Product Description

When Eve suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm, Madonna Siles, her housemate and friend, too quickly found herself making critical short- and long-term medical care decisions without any help. When the insurance and financial resources ran out and the conventional therapy providers discharged zombie-like Eve to the homecare of a solitary caregiver, both their futures seemed hopeless.

Instead of giving up, Siles drew on life experience and her marketing career to develop a rehabilitation program that harnessed the power of the subconscious mind. Using motivational techniques borrowed from the advertising world, she appealed to Eve’s subconscious to bypass the brain damage and restore normal functioning. In three short years, even the doctors were amazed at Eve’s recovery and return to a near-normal life.

Part memoir, part recovery manual, Brain, Heal Thyself is a guidebook for thousands of shell-shocked individuals who suddenly find themselves having to make life and death decisions for those they love. With humor, warmth, and arresting honesty, Siles’s lively narrative closely examines not only the patient’s recovery, but also the crucial role of caregivers—and the emotional, financial, and practical pressures they face.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28457 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 221 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781571744760
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
.... Siles used her knowledge of AA's 12-step program and subconscious communication and visualization techniques (for) her friend's recovery .... Recommended. -- Library Journal Review, June 15, 2006

A holistic rehabilitation plan, drawing on experience as practitioner of A.A.'s 12-Step program and personal knowledge of subconscious communication techniques. -- Woman's Radio

Provides an excellent, well-written description of her frustrations...but takes one step further by making recommendations for nonstandard methods. -- American Psychological Association

Review
“Brain, Heal Thyself is a book that we all should read, especially caregivers, families of brain-injured patients, health professionals and their students. Our brains do have the capacity to be rehabilitated beyond our expectations. I truly loved Siles’ inspiring work.” —Rose Sgarlat Myers, PT, PhD, Executive Vice President Foundation for Cancer Research and Education

From the Author
Amazon's computers erroneously state that the author cites 6 books such as Merry Christmas, The Grand Canyon, etc. in Brain, Heal Thyself. None of these books are cited, nor do they have anything to do with the content of Brain, Heal Thyself, which is about caregiving a brain trauma survivor. Signed, The Author

Customer Reviews

Couldn't Stop Reading! A Page Turner Through The End.
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!

A caregiver survival tool
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.

Inspiring, compelling and just plain Wonderful!
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.