Author, neuroscientist, and actress Lisa Genova's 6 favorite books about scienc

[FayeforCure]

Lisa Genova's 6 favorite books about science and literature

The Harvard-trained neuroscientist recommends works by Stephen King, Oliver Sacks, and Jean-Dominique Bauby

posted on August 5, 2011, at 10:16 AM





Author, neuroscientist, and actress Lisa Genova says Oliver Sacks helped ignite her passion for science. Photo: Christopher Seufert

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks (Touchstone, $15). A collection of case studies describing patients with extraordinary neurological impairments, told with compassion and an infectious curiosity about how the mind works. Sacks’s book ignited my passion for neuroscience.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby (Vintage, $13). Bauby wrote this memoir one painstaking blink at a time after a massive brain-stem stroke left him completely paralyzed but for his left eye. His body a prison, his mind nonetheless remained sharply intact. Stunning and eloquent, Bauby’s words still haunt me.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (Harper, $15). I love and admire everything about this novel, told from the perspective of Enzo, a Lab-terrier mix and the companion of a race-car driver. Great storytelling, flawed characters you’re rooting for on every page, and beautiful life lessons, delivered from an unforgettable point of view.

Don’t Leave Me This Way by Julia Fox Garrison (Harper, $14). This memoir of a 37-year-old woman who survives a right-hemisphere hemorrhage blew me away. Educational and inspirational, it still inhabits me. Readers who enjoyed My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor will love this one.

On Writing by Stephen King (Scribner, $16). King’s books usually terrify me, but this one is different. It’s part memoir, part words of wisdom about craft. Thank you, Mr. King, for telling it to us straight, for being generous with what you know, for the reassurance and some additional tools. I’ve read only a handful of books more than once; I’ve read this book three times.

The Tell-Tale Brain by V.S. Ramachandran (Norton, $27). Phantom limbs, synesthesia, the evolution of language, the underpinnings of empathy, art appreciation, a sense of self: How do our brains allow us to perceive, understand, interact with, and enjoy the world around us? The questions, poignantly raised by Ramachandran, are as fascinating as his theories and answers.

â€"Harvard-trained neuroscientist Lisa Genova is the author of the best-selling novels Still Alice and Left Neglected, both now available in paperback

http://theweek.com/article/index/217915/lisa-genovas-6-favorite-books-about-science-and-literature

[FayeforCure]

What do you all think?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/aug/18/man-in-assisted-suicide-case

[FayeforCure]

'9000 Needles' tracks a bodybuilder's medical nightmare
2:04 PM, Aug. 18, 2011  |  Comments

"9000 Needles" tracks bodybuilder's recovery.
By Mark Hinson
Democrat senior writer

Filed Under
Entertainment
IF YOU GO

'9000 Needles'

What: The Tallahassee Film Society presents "9000 Needles"; it's not rated and runs 83 minutes

When: 6 p.m. today; 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: All Saints Cinema, in the old Amtrak station off Railroad Avenue

Cost: $7 for the general public, $5 for students and members of the Film Society

Contact: Call 386-4404 or visit www.tallahasseefilms.com




More
Devin Dearth was rabidly devout when it came to working out and keeping in top physical shape.

The 40-year-old businessman and bodybuilder was up before dawn every day and pumping iron at his favorite gym in Central City, Ky. His body was tanned and ripped. Dearth could have been the model for one of those pump-yourself-up ads in the back of weight-lifting magazines. We're talking discipline.

One morning, while his wife and kids were still sleeping back home, Dearth was working on his leg thrusts when he told his pals he wasn't feeling well. He felt numb and sick. Then he collapsed. The bodybuilder had a bleed in the brain stem â€" which brought on deadly symptoms very similar to a severe stroke or a brain aneurism.

No one expected Dearth to live after he was rushed to the hospital. But Dearth was one tough guy who, somehow, survived. The bleed, however, left him almost completely paralyzed and barely able to speak. The man of iron was, essentially, reduced to a rag doll.

The documentary "9000 Needles," which is being shown by The Tallahassee Film Society this weekend, follows Dearth's painful, unorthodox, frustrating and far-flung journey of recovery. It's a journey that takes Dearth and his family from small-town Kentucky to bustling China. Sure, it's tough to watch at times, but it's also hard not to root for the determined Dearth.

While "9000 Needles" is about one man's fight for his life, it also shines a light on the glitches and pitfalls of the American health insurance. Because Dearth was such a young man when he nearly died, his insurance doesn't cover the lengthy physical rehabilitation that is needed. Just as he is making progress in the hospital's rehab, he is discharged and sent home to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. His wife could barely lift him in and out of the bed.

Just when everything looked dark, Dearth's brother, Doug, found out about a hospital in Tianjian, China, that blended Western medicine with the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture. Doug picked up his camera to document the non-traditional treatment and the Dearths moved to a clinic in the middle of a bustling, noisy city in Asia. The Dearths' church played a big part in helping raise the money for the treatment.

(Page 2 of 2)


Even though "9000 Needles" often borders on being an uncomfortable invasion of privacy, the small triumphs â€" the lifting of a leg, the first step down a staircase â€" are exciting to witness. It's also a constant reminder of how a seemingly perfect life can be radically altered in a matter of minutes. There are no guarantees, you know.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20110819/ENT/108190307/-9000-Needles-tracks-bodybuilder-s-medical-nightmare