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| | Description | Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Finalist for the National Book Circle Critics Award
"Diane Ackerman's most enjoyable, intimate, and heartrending work yet."—Atul Gawande Everyone who cherishes the gift of language will cherish Diane Ackerman's narrative masterpiece, an exquisitely written love story and medical miracle story, one that combines science, inspiration, wