"Stroke of Insight - A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey" by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. was one of the books my book club read earlier this year. We have a number of medical professionals in our group who were skeptical about Taylor's writing about her experiences for various reasons but one was that it is written about after the fact and from her memory which was likely affected by the rare form of stroke she suffered in the left hemisphere of her brain -- a "major hemmorrhage, due to an undiagnosed congential malformation of the blood vessels in my head, that erupted unexpectedly."
As a lay person, though, I saw this book from an entirely different perspective and found it enlightening. It is a book that I'd like everyone near and dear to me to read because some of Taylor's insights into the care of a person who has suffered a stroke include knowledge I'd like my family to have if I ever suffer a stroke. I want to continue to be treated with respect and dignity if I suffer a stroke or other serious illness plus I want to be treated with respect and dignity as I age rather than being spoken to as if I were a child (something I've observed in how others treat those who are "elderly.")
Taylor was 37 years old at the time she suffered her stroke and, as a Harvard-trained brain scientist, she was able to view what was happening to her in sort of a detached, clinical way while also realizing she needed to obtain help. Her determination and creativity in getting that help were also inspiring. Her recovery -- while slow -- has been miraculous in itself and her experiences have brought a new depth to her work as a brain scientist, I'm sure.
Taylor was lucky because she has a mother who was able to drop everything and leave her own life in another state to stay with Taylor until she was able to live on her own again. Her mother was also patient, supportive and instrumental in Taylor's successful recovery to becoming an independent, functioning adult again. Her mother used her teaching background to help retrain Taylor's mind to enable her to regain some of the cognitive abilities she had lost due to the stroke.
Although Taylor has a lot of admiration for the abilities of her left brain, she has come to appreciate the qualities of the right brain and has chosen to reinforce and use more of her right brain while still retaining the important qualities of her left brain that have served her well in the past but discarding those qualities she doesn't want to promote any longer. She has chosen not to reawaken the part of her left hemisphere that "had the potential to be mean, worry incessantly, or be verbally abusive to either myself or others.....I wanted to leave behind any of my old emotional circuits that automatically stimulated the instant replay of painful memories. I have found life to be too short to be preoccupied with pain from the past."
Taylor has chosen to focus on ways to retain the bliss and peace she felt while focused more in her right brain. On page 134-135 she says, "My goal during this process of recovery has been not only to find a healthy balance between the functional abilities of my two hemispheres, but also to have more say about which character dominates my perspective at any given moment. I find this to be important because the most fundamental traits of my right hemisphere personality are deep inner peace and loving compassion. I believe the more time we spend running our inner peace/compassion circuitry, then the more peace/compassion we will project into the world, and ultimately the more peace/compassion we will have with the planet. As a result, the clearer we are about which side of our brain is processing what types of information, the more choice we have in how we think, feel, and behave not just as individuals, but as collaborating members of the human family.
From a neuroanatomical perspective, I gained access to the experience of deep inner peace in the consciousness of my right mind when the language and orientation association areas in the left hemisphere of my brain became nonfunctional."
I loved Taylor's insights and the fact that she is focused on ways to access that inner peace she felt after the stroke when she was more aware of her right brain's functioning.
On page 129, she says: "I confess that although I celebrate being a solid again, I really miss perceiving myself as a fluid. I miss the constant reminder that we are all one."
The insights Taylor gained and shared in this book are ones I wish to be reminded of often so maybe that is why this book "spoke" to me. I, too, believe we are all one even though I haven't had the sense of knowing this in the same way that she experienced it as a result of her stroke but I believe it is the key to finding peace within ourselves and in our relationships with those we love and with the larger world or universe. Until we recognize that we are all one how will we collectively as well as individually achieve world peace?
pazt
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Calendar Girls
A few years ago I was loaned a copy of the DVD, "Calendar Girls," starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters and it's been hanging around my house ever since because I have rare opportunities to see the woman who loaned me the DVD. That's about to change when I attend a bridal shower for her only granddaughter tomorrow so I decided it's about time I returned the loaned DVD. I actually thought I'd already watched it but sat down one evening last week when my hubby was away (because he hadn't expressed any interest in seeing the movie) to view it. Clearly I hadn't seen it because there were only brief snatches that seemed familiar. I have to admit I watched it after a tiring week of part-time work and part-time grandparenting while our daughter was out of town so I did occasionally fall asleep but never longer than a few minutes the clock assured me.
