My Year Off

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I find it difficult to review the book from a literary perspective, as much of the process of reading it was, for me, assessing if he accurately conveyed my experiences. To the extent that we both suffered some debilitation at a youngish age, I think he did. His real gift (for me) was his description of the feelings of otherness from the population, and the need to change his working environment. The tension between 'see me as I now am' and 'remember me as I once was' is sometimes unbearable, and he conveys some of that. Good on yer.

Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: I have no experience with stroke, or had to cope with a close relativehaving had a stroke. But I am a voracious reader of biography, and have admired McCrum's other work.

He made me feel what it was like in the early chapters, haiving just had the stroke, and the sheer will power fight for survival.

It got less interesting to me as it proceeded, and I knew (obviously) that he was going to survive and effect a recovery. So there was no tension in that sense. I can understand that it may have a lot to say to people who have been in this situation as victim or carer.

Just on the level of biographical interest it is an average book - hence a 3-star from me.

Rating:
Summary: A book of hope, a lifeline for young stroke victrims
Review: McCrum's story is one which every young stroke victim will need to read. His book is one of those where you only need to read the cover and blurb to know it's the book you've been looking for.And so it is for every young stroke victim - read the first few lines and you know this man is telling your story.He echoes every anguished cry from those of us who, like him, were struck down in the prime of our lives and as we follow his slow road to recovery, his experiences, day by day, thought by thought, provides an invaluable sense of companionship, an alleviation of the terrible loneliness and isolation that often tends to overwhelm. His story is also a testimony of how the love and commitment of another is crucial in our recovery. To those who are caring for young stroke victims, the book is an encouragement as carers too, often feel at a loss when faced daily with a loved one's anguish, despair and mood swings. No need to go to a therapist, buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: For stroke victims under 60, and their families and friends
Review: Mr. McCrum, recently pronounced a completely healthy person, has an "insult to the brain" in his forties, and this book chronicles his thoughts and progress from the stroke onward, with sidetracks back to his "former" life, and how he deals with that vs. his "new" life as a stroke victim. For those of us who thought stroke only happened to our elderly parents, and don't quite know how to approach the situation when it affects our contemporaries (more frequently than we might like to think), this book is a good insight into what our friends might be going through, and what they will go through in the recovery period ... the effects of stroke are, of course, most difficult for the patient, but the friends and families also have a lot to think about and understand. I thought that the questions this book raises provide a lot of guidance for the things that one needs to think of, as well as an insight into what your friend might be dealing with. Very valuable from the perspective of the friends/family -- I await my friend's reaction as the patient, altho cannot help but think that it might be of interest because there seems to be a dearth of information about what is happening/could happen at a younger age, altho it is, in fact, rather common. I would highly recommend this book for people who know people in, say, their forties or fifties, who have had stroke -- it's quite a different issue than confronting it in your parents or elderly relatives, and we probably all need more the more specific information about what stroke is and isn't that this book provides.

Rating:
Summary: Autobiography--Recovering Life After Stroke
Review: MY YEAR OFF, Recovering Life After a Stroke By Robert McCrum

I understand the frustration of Robert McCrum trying to reach a telephone when he succeeded he found that he could barely make himself understood. I went through the same thing, but I was lucky enough that I was with my wife when the stroke occurred and although I couldn't talk I was put in an ambulance, took to the hospital and was under a doctor care within 40 minutes. Robert McCrum's stroke was much more severer that mine. He was hours getting to a doctor with his condition getting worse all the time...

Actually, this book is a very good autobiography of Mr. McCrum's life thought his stroke and recovery; although he is still recovering I am sure. And an interesting life it was and will continue to be. This book will be very useful to the members of my stroke club. Now, I will read the rest of his books. This one is worth five stars to me.

Rating:
Summary: brutally honest
Review: This book will help stoke victims, no matter the age, and their loved ones get the real facts, there is no watering down here. My Year Off tells us that stroke victims can make a come back, but it is mighty hard, like I said, no watering down here. As the readers learn of Robert McCrumb's story they will feel as if they are traveling the same journey and experiencing the same emotions as he. When Robert McCrumb awoke the morning of July 29 in 1995 he was unable to move. At the age of 42 he had a severe stroke. As Robert thrashed around in bed unable to sit upright, he wished Sarah; his wife of just 2 months was with him. He didn't experienced anxiety about his condition, just irritation and puzzlement. When a stroke occurs the brain suffers a hemorrhage infarct; the body experiences a colossal disturbance of its innate sensory equilibrium. Robert changed over night from a walking, talking person into an incontinent carcass, unable to make any sense out of his body. He kept passing out and wetting all over himself.

