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| Leslie Living After Stroke |
Since I started year 4 of fighting stroke deficits, I’ve been overdoing it. This weekend I took a forced break (my body said “no more” and shut down). I spent the time in bed reading a stroke survivor book. You just have to read this book, it is by far the best book written by a stroke survivor.
This is not the typical, I fought my way back, I work, I run, I fully recovered, and life is great, type of story. By the way, only 10% of stroke survivors can tell that story. Please don’t compare yourself to those survivors.
They did work their asses off and I applaud them but almost every survivor works their asses off, 90% of them, without those results. The ones who fully recover had a bit of luck on their sides too.
This is a –
Find your passion and use it to fight the stroke effects every single day and continue to fight even when you don’t see the results you expect;
And
Strokes suck but learn to accept and adapt to your deficits without giving up on future improvement
-type of book.
This book should be given to every stroke survivor with their hospital discharge papers. (To read when capable of course. It took me a good year before I could read a book.)
Barb’s honest and pleasant approach to the horrifying subject of stroke recovery is beyond refreshing. No false positivity, no negativity, just realistic & honest never give up optimism.
I wish I would have read it sooner but by the time I learned about it, I had already struggled through some pretty useless, miserable and negative survivor narratives, turning me off from reading anymore of them. I also didn’t think I’d have an interest in the rowing aspect.
Silly me, I should have known better. Rowing, although Barb’s physical focus, had little to do with the knowledge she so generously chose to share with all of us. Rowing is just her passion.
Barb provided an honest and optimistic account of life after stroke. Barb’s never give up attitude and creative problem solving is an inspiration.
Stroke recovery is a process not a destination. It’s trial and error. It’s finding your motivation to wake up every day to start the fight again with the hope for a better tomorrow.
Barb is a great role model. She dives into every new therapy with complete dedication. She evaluates her results and when something doesn’t produce results after a considerable amount of time, she moves onto the next one with just as much dedication and determination.
She never gives up.
I am inspired and motivated by people like Barb who learn, adapt, and choose to make the best of each experience despite never-ending challenges.
In addition to being inspiring and motivating, she’s a great writer. Stroke After Stroke is a very easy read. I read it in less than 2 days. I plan on reading it again – a little slower this time – to pick up anything I may have missed. (I had a stroke you know, my mind wanders)
I’ve read many books by stroke survivors claiming to be writers that weren’t. Barb is. One day I totally expect to find her name on the best seller she’s always dreamed of writing.
In addition to being a ‘real’ writer, Barb is down to earth. She priced Stroke After Stroke: a rower’s pilgrimage at an extremely reasonable price – $4.99 for kindle & $7.99 for paperback. More than worth the cost! You can be reading it within minutes with the Free Kindle App!
After you read it, make sure you review it on Amazon. I just discovered that the more reviews a book has, the more it is suggested to others. Don’t be shy – review it! This book needs to be suggested to everyone searching for books about stroke.
To read more by Barb, visit her blog: Barb’s Recovery.
Thanks for writing it Barb! It’s just what I needed as I dive into another year.
Remember to come back here to let me know what you think of the book.
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