I loved the movie which is based on a true story with some liberties taken, of course, for movie making. It's a story about relationships -- between women friends, between men and women and in marriage and it's a heart-warming story with some moments of angst but over all a movie that makes one feel good about the human race.
The story centers around ordinary women who are members of a Women's Institute which is a local group of "prim and proper" ladies listening to boring speakers week after week. But...when one of the member's husbands is diagnosed with a terminal cancer, her friends pull together to support her and, after his death, pull together once again to do something to honor his memory. As one might imagine, there is quite a bit of "interest" when their money-making plan turns out to be 12 of the women nude on a fundraising calendar. Where this leads these women and how it changes their lives is truly a heart-warming story and I encourage you to check out this movie.
pazt
I loved the movie which is based on a true story with some liberties taken, of course, for movie making. It's a story about relationships -- between women friends, between men and women and in marriage and it's a heart-warming story with some moments of angst but over all a movie that makes one feel good about the human race.
The story centers around ordinary women who are members of a Women's Institute which is a local group of "prim and proper" ladies listening to boring speakers week after week. But...when one of the member's husbands is diagnosed with a terminal cancer, her friends pull together to support her and, after his death, pull together once again to do something to honor his memory. As one might imagine, there is quite a bit of "interest" when their money-making plan turns out to be 12 of the women nude on a fundraising calendar. Where this leads these women and how it changes their lives is truly a heart-warming story and I encourage you to check out this movie.
pazt
Monday, November 7, 2011
"To Kill A Mockingbird"
Earlier this year my book club read "To Kill A Mockingbird" and it was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was disappointed when I learned that the author, Harper Lee, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her book, has never written another one because I was ready to read everything she'd written.
The book focuses on Atticus Finch, an attorney and widower, and his two children as well as the black housekeeper who helps raise the children. When Atticus is asked to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman, he takes on the case despite knowing it will not be well received by others in the small southern town where he grew up and lives. However, Atticus is a man who believes everyone has a right to the best defense and he also believes in the innocence of his client so he sets out to prove it. It's told from the point of view of his youngest child, a daughter, and I think that is the key to why this book is so well-received and loved.
Although I have a faint recollection of seeing the movie starring Gregory Peck, I didn't really remember the story line of the movie as I was reading the novel so I decided to find a copy of the DVD for my spouse and I to watch for date night. Even though I read the book fairly recently, I can't say for sure but I believe there are some discrepancies in the movie. However, they are not discrepancies that dilute the original message. It's more like they changed the order of some events -- and, of course, shortened them somewhat -- to make it more adaptable to a movie version.
The biggest names in the movie are Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall but Duvall doesn't even receive a credit anywhere on the cover of the DVD. He had a bit part and I suspect it must have been an early role for him.
I've heard that Peck was very particular about the movie roles he accepted and in "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "The Big Country" (another of his movies I love) I see the thread of an honorable man. Was Peck also an honorable man who chose to play those types of roles? I think I'll check out some of his other movies to see if they're in the same vein.
After watching "To Kill A Mockingbird" I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of attorney, Atticus Finch. If you have never seen this movie or read the book, I highly recommend you do both.
pazt
The book focuses on Atticus Finch, an attorney and widower, and his two children as well as the black housekeeper who helps raise the children. When Atticus is asked to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman, he takes on the case despite knowing it will not be well received by others in the small southern town where he grew up and lives. However, Atticus is a man who believes everyone has a right to the best defense and he also believes in the innocence of his client so he sets out to prove it. It's told from the point of view of his youngest child, a daughter, and I think that is the key to why this book is so well-received and loved.
Although I have a faint recollection of seeing the movie starring Gregory Peck, I didn't really remember the story line of the movie as I was reading the novel so I decided to find a copy of the DVD for my spouse and I to watch for date night. Even though I read the book fairly recently, I can't say for sure but I believe there are some discrepancies in the movie. However, they are not discrepancies that dilute the original message. It's more like they changed the order of some events -- and, of course, shortened them somewhat -- to make it more adaptable to a movie version.
The biggest names in the movie are Gregory Peck and Robert Duvall but Duvall doesn't even receive a credit anywhere on the cover of the DVD. He had a bit part and I suspect it must have been an early role for him.
