{"product_id":"with-one-hand-tied-behind-my-brain-a-memoir-of-life-after-stroke-9780875657646","title":"With One Hand Tied Behind My Brain: A Memoir of Life After Stroke","description":"\u003cp\u003eMost would not expect a book about a stroke to be entertaining, but this memoir will force you to laugh through a tragedy, then cry, then laugh again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAvrel Seale was fifty, did not smoke or drink, had low blood pressure, and had hiked more than two hundred miles the year a stroke nearly ended his life. In an instant, he was teleported into the body of an old man--unbalanced, shaky, spastic, and half-paralyzed. Overnight, he was plunged into a world of brain surgeons, nurses, insurance case managers, and an abundance of therapists.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeginning three weeks before his stroke to set the stage, Seale leads us through the harrowing day of his stroke and emergency brain surgery with minute-by-minute intensity. We then follow him through ICU, a rehab hospital, and a neuro-recovery group-living center, where we meet a memorable cast of other stroke survivors and also those recovering from auto accidents and gunshots. Finally home, Seale leads us through a new life of firsts, including returning to work, to driving, to playing guitar, to camping, and even to writing a book--all with one hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat emerges from his humor (\"elegant but devastating\") is a revealing critique of the hospital experience, the insurance industry, and rehab culture. And his nothing-off-the-table quest for recovery shows both the sobering struggles and inspiring possibilities of life after a stroke in twenty-first century America. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAVREL SEALE lives in Austin with his wife, Kirstin, and three sons. He has been a newspaper reporter and columnist and has spent much of his career at the University of Texas at Austin, as editor of its alumni magazine, speechwriter for its president, and as a writer for its news, marketing, and development offices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Texas Christian University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50494388601106,"sku":"9780875657646","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0a756801-03c3-47d3-9e65-8d6c00ad4d19.jpg?v=1730663901","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/with-one-hand-tied-behind-my-brain-a-memoir-of-life-after-stroke-9780875657646","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}