Subtitled “Stories of Remarkable Recoveries and Discoveries”, this 2015 book follows the authors earlier 2008 work, “The Brain that Changes Itself”, and develops and updates the themes of that book – the brains adaptation through neurogenesis and neuroplasticity.
It’s an area of rapid change and development of our knowledge, and the story of baby Will, treated in 2011, brings it home that the patient, or in this case the patients parents, need to search for the most up to date practice, otherwise status quo can leave possibilities unexplored.
There was so, so, much in this book that interested me. Using Mozart to heal the brain, viz the work of Tomatis. The work of Moshe Feldenkrais, with very precise small movements to stimulate brain activity. Walking to heal Parkinsonian Symptoms. And none of this is quackery, it’s evidenced – maybe not mainstream, but credible as the boundaries of our understanding change.
This isn’t an academic tome, but equally not a light read. It’s a comprehensive, but understandable, exploration.
It’s a book I’d recommend to anyone in the helping professions, anyone with a personal or familial interest in brain healing. It was a worthwhile read.