I've heard that Peck was very particular about the movie roles he accepted and in "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "The Big Country" (another of his movies I love) I see the thread of an honorable man. Was Peck also an honorable man who chose to play those types of roles? I think I'll check out some of his other movies to see if they're in the same vein.
After watching "To Kill A Mockingbird" I can't imagine anyone else playing the role of attorney, Atticus Finch. If you have never seen this movie or read the book, I highly recommend you do both.
pazt
Friday, October 28, 2011
About Last Night.....
"About Last Night" features Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi, and Elizabeth Perkins exploring relationships/dating in the 80's. The film is based on David Marnet's Obie award-winning play, "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" and, if you're offended by nudity, this isn't a film you want to watch. It focuses mainly on the relationship between Danny Martin (Lowe) and Debbie Sullivan (Moore) who meet at a bar, have a one-night stand that turns into something more. Can their moving in together stand the test of time and lead to love? Their best friends and romantic advisers are played by James Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins who provide some comedic relief. The cast was all much younger then but their talent shines through revealing the potential stars they all became.
Although it was a fun movie to watch, I couldn't really identify with it since I was already married and the parent of 3 children by the 80's. I was also raised in a time when sex before marriage was frowned on so this movie was not my dating experience. I can see pros and cons in the freedom that young people now have to explore their relationship before making a permanent commitment. Which do I think is better? I honestly don't know -- what do you think?
pazt
Although it was a fun movie to watch, I couldn't really identify with it since I was already married and the parent of 3 children by the 80's. I was also raised in a time when sex before marriage was frowned on so this movie was not my dating experience. I can see pros and cons in the freedom that young people now have to explore their relationship before making a permanent commitment. Which do I think is better? I honestly don't know -- what do you think?
pazt
Monday, October 10, 2011
"Killer Mousse"
"Killer Mousse" by Melinda Wells is the first book in the Della Cooks Mystery series and it's a light, fun mystery that left me wanting more. Like many of its type it also includes recipes.
Della Carmichael is a former school teacher who is trying to keep her cooking school afloat so accepts a job as a cable TV chef but on her very first show there's a murder. Della sets out to track down the murderer herself because she's desperate to keep her job.
Unfortunately for Della, some of the fellow co-workers she interviews lead to more deaths and, if it weren't for the homicide cop ex-partner of her deceased husband working with the lead homicide detective, she fears she would be in jail. However, Della herself becomes a target and the need to find the killer intensifies.
Along the way Della finds some distracting romance on two fronts and has to make some tough choices. Wells does a good job of fleshing out Della's life including friends, household pets, and new acquaintances so I finished the book feeling like I knew Della and I want to see how her life and romance evolves.
Check out this quick read for yourself -- pazt
Della Carmichael is a former school teacher who is trying to keep her cooking school afloat so accepts a job as a cable TV chef but on her very first show there's a murder. Della sets out to track down the murderer herself because she's desperate to keep her job.
Unfortunately for Della, some of the fellow co-workers she interviews lead to more deaths and, if it weren't for the homicide cop ex-partner of her deceased husband working with the lead homicide detective, she fears she would be in jail. However, Della herself becomes a target and the need to find the killer intensifies.
Along the way Della finds some distracting romance on two fronts and has to make some tough choices. Wells does a good job of fleshing out Della's life including friends, household pets, and new acquaintances so I finished the book feeling like I knew Della and I want to see how her life and romance evolves.
Check out this quick read for yourself -- pazt
Monday, October 3, 2011
Death at the Chateau Bremont
"Death at the Chateau Bremont," A Verlaque and Bonnet Mystery, by M. L. Longworth was just published this year. My spouse picked it up on the "best picks" shelf at our local library then passed it on to me because he thought it was a book I'd enjoy, too.
He was definitely right about that! I thoroughly enjoyed this new mystery (in what I hope will be an ongoing series) which was rich in details about the countryside as well as the cast of characters.
A local nobleman, Etienne de Bremont, falls to his death from the family chateau and Chief Magistrate of Ais, Antoine Verlaque, suspects it might be foul play. When he learns Bremont was a close childhood friend of his ex-girlfriend, Marine, he enlists her help to seek answers from the family that she knows so well -- his brother, Francois -- in debt and maybe in some other trouble, too. Then there's the widow and her sister and the chauteau caretaker and his sister. When another murder occurs, Verlaque's suspicions about the fall possibly being murder are heightened.
