Jill Bolte Taylor experienced a hemorrhagic stroke in 1996. The book details her experience of becoming dysfunctional and her eventual recovery. Although the author clearly states that she perceives herself as a "single entity with a single mind," most of the book describes the person she became when the left hemisphere of her brain wasn't working, a person unique and wholly different from the person she was pre-stroke.
I am a fan of the original Star Trek series. As I read this book, I couldn't help but think about an episode from Star Trek. In it Captain Kirk is transported back to the ship. The transporter malfunctions and instead of one Captain Kirk, there are two. One is analytical, cold and calculating; the other lived in his right mind. Neither captain could function long in the absence of the other. The brain works best when the right and left hemisphere work together.
The author presents her time in her right mind as a gift. She is almost evangelical in her zeal to describe the pantheistic Utopia she perceived after her stoke. It is, in my opinion, unfortunate that this worldview was presented in the context of a brain scientist talking about her stroke. Anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology and New Age spiritualism are all presented as facts that can be proven by delving deep enough into the human brain.
To the right mind, no time exists other than the present moment, and each moment is vibrant with sensation. Life or death occurs in the present moment. The experience of joy happens in the present moment. Our perception and experience of connection with something that is greater than ourselves occurs in the present moment. To our right mind, the moment of now is timeless and abundant. (page 29)And again:
In the absence of all the rules and regulations that have already been defined as the correct way of doing something, our right mind is free to think intuitively outside the box, and it creatively explores the possibilities that each new moment brings. (page 29)My daughter lives in her right mind most of the time. I describe it to people as her living in a four-frame life. She sees a few moments into the past the present and a moment into the future. Civil, family, work and school rules reside safely in her left brain. She rarely accesses them; she creatively develops plans to meet her perceived needs without giving any thought to consequences she might incur. Living in her right mind is not a gift; it is a debilitating liability that will likely keep her dependent even when she reaches adulthood. As I read, I felt like the author communicated that a functioning left brain was a problem that needed to be overcome.
Still, I found that the book was a rich resource for health care professionals who invest their time and energy in acutely and critically ill people. The author correctly points out that a "hospitals number one responsibility should be protecting its patients' energy levels." Nurses already know this. But, with the exception of the affect of nursing care on a patients intracranial pressure, I don't know that there is a lot of research done on this topic.
Having just completed and complained about having to prove competence in nursing by participating in continuing education, I present this argument against test based competency assessment. Knowledge does not equal competency. It is a component of competency but it is never synonymous.
I realized that some people brought energy while others took it away. One nurse was very attentive to my needs: Was I warm enough? Did I need water? Was I in pain? Naturally, I felt safe in her care. She made eye contact and was clearly providing me with a healing space. A different nurse, who never made eye contact, shuffled her feet as though she were in pain. This woman brought me a tray with milk and jello, but neglected to realize that my hands and fingers could not open the containers. I desperately wanted to consume something, but she was oblivious to my needs. She raised her voice when she spoke to me, not realizing that I wasn't deaf. Under the circumstances, her lack of willingness to connect with me scared me. I didn't feel safe in her care. (page 77)Finally, the list of 'Forty Things I Needed Most' is extremely helpful in caring for someone who is neurologically atypical, no matter what the cause.
