When I was just forty-two I suffered a severe stroke. Paralysed on my left side and unable to walk, I was confined to hospital for three months, and then spent about a year recovering, slowly getting myself back into the world.
When I was seriously ill in hospital, I longed to read a book that would tell me that I might expect in convalescence and also give me something to think about. . .’
‘Not only a riveting account of his sudden illness, but of love being put under a real test: a heart-warming triumph’ Kazuo Ishiguro, Sunday Times Books of the Year
‘With its lucid heartfelt prose, My Year Off gives voice to the millions of people who suffer strokes . . . More importantly, this book is a testament to the parallel trials and courage of the family members of stroke victims’ New York Times Book Review
‘Few of us can write in perfect health with the wit, skill, honesty and compassion that McCrum manages following a stroke’ Professor Anthony Clare
About the Author
Robert McCrum is literary editor of the Observer and was formerly an editor at Faber & Faber. He writes regular reviews and is the author of the critically acclaimed P. G. Wodehouse: A Life.
A wonderful account by a man too young to have a stroke. Since my mother had a stroke a few years later it has been a great help to understand the frustratingly long recovery, but my strongest memory of this story of recovery is Robert’s wife for whom it was almost harder to cope with, yet came through as central in his recovery, and is just amazing.
For advice on how to make your lifestyle healthier, click here.