional, the practical and the technical into a highly readable
book.
*Jon Snow*
A moving and frightening book, with implications that go well
beyond the personal trauma that gave rise to it.
*The Economist*
A lucid and fascinating account of Sheila Hale's search to
understand the causes and nature of loss of speech... instructive
and moving.
*Daily Telegraph*
When Sheila Hale's husband John suffered a stroke that left him
unable to walk, write or speak normally she embarked on a battle to
restore him to normal life. This book shows how she followed every
medical trail seeking knowledge of his condition, and at the same
time maintained an extraordinary loving intimacy with him. She
tells their joint story with rare intelligence and feeling.
*Claire Tomalin*
An extraordinary and touching achievement.
*Jonathan Miller*
Moving and sometimes angry... Anger, however, does not dominate
this moving book: love, devotion and sadness do.
*Sunday Telegraph*
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