Fascinating, informative, and incredibly interesting, the type of read where you can't look away and are so glad it didn't happen to you. I can't imagine actually living through this experience, it was incredible to read about.

This book was a really fascinating look at language in the aftermath of a stroke. The author explores how brain trauma affected her ability to read, write, and process language - including reading emotional language from others and listening to her own inner voice. She notes that, without language, there effectively is no past or future, only now. She discusses the theory that language changes behavior, which made me think of another interesting book - a fiction piece called The List by Patricia Forde which is about limiting violence and uprising by limiting the number of words people are allowed to use. Both works are recommended reading.

When I was twenty-seven, my dad had a massive stroke, brought on by uncontrolled diabetes. Suddenly, he was a different person. He went from an outgoing, larger than life personality, to a quiet man who couldn't carry on a conversation. I have often wondered what he was thinking about during that time. Was he trapped in a body that couldn't respond, or was he truly a different person?

A Stitch Of Time, by Lauren Marks, is a fascinating first person account of a woman who survives a traumatic brain injury. As she is singing karaoke in a bar, she suffers from a massive brain aneurysm and her life is changed forever. This book covers a year in her recovery, and whether language creates thought or thought begets language.

What I Liked:
First-Hand Account:
I really appreciated the author's insight into what she was thinking during those first months of recovery. She recalls that there was very little panic or despair, at first. Just "The Quiet".

I also was absorbed by how Lauren was treated by her friends, family, and lover. Many of these people assumed that once she regained the use of language, she would be the same person. But much of what made Lauren's personality was altered. She had to assess what kind of person she had been and see how that meshed with who she was after this life-altering event.

Medical Jargon Explained:
The author went to great lengths to make sure the reader understood how the brain functions and what an aneurysm actually is. She also delved into how language is accessed by people diagnosed with aphasia, and how speech therapists worked with her to regain her use of language. This was confusing, at the beginning of the book. However, I think we are meant to be as bombarded with terms and ideas as Lauren was. It is only as she progresses that things make sense for both the narrator and the reader.

What I Was Mixed About:
Relationship With Her Lover:
I suppose that the author felt that chronicling her relationship with her on-again, off-again lover would be a good lynch-pin for the book. But I found much of it tedious, and indulgent. I didn't really want to know every detail of this courtship, and wonder how this other person must feel about the publication of this book.

What Didn't Like:
The author was an actress and teacher prior to having her aneurysm. She seems to credit her extensive literary background with part of her recovery. While she does show both arguments for and against the idea of language creating thought or thought creating language, I found some of her ideas to be elitist. Do people really need a master's degree to be great communicators and thinkers? She implies that her thoughts are certainly deeper due to her extensive education. Really? As someone who works with students, some of whom have difficulty accessing language, I was very put off by this.

A STITCH OF TIME

The existence of Lauren Marks' memoir, A Stitch of Time: The Year a Brain Injury Changed My Language and Life, brings up an obvious question: How can a person afflicted with aphasia meaningfully write about the experience?

If Marks' case is at all representative, the answer ought to be "with plenty of difficulty, a lot of support from friends and family, and a good amount of luck."

At the age of twenty-seven, Marks had an aneurysm rupture inside her brain, forcing her to undergo life-saing surgery. She survived; yet in the aftermath of her operation also discovered that she was afflicted with aphasia, a neurological condition whereby the language centers of the brain malfunction. Specifically, Marks suffered from Broca's aphasia, which appeared to have "erased" a good portion of her English vocabulary and command of the language, and which made it difficult for her to express herself. A Stitch of Time is her memoir of her road to "recovery" and of what it was like to pick up the pieces of a life that would never be the same again.

