Lauren Marks was 27 when an aneurysm ruptured in her brain and left her fighting for her life. She woke up in a hospital soon after with serious deficiencies to her reading, speaking, and writing abilities, and an unfamiliar diagnosis: aphasia. This would be shocking news for anyone, but Lauren was a voracious reader, an actress, director, dramaturg, and pursuing her PhD. At any other period of her life, this diagnosis would have been a devastating blow. But she woke up...different. She returned to her childhood home to recover, grappling with a muted inner monologue and fractured sense of self.

Soon after, Lauren began a journal to chronicle her year following the rupture. A Stitch of Time is the remarkable result, an Oliver Sacks-like case study of a brain slowly piecing itself back together, featuring clinical research interwoven with Lauren's personal narrative and actual journal entries that marked her progress. Alternating between fascination and frustration, she relearns and re-experiences many of the things we take for granted. Deeply personal and powerful, A Stitch of Time is an unforgettable journey of self-discovery, resilience, and hope.

Listening Length

11 hours and 24 minutes
Author

Lauren Marks
Narrator

Tavia Gilbert
Audible release date

May 2, 2017
Language

English
Publisher

Tantor Audio
ASIN

B06ZY3JBCM
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	11 hours and 24 minutes
Author	Lauren Marks
Narrator	Tavia Gilbert
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	May 02, 2017
Publisher	Tantor Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B06ZY3JBCM
Best Sellers Rank	#70,340 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #143 in Biographies of Medical Professionals (Audible Books & Originals) #249 in Neuroscience (Books) #530 in Medical Professional Biographies

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

100 global ratings

5 star		74%
4 star		16%
3 star		7%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Kathleen Hylen

A great read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 4, 2017

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I took a writing class with Lauren years ago and knew, when I first heard her read, that any book she wrote would be published. We didn't really stay in touch but I watched the progress with her memoir on Facebook and having read it, I can say it was even better than what I'd imagined. I bought the book initially to support Lauren, however, about the time it came out I decided to study French intensively. I felt that I would relate to the topic a bit more since I was going to be without my native language for a while. Of course it was nothing comparable and yet I read on because Lauren's writing is insightful even if you've never experienced what she has, and it's musical. It's easy to read. You want to know more and yet you're not racing through the pages as the language itself is beautiful, kind of ironic given that the whole book is about a struggle with language.

For an example of her insight, "We use words to describe ourselves to others, but also to describe ourselves to our ourselves." Wow - so true but I had never thought about it.

She's also funny. It's impressive how she kept her sense of humor like when she told her neurosurgeon, "well I'll give you a piece of my mind." Or when she asked herself if she would actually let a university rivalry inform her choice of a neurosurgeon," I thought that this book would be more suited to someone who had gone through something similar to what Lauren had but really, it's just a damn good memoir for anyone to read.

2 people found this helpful

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W. Minner

A fascinating and educational recounting of an aneurysm TBI adventure!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 12, 2017

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Several years before the start of her Lauren’s ‘adventure’, I had a cerebral aneurysm rupture in the same left temporal lobe area. In my case, after an emergency room craniotomy & vessel clipping, I ended up with an area of encephalomalacia, a significant level of expressive aphasia, limitations on memory abilities (storage & access), and a loss of thinking speed and ability to interact in “high-pressure” interactions. I found the book to be a fascinating recounting of Lauren’s aneurysm experience, and learned more about a number of aspects of my adventure! The description & discussion of her medical and recovery encounters & procedures (including neurosurgeon, neurologist, nurses, neuro-therapists, family & friends) was most interesting – her journal scribbles provided an amazing level of detail for someone in an impaired condition! Lauren is also very open and honest about her many positive & negative thoughts and feelings, which tend to start up after a level of recovery has occurred. This book provides a black & white example of brain plasticity, as the “short-circuits” and “disconnects” that are left after a brain-vessel blowout are slowly rewired. I am looking forward to further books by Lauren in the future – she is a very skilled and educational writer. After one experiences TBI, the recovery period never ends……..

6 people found this helpful

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Mitchell E. Marks

I thoroughly enjoyed “A Stitch of Time” from two different perspectives

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed “A Stitch of Time” from two different perspectives. On a personal level, reading Lauren’s book was like having the kitchen table discussions friends and family have about school, work, boyfriends or life in general. Her personal story about who she was “before” helped set the stage for explaining how aphasia impacted her.

On an intellectual level, I didn’t know much about aphasia. I sort of “knew” that it was stroke-related and had something to do with difficulty with speaking and maybe understanding spoken words. From Lauren’s book I’ve learned that it is much more than that. I was moved by her description of the “Quiet” zone she lived in after the rupture, her lack of concern for the past or the future, her feeling contented with the “now” in which she was living, her impaired memory and her failure to notice in the beginning that people important to her were not present (her brother, her boyfriend). Her journey of learning about who she was, and learning to be who she was becoming, was a very interesting read.

4 people found this helpful

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pants

Couldn't put it down!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 15, 2017

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I started reading the book last night, expecting to read a couple of chapters, but couldn't put it down, and ended up staying up all right reading and watching the sun rise as I finished. This book is a delicate balance of beautiful prose, engaging storytelling, and fascinating revelations about words, language, memory, relationships and finding and creating oneself through the challenges that shape us. The author also has a wonderful ability to flip back and forth between living through the massive changes in her brain and life and the hindsight with which she is writing the book, allowing the reader to experience both simultaneously. The book gives great insight into aphasia, recovery, and the many delicate balances that keep our brains functioning. Highly recommend to people interested in the more scientific subjects covered in the book, and those just looking for an engaging, engrossing story to suck you in and keep you up all night reading.

3 people found this helpful

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Kilian85710

Four stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 23, 2017

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One minute she was on stage in Edinburgh singing karaoke with her friend. Then an aneurysm in her brain she didn't know she had ruptured, and she woke in a Scottish hospital, unable to speak, read, or write. This time of her life, which she refers to as The Quiet, had a name—aphasia. She struggles to regain her speaking ability and succeeds over the following months.

The most interesting thing in her account is the change in her personality. Her boyfriend expects her to return to the girl she was, but that woman is gone forever. She is a new creation and struggles to learn who she has become.

A fascinating account of how the brain works, and what it is like when it doesn't.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ensemble

A wonderful, inspiring read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 24, 2017

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Lauren Marks book is a wonderful read... her unique and profound life-changing experience is generously shared with us. I was riveted from first page to last as she unfolds her story with such warmth, fun and intelligence. A Stitch in Time stretched my horizons, gave me new insights and had me laughing out loud. Please read it!

One person found this helpful

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A Stitch of Time: The Year a Brain Injury Changed My Language and Life Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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