After a stroke: 300 tips for making life easier

Hutton is a nurse and an encouraging facilitator, and she will get you back on your feet following a stroke. Her area of expertise is post-stroke recovery at home, and as a 12-year stroke survivor, she certainly knows her stuff. With some 5 million stroke survivors and 700,000 added annually, Hutton's useful advice will find many a hopeful reader. She begins with the basics: what is a hemorrhagic stroke, an ischemic stroke, an aneurysm, an embolism? How do strokes work and what are the effects? This requires some basic neuroscience, and Hutton handles that delicate task with aplomb. Understanding your brain is half the challenge to recovery. Then come the tips, delivered in an encouraging, direct tone. They range from the purely practical--how to tear off a paper towel using only one hand, how to use adaptive aids, how to store and use medications--to learning to cope with and trying to master emotional swings and moving on with your love life. Hutton wants stroke survivors to get back into the daily routine, take on an acceptable level of independence, keep and good sense of humor and never to forget entertainment (yes, some television can build brain power). And most importantly, Hutton inspires hope, a vital soothing force in the road to recovery. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.