The book is an intriguing peek into the life of a person afflicted with a neurological condition, precisely because we get to hear it in that person's own words. Inevitably, most books on neuroscience elaborate on celebrated cases or unusual pathologies because these are inherently interesting or noteworthy. Yet each of these essentially represent people going or having to live with through something remarkable, not all of whom may be in a position to wax philosophical about the experience. For her part, Marks is able to do just that, which is reason enough to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

Among Marks' many reflections of living with aphasia there is one that stands out: that our command of language is inextricably intertwined with our sense of identity. As an actor by profession, aphasia and the havoc it wreaks on one's facility with language is certainly something that hits Marks close to home. But it's more than that: Marks notes that her inability to access words and turns of phrase likewise affects her memories, not to mention the relationships she has with people. This should be obvious, as the bonds we nurture with others are further strengthened in our mind's eye by our memories of the same, in turn molded by the words we use to describe them. Yet it's something that we take for granted. Hence the existential crisis Marks found herself confronted with in her convalescence: that everyone expected her to fall back into the familiar role of The Girl She Used to Be, when she herself had difficulty determining who that was exactly precisely because the words escaped her.

Memoirs command attention to the extent that their subjects or the circumstances they live in are noteworthy. On that score, it might be said that there's nothing particularly exceptional about Marks herself; after all, many others have suffered debilitating injuries and survived near-death experiences that are arguably more compelling. Fortunately Marks opts not to give readers a blow-by-blow of her experiences in therapy but instead presents her reminiscences during the period she was coming to terms with her aphasia. This is much more interesting approach–but also a lot more mundane. It involves her talking about otherwise ordinary things such as her day-to-day interactions with friends and loved ones (and, by extension, the drama in their lives). She even shares some of her own thoughts, post-aphasia, on sexual intimacy with her partner at the time. Whether any of this amounts to "too much information" is up to readers to decide, as it is all part and parcel of Marks' journey coming to terms with her new normal: lifelong aphasia.

Language is what allows us to contextualize our lives, and losing the ability to process language can truly be life-changing. So it was for Lauren Marks as she describes in A Stitch of Time, so much so that her "recovery" from her aneurysm became more like a process of becoming a new version of herself.

Thank You to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advanced copy of Lauren Marks' memoir, A Stitch of Time: The Year a Brain Injury Changed My Language and Life, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT- Lauren Marks is just twenty-seven years old, when she suffers a brain aneurysm while karaoking at a dive bar with friends in Edinburgh. She is rushed to a hospital in Scotland and her parents catch the first flight from California to be with her, unsure if she will survive the emergency operation. Marks does survive, and in A Stitch of Time, she chronicles her recovery. Until her aneurysm, Marks was an actress and writer, her keen ability with language was a huge part of her personality. Post aneurysm, Marks has Aphasia, making it difficult for her to understand or express herself through language. Through rehabilitation, Marks is able to recover her use of language, but her life and dreams are forever altered. 

LIKE -Early on in her rehabilitation, Marks had the foresight to keep a journal and document her progress. Some of what she writes is incoherent and it's rampant with misspellings, however, it  offers a glimpse into the way her brain has been affected by Aphasia, and it's clear that through hard work, she has regained much of her language abilities.

I was shocked when she mentioned that many doctors think that a patient has six months maximum after their accident, to regain their language, and after that time, they likely won't have significant progress. Marks is proof that this time marker doesn't mean much. As she mentions, and I'm inclined to believe, the six months seems to be more in line with money and insurance payments, rather than what is best for the patient. It hurt my heart to read about Marks' struggle with getting her insurance company to approve her much needed therapy and also that she was left saddled with debt. She doesn't mention this in great detail, but enough to have that heavy reminder of our broken health care system.

I think this might be the first memoir I've read regarding brain aneurysms and Aphasia. I have been the care-taker for family members with dementia, which while not the same thing that Marks experienced, it did leave me interested in the subject of brain injuries and how the brain works. Marks does a wonderful job at explaining scientific and medical terminology in a way that makes it accessible for any reader. She also does a great job at blending the medical world with her personal life, giving her memoir balance. 

