Get The Ghost In My Brain: How A Concussion Stole My Life And How The New Science Of Brain Plasticity Helped Me Get It Back Produced By Clark Elliott Version

very detailed description of symptoms, I liked the first parts the best, I like the way the authors computer science background described his experience in great detail, Part, which showed his healing process was a bit challenging to understand/get through other than glasses amp exercises helped, A Personal Account of What Suffering from a Concussion is Like

In, Clark Elliott was in a fairly minor automobile accident, He had a moment of blackout, but thought that his symptoms would quickly pass, They didn't. He experienced intense pain in his skull, suffered balance problems, had trouble thinking for any extended period of time, and suffered bouts of nausea when concentrating hard.


Medical professionals were unable to help him, suggesting that he learn to live with his symptoms, Clark is a remarkable person, He did live with his symptoms for ten years and during that time recorded his struggle to cope and understand his problems, Being a professor of artificial intelligence, he described his symptoms in language relating to information processing, Although at times his descriptions become a little technical, he offers simplified examples so the book is easy to follow,

The descriptions of how the cognitive processes in his brain appeared to work are fascinating, Because his thinking speed was slowed, he was able to analyze the way his brain worked to retrieve and process information, Anyone interested in cognitive psychology should read this book, Necessarily, it is one person's experience, and therefore, a case study, However, it is a case study that suggests a number of pathways for future research,

Perhaps one of the most significant sections of the book for anyone suffering from the effects of concussion is the part about his eventual successful treatment.
I highly recommend this to anyone suffering from concussion and looking to understand and get treatment for their symptoms,

I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program,
I was interested in this book because my husband suffered a traumatic brain injury over twenty years ago, which has dramatically changed both of our lives.
We listened to the audio version together and both of us found ourselves in tears at numerous times, It was a relief for my husband to have found that there was someone else out there who could describe what he has gone through in such clear detail.
And, it is a relief for both of us to know that there is hope in the research that is being done with brain elasticity,

That being said, this book could have been aboutshorter, The minutia of Mr. Elliott's daily life got to be tedious the reason it took overmonths to finish listening to it, We got it, life is hard after a tbi, People don't understand what you are going through, It's frustrating. Also, as a nonconcussive, I was made to feel guilty for not having had a tbi, There was a moment while listening to this book when I turned to my husband and asked him if he resented the fact that I had not had a concussion.
He, of course, said no and agreed that Elliott was being heavyhanded in his attitude toward nonconcussives,

Overall, there is good information in this book, but I wouldn't listen to the audiobook, and if possible, I would find a used copy that had been highlighted by another reader and just read the highlights.
I just finished reading "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge and picked up this book to continue learning about brain plasticity, The author's detailed personal experience taken from notes he kept over many years makes this book so very interesting, For me, finding this book and reading about Dr, Zelinsky's Z Bell testing and eyeglasses treatment was lifechanging, as I recently had a mild brain injury and have so far been told by a handful of doctors that there is not really a treatment or cure for my symptoms.
But this book helped me find hope in recovery! I called the Mind Eye Institute in Chicago and was very impressed that they actually care about my situation.
I definitely don't have as severe of an issue as Dr, Elliot, but I certainly believe his descriptions about his experience and am so grateful he published his notes, As a BI survivor, and parent to a BI

survivor, this book was so incredibly informative, It also helped me find additional therapies and resources! So amazed with his ability to record and recall all that he experienced and blessed for his courage to share.
THIS is exactly why people need to share their journeys with others, Thank you for this incredible account and sharing it with the world, Every brain injury/concussion survivor family and caregivers should read this An amazingly helpful, hopeful, and interesting book for anyone who has suffered from concussions or is interested in brain plasticity from a layman's perspective a very smart layman.
It seems we are only just learning about the longterm effects of concussion and how the brain can be made to adapt and retrain itself, I received this book as an advance copy in exchange for a review from Viking,

