A Stitch of Time

The Year a Brain Injury Changed My Language and Life

By: Lauren Marks

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Lauren Marks was 27 when an aneurysm ruptured in her brain and left her fighting for her life. She woke up in a hospital soon after with serious deficiencies to her reading, speaking, and writing abilities, and an unfamiliar diagnosis: aphasia. This would be shocking news for anyone, but Lauren was a voracious reader, an actress, director, dramaturg, and pursuing her PhD. At any other period of her life, this diagnosis would have been a devastating blow. But she woke up...different. She returned to her childhood home to recover, grappling with a muted inner monologue and fractured sense of self.

Soon after, Lauren began a journal to chronicle her year following the rupture. A Stitch of Time is the remarkable result, an Oliver Sacks-like case study of a brain slowly piecing itself back together, featuring clinical research interwoven with Lauren's personal narrative and actual journal entries that marked her progress. Alternating between fascination and frustration, she relearns and re-experiences many of the things we take for granted. Deeply personal and powerful, A Stitch of Time is an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, resilience, and hope.

©2017 Lauren Marks (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Engrossing...A story of hope...Marks gives an inside account of a brain in the act of healing-including all the ups, downs, and complications - and also supplies useful information for those suffering from aphasia." ( Publishers Weekly)

Absolutely wonderful book

I began listening to this book shortly after my brain injury in 2015. I suffered from a very similar aphasia, and like the author, my inner narrator was gone. When my inner voice came back online all of a sudden one day, it was a shock! So much chatter! Somehow, as I recovered, life got busy and I never finished the book. It was poetic to finish it now, years after my injury, because I strongly identify with the authors concluding viewpoints in the later half of the book. This is just a wonderful mix of brain science, linguistic exploration, and memior. The narrator is great , too !