The Ghost in My Brain: How a Concussion Stole My Life and How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Helped Me Get It Back

The dramatic story of one man’s recovery offers new hope to those suffering from concussions and other brain traumas
 
In 1999, Clark Elliott suffered a concussion when his car was rear-ended. Overnight his life changed from that of a rising professor with a research career in artificial intelligence to a humbled man struggling to get through a single day. At times he couldn’t walk across a room, or even name his five children. Doctors told him he would never fully recover. After eight years, the cognitive demands of his job, and of being a single parent, finally became more than he could manage. As a result of one final effort to recover, he crossed paths with two brilliant Chicago-area research-clinicians—one an optometrist emphasizing neurodevelopmental techniques, the other a cognitive psychologist—working on the leading edge of brain plasticity. Within weeks the ghost of who he had been started to re-emerge.
 
Remarkably, Elliott kept detailed notes throughout his experience, from the moment of impact to the final stages of his recovery, astounding documentation that is the basis of this fascinating book. The Ghost in My Brain gives hope to the millions who suffer from head injuries each year, and provides a unique and informative window into the world’s most complex computational device: the human brain.

• How to Feed a Brain: Nutrition for Optimal Brain Function and Repair
• The Concussion Repair Manual: A Practical Guide to Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries
• The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity
• The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Workbook: Your Program for Regaining Cognitive Function and Overcoming Emotional Pain (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
• Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey Into Seeing in Three Dimensions
• 101 Tips for Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury: Practical Advice for TBI Survivors, Caregivers, and Teachers
• Coping with Concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Guide to Living with the Challenges Associated with Post Concussion Syndrome and Brain Trauma
• BrainSAVE: The 6-Week Plan to Heal Your Brain from Concussions, Brain Injuries & Trauma without Drugs or Surgery
• The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
• The Traumatized Brain: A Family Guide to Understanding Mood, Memory, and Behavior after Brain Injury (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book)