Often when I read nonfiction books that have to simplify concepts in science, those with formal academic training in that discipline complain that it is too oversimplified, or in the worst case scenario, wrong.
I have dabbled in neuroscience in my training as a Psychologist and I am happy to report that this book takes on a giant topic and makes it accessible to the general public.
It was not a light read and not for when I had worked all day, but Dr Elliott tries to make things as concrete as possible when explaining brain function and how interruptions to brain function ruin one's ability to make it from A to B in the same way.
Also, before one gets to the last third where the fascinating healing process is explained and Dr Elliot is brought back to himself, this book can be very depressing.
He suffers profound disability for years and has to maintain a previously highfunctioning life that would be taxing for a normal person, I am not sure I would have made it through the previous two thirds without knowing that the last third would be about recovery,

I work some with children on the autistic spectrum and some of the deficits that he articulates overlap with how children on the spectrum struggle with meeting every day demands, too.
While I am empathic to Dr Elliott's struggles, I feel lucky that he is able to impart so clearly what living with brain damage is really like to help us to generate empathy and develop interventions to assist in functioning.
Increased understanding always leads to better outcomes, I wonder how the neuroplasticity work that he does to heal would affect children on the spectrum, Also, he does exercises that ameliorate his slight attentional deficits, which would be great to be able to give to children who suffer from this condition as well.
The brain is a magical thing,

The book is well written, clear and informative, It tackles a huge subject and makes it relatable, It is inspiring to think about some of the cognitive work and healing that can be done with deficits that we previously felt we have to medicate and cope with.


If you like this review and would like to see more, or would like me to consider your work for review, please see my website at sitelinkwww.
donovanreads. com. Thanks to Viking Books for this opportunity, Very good took me awhile to read because of Brain Injury, Great read because it validates how I was feeling, I was unable to articulate it but he is spot on, I had a concussion and it was interesting to learn more about them, Mine was not as bad as Clarks!, One of the better traumatic brain injury books that I have read, Elliott is articulate and shows just how debilitating and maddening TBIs can be, His story also raises some serious questions about how we should approach brain injury treatment and in that regard other mental health issues that are the result of how our brains process information, whether the damage comes from blunt trauma or psychological trauma.


First, medical professionals need to learn to work from a baseline for the patient, A professor like Elliott is going to have capabilities that differ from other patients, In brain science there is a starting point from the injury,

Second, we need to look at more treatments that promote neuroplasticity, The neuroophthalmology was fascinating and basically used handicapping and altering vision to promote change in how Elliot perceived the world and in a very real sense, healed him.
This was also coupled by training to make up for cognitive deficits that he had been able to mask prior to the injury, but that became apparent after his injury.


Third, Elliott had to work for almost ten years to try and find the right treatment, Too many people suffer to let these promising treatments be so inaccessible to the general public, Which highlights the problem with capitalistic medicine, These treatments, while they work, aren't easy, are time consuming, and costly, The easy fix is an easier sell, but it almost inevitably not as effective or long lasting, particularly in the area of the brain, These are not problems that can be solved with an antibiotic or a pill, I was hoping this would be more about the Brain Plasticity and the steps he went through to recover, not the long drawn out explanations of the symptoms effectively disconnects in the brain making simple cognition and daily activity difficult.
Relief washed over me as I found this book, for it proved that having postconcussion syndrome is not just a makeup condition, Whilst appearing normal to the eyes of others, the mind is in bedlam details I'd rather not share to the public, If you suffer the same condition, I do recommend reading this, Albeit, how I wish it was shorter, . . I have to admit: I skipped a lot of the chapters, especially the author's recollection of his every day life, I'm sorry, for I just wasn't interested in them and I didn't have the patience for someone else's mundane life lol

Overall, it was an interesting read.
I'd prefer if we get to have the research behind his recovery, It would help lots of people such as myself This is an exceptional book, It is sadistic to think that "it was the right thing that happened to Dr, Elliott" but because it happened to him, he turned that into an opportunity for others like him to use similar approaches, The two heroes of the story are two cutting age brain researchers in Drs, Zelinsky and Dr. Donalee who are doing significant work in this field, Several parts of the book go off the top due to their technicalities and yet many are surreal and almost transcendental, Great book if you really want to believe the unbelievable then you must read this book, .