In the meantime, Verlaque is enjoying an excuse to spend time once again with Marine, a law professor at the local university. Will they be able to solve the cases? Will they be able to rekindle their romance and work out all the issues that kept it from being a success before?
M. L. Longworth writes well and, although this is her first work of fiction, she has written about the Aix-en-Provence region where the novel is set for the Washington Post, the Times (UK), the Independent (UK) and Bon Appetit magazine. She has authored a bilingual collection of essays, Une Americaine en Provence" that was published in 2004. She divides her time between Aix (where she writes) and Paris (where she teaches writing at New York University.)
If you enjoy a mystery with lots of twists and turns, this one is for you!
pazt
He was definitely right about that! I thoroughly enjoyed this new mystery (in what I hope will be an ongoing series) which was rich in details about the countryside as well as the cast of characters.
A local nobleman, Etienne de Bremont, falls to his death from the family chateau and Chief Magistrate of Ais, Antoine Verlaque, suspects it might be foul play. When he learns Bremont was a close childhood friend of his ex-girlfriend, Marine, he enlists her help to seek answers from the family that she knows so well -- his brother, Francois -- in debt and maybe in some other trouble, too. Then there's the widow and her sister and the chauteau caretaker and his sister. When another murder occurs, Verlaque's suspicions about the fall possibly being murder are heightened.
In the meantime, Verlaque is enjoying an excuse to spend time once again with Marine, a law professor at the local university. Will they be able to solve the cases? Will they be able to rekindle their romance and work out all the issues that kept it from being a success before?
M. L. Longworth writes well and, although this is her first work of fiction, she has written about the Aix-en-Provence region where the novel is set for the Washington Post, the Times (UK), the Independent (UK) and Bon Appetit magazine. She has authored a bilingual collection of essays, Une Americaine en Provence" that was published in 2004. She divides her time between Aix (where she writes) and Paris (where she teaches writing at New York University.)
If you enjoy a mystery with lots of twists and turns, this one is for you!
pazt
Sunday, October 2, 2011
"An Ideal Husband"
An Ideal Husband" is a fun satirical movie (1999) featuring Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver, Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, and Jeremy Northam and is based on Oscar Wilde's play. Northam plays the role of Sir Robert Chiltern a wealthy, prinicipled politician in London who is well off and has a wife (Cate Blanchett) who plays a large role in advancing his political career because she believes in his integrity.
Chiltern's best friend, Lord Goring (played by Everett), is a playboy whose father insists he change his ways and marry. Minnie Driver portrays Chiltern's sister, Mabel, who loves to flirt with Lord Goring while turning down the proposals of another man.
All appears well in their world until a Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore) arrives in London and attempts to blackmail Chiltern with some knowledge she has about his past that might ruin his political career and his marriage. In addition (and to complicate matters), his best friend, Lord Goring, also has a past history with Mrs. Cheveley. When Chiltern turns to his friend, Lord Goring for help, his attempts to remedy the situation turn into a comedy of errors.
Will Chiltern save his marriage and keep his priniples, will his sister finally say yes, and will Lord Goring's father prevail in his wish that his son marry and, if so, who is the "lucky" woman?
I found this to be a fun, witty story and the cast of characters certainly helped "make" the movie. If you're looking for some light comedy/satire, check this DVD out.
pazt
Chiltern's best friend, Lord Goring (played by Everett), is a playboy whose father insists he change his ways and marry. Minnie Driver portrays Chiltern's sister, Mabel, who loves to flirt with Lord Goring while turning down the proposals of another man.
All appears well in their world until a Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore) arrives in London and attempts to blackmail Chiltern with some knowledge she has about his past that might ruin his political career and his marriage. In addition (and to complicate matters), his best friend, Lord Goring, also has a past history with Mrs. Cheveley. When Chiltern turns to his friend, Lord Goring for help, his attempts to remedy the situation turn into a comedy of errors.
Will Chiltern save his marriage and keep his priniples, will his sister finally say yes, and will Lord Goring's father prevail in his wish that his son marry and, if so, who is the "lucky" woman?
I found this to be a fun, witty story and the cast of characters certainly helped "make" the movie. If you're looking for some light comedy/satire, check this DVD out.
pazt
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