Brain, Heal Thyself: A Caregiver's New Approach to Recovery from Stroke, Aneurism, and Traumatic Brain Injury

I do not remember the excrutiating pain I was apparently in when I had my brain aneurysm. Nor do I recall my months of recovery in hospitals and the nursing home. But I am very grateful that my friend and caregiver never gave up on using her emotion-based approach to brain rehab. I typed the manuscript for Brain, Heal Thyself. I also proofread it. I believe all caregivers and stroke patients (who can read) SHOULD read Brain, Heal Thyself. This caregiving method saved my life. I give this book seven stars! Eve

I am a caregiver for someone recovering from a stroke - so I read the second part of the book first, where Madonna takes Eve home and begins her common sense and using-everything-she-ever-learned-in-life approach to helping her friend recover. Every occupational therapist in America should be required to read this book. It's a great book, an easy read, by a wonderful, creative, funny, honest human being. Madonna will cause you to start thinking creatively about how you can help your loved one in your daily interactions with them. A must read for anyone helping someone recover emotionally and/or cognitively, because relating to them as if they are still a competent human being is vital for rebuilding their confidence to keep trying, and by continued trying they recover.(that's a bit of knowledge that our medical community has failed to pick up on)

Anyone looking for inspiration dealing with a chronic illness or a brain injury...heck, anyone looking for just a darn good "read"... will find Siles' memoir of best friend Eve's aneurysm recovery fascinating and downright remarkable. Siles' direct, humorous, and brutally honest style draws the reader in from the first sentence. You'll find yourself nodding your head in agreement with her assessments of often contradictory medical thinking and cheering Eve on as she, under Siles' practical guidance, begins her remarkable recovery. If you doubt that belief in a higher power, a positive attitude, and dogged perserverance don't effect recovery, you're wrong. They're just as important as medical science and Siles and Eve prove it!

For anyone thrust without warning or experience into the role of caregiver for someone recovering from a brain injury or stroke, this book is a must-read. Ms. Siles easy style of writing brings you to tears with her down to earth honesty yet can also make you laugh as she describes the impishness of Eve as she begins her recovery. It gives hope to those who have been told their love one is destined to be a vegetable the rest of his/her life. Ms. Siles and Eve prove doctors don't always know best.

Ms. Siles has written one of the most inspiring books I've had the pleasure to read! Her story of a friend's recovery from brain injury, from a non-medical point of view, is fascinating, and will bring great hope to other care-givers and victims alike. The most compelling aspect of this book is its honesty. It should be "required reading" for all doctors and patients who face stroke, aneurism, and brain injury.