Excellant book to help you understand what a stroke victim goes through. I would recommend this to everyone who has been touched by a stroke

I found this to be an easy read. I felt that Mike was speaking directly to the reader.

It sounds horrible, but as I get older, many relatives are prone to strokes. I've had three in the past couple of years. Each time, I have sent them this book. To some extent, a lot of what's in this book are things that he is largely repeating from some of his earlier ones; but it is condensed (without most of the autobiography of other works) into lessons for life, particularly after a stroke, that are inspirational and surprisingly uplifting, without being too treachly or trite.

Sometimes people complain "why should ws listen to someone just because they're a celebrity?" This book is a counterpoint to that - it reminds us that just because someone is a celebrity, doesn't discount them from reminding us what real life is about.

This quick read (167 pages in the large print edition) reveals the life changing experience for Kirk Douglas when he survived a stroke at age 80. The veteran actor struggled to regain his speech and suffered the overwhelming depression that accompanies stroke.
You get glimpses of his childhood interspersed with flashbacks to his movie and personal experiences with the screen's great stars.
Although spared the swallowing difficulties and paralysis that make a stroke so debilitating, the loss of speech affected his self-worth. Speech is crucial to an actor, so Douglas had to relearn that ability through therapy. His triumphs along the road to recovery include acting in two films in his 80s and giving a speech when receiving an oscar for lifetime achievement in films.
His stroke taught him "to be more compassionate, to work harder at my relationships with my loved ones, to value friendship more, to be aware of the world around me, to slow down and to have a richer spiritual life."
Maybe readers can learn these life lessons without having their own "stroke of luck."

I have always admired Kirk Douglas and bought this book because of that. What I wasn't expecting was how informative and entertaining the book was.

I don't personally know anyone who has had a stroke and so learned a lot about it from the author's personal perspective. He kept a good balance about it - just relating his experience without going into an endless stroke victim advocacy position.

It was also interesting to read about his actor friends. He was not dropping names, but rather was merely mentioning them in the context of his friendships and how they helped him with his condition.

The length of the book was just right.

I have much more admiration for Kirk Douglas now than I had previously. He is a courageous man who has weathered the challenges of having a major stroke. I like his stories and his honesty about his condition. He even adds humor from time to time.

I will recommend this book to any friends or relatives afflicted by a stroke. My grandmother had a stroke. Now, thanks to Kirk, I know more about what she might have had to endure.