When she had her aneurysm, Marks had to leave her life in NYC, where she about to start teaching, to move back home with her parents in California. She was essentially stripped of the direction her life was heading, and even when she began to recover enough to resume elements of her former life, her goals had changed. Many of her friends were getting married, having children, and seeing their careers take-off. Late twenties is a pivotal time for many people and Marks was forced to take a step back. I appreciated her calm perspective and the way she took this change in stride, even as she noted what she was missing out on. 

DISLIKE- Nothing. A Stitch of Time is fascinating and affecting.

RECOMMEND- Absolutely. I know several people who have family members with brain injuries and I know that, A Stitch of Time, would be an informative read, but really, this is a fascinating topic for anyone. It would also be a good choice for anyone who is experiencing a major life-change or set-back and needs a dose of inspiration. Marks' story is inspirational.

Author Lauren Marks suffered a ruptured aneurysm in her brain leading to a stroke. The loss of communication skills is sensitively described by this courageous woman. Making the long journey back to understanding language and relearning behaviors is intensely travelled, dealing with what various medical practitioners can and cannot do. A tribute to Ms. Marks and her return.

Amazing book! Marks has done a wonderful job of doing the difficult- explaining medical information and describing her own recuperation from a devastating illness. This is the sort of memoir that makes you cheer the author for her fortitude as well as her determination to recover and inform others. She is not the patient one generally thinks of with this condition and that makes this all the more intriguing. It's very well written, which is especially valuable during the more technical information. Thanks to the publisher, I read this as an ARC. Highly recommend for those interested in aphasia or just a good read.

Imagine that you're twenty seven, off to a promising career in writing and in acting, and you've just started pursuing a graduate degree. Everything is moving right along and your future is rosy. Then, a brain aneurysm causes a stroke. While this could very well have been fatal, luck is on your side and you are rushed to a world class hospital where you receive care that not only saves your life, but leaves you with a real possibility of recovering much of your health and faculties.

This happened to Lauren Marks in 2007 and she tells the gripping story of how she coped with the complete loss of language, followed by a lengthy process of learning how to speak, read, and write again. This was fascinating on the practical level as we learn what neurologists and therapists can and can't do. And it's pretty interesting on a more personal level, as Marks slowly realizes how much of her own personality is made up of memories and understanding non-verbal cues. In addition to learning language again, she finds she has to learn about her relatives and friends, even her boyfriend. It's poignant, and funny, when she learns how to kiss again.

It's a revealing and optimistic account, and I do wish there had been a little more on the study of language learning and brain science in general, but it's still an enthusiastic recommend.

This is a subject that I find so fascinating, the brain, how it works and how it mends after trauma. I have previously read Brain on Fire and My Labotomy: A Memoir by Howard Dully and just now finished A Stitch of Time. Not only did this book provide a lot of scientific information about the brain, research provided and presented by experts and doctors who have been intimately involved with brain study, but it also gives Lauren's insight after suffering the effects of a brain aneurysm.

A Stitch of Time is also a personal story about Lauren's year of recovery after her brain aneurysm, it includes details on her family, friends and boyfriend (at the time) and general relationships (doctors, therapist, previous professors, the general public, etc). Lauren is a remarkable storyteller, and I have to applaud her on her first book.

Lauren's presentation of scientific facts is very well done, she never lost me. Often times when reading scientific information I can be overwhelmed when writers get too technical, she kept this in check. I loved the way she explained experiencing "the Quiet". My mind is always at a chatter, so to experience this is hard to imagine, but I GOT IT from her detailed description. One of the other thought provoking points I took away from this book was the question..... "As humans, do we need language to have thoughts?" This question is so powerful. My first reaction is... Of Course! But then again....wait... maybe not. It is one of those...If a tree falls in the forest, does it make sound if no one is there to hear it?

Highly recommend, I'll keep her on my radar for future books!

this truly remarkable insight into this lady’s recovery process after a brain injury. This really was such an interesting book which Lauren explains all different aspects of what actually happened to her and how she had to have a speech therapist to help her find her voice again. This is one fascinating medical journal

(Lengthened review to come shortly... Stay tuned...)