Bolte Taylor, Jill

Category: Scientist

One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. What made this a special event was that Jill was a brain scientist, and even though she knew she might be dying, she realized she had a unique opportunity to watch the effects of a stroke from an entirely personal angle. She watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness ...

What also makes her case very special is that the areas of brain affected were all the ones I have outlined in the section on brain damage.  The stroke damaged the left side of her brain, and gave her the most emotionally extraordinary spiritual experience you are ever likely to hear described.  Here is the chance to find out what the heaven beyond the mind is.

She obviously recovered, although it took her 8 years to get back her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury.  Her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right brain. From her home base in Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the "Singin' Scientist."

"How many brain scientists have been able to study the brain from the inside out? I've gotten as much out of this experience of losing my left mind as I have in my entire academic career."

Jill Bolte Taylor

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