As he recuperated his mornings consented of Sarah showing up at eight in the morning with a tiny cup with a laxative type drink and fresh clothes. She also brought him the days post and the British newspapers, her addiction not his. Then he would be wheeled off by the nurses to have a bath, that was a laborious and exhausting process during which he tried to forget that the nurses were literally manhandling him moving him in and out of a wheel chair specially designed for use in the bath room.

Woven through the book are excerpts of Robert and Sarah's diaries, the reader is given a glimpse into their raw feelings and emotions as they go through this tragedy. The reader will hear the self-doubt the patient goes through as to whether they will survive or what will become of them, and the depression that they go through.

There are so many ranges of feelings in this one, it rates high on emotions. I found the book open and honest concerning strokes and their victims. It's the kind of book we need on the market to keep us informed. This is an excellent book, one worth reading whether there is a stroke victim in your family or not. It's worth being informed, you will not be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: My husband has a brain injury.
Review: This is one of the best books I've read about brain injury. It's extremely well-written. I especially appreciated the honesty of the journal entries from Robert's wife. This book showed that brain injury affects the entire family. My husband had a brain aneurysm nearly 9 years ago, resulting in aphasia (a language disability). Like the author, my husband is a well educated, young man, suddenly thrown into the world of brain injury and rehabilitation. I will share this book with others, especially wives of brain injury survivors.

Rating:
Summary: Everything Is Relative
Review: This was one of a mountain of books I poured over following my father's severe intracerebral hemorragic stroke, which has left him quite disabled both physically and mentally. For persons, such as myself, searching for answers and insight on how to cope with the seriously disabling stroke of a loved one, this is not the right book. Mr. McCrum never lost consciousness, his mental faculties remained intact (indeed, he was keeping a copious and cogent log of his observations from the first days after the stroke), and his physical disabilities were relatively minor (a slowed gait, and weakness on right side). Frankly, the book had a slightly narcissistic tenor, McCrum using every opportunity to name-drop (constantly referring to his many notable visitors), recount his adventures abroad, and demonstrate his command of arcane literature, which he quotes constantly. He discusses how his stroke caused him to rethink his career choices, and feel more committed to his marriage. McCrum's existential crisis, which culminated in his decision to leave his editorial post to become a journalist, left me cold. I think of the thousands of stroke sufferers who cannot put two sentences together, much less write a book. In the end, McCrum's account is less about the consequences of his stroke, and more about the early mid-life crisis it provoked. Mrs. McCrum, on the other hand, wrote extremely candidly and touchingly of her fears and struggles throughout her new husband's recovery. Her passages provide a very real, honest glimpse into the turmoil suffered by the family members of stroke victims, who are often vexed by feelings of helplessness, fear, isolation and sorrow.

Rating:
Summary: An intelligent explanation of stroke and illlness.
Review: Unlike most books about illness, this is written by and for intelligent people. My husband, much older and sicker than the author, has been inspired and kept going by this book, which he says explains how he feels as an invalid--a stroke victim,"imprisoned in his body" and explains some of the physiological and medical aspects of the problem. I also appreciate the diary comments of his wife, many of which echo my own feelings. Including quotes from other writers, commentary and diaries expands the perspective of the author's voice, and is an excellent device.

Rating:
Summary: Everything Is Relative
Review: Very insightful book. Referring to the past reviewer who dismissed this book because Mr. McCrum's stroke was not catastrophic enough, I am very sorry to hear of your loved one's difficulties. However this book could be helpful to many who suffer lesser degrees of stroke and eventually recover fairly well. I can understand this book would not be useful to you personally in light of your experiences. I can say though without a doubt, as a stroke survivor, that even a mild stroke is something no person would EVER want to experience. It often strikes like a lightning bolt and even if function is eventually regained it is hard for a person to ever get over being completely paralyzed and helpless even for a short period of time. Books like Mr. McCrum's help the world at large start to realize stroke can affect anyone, even the young. Best wishes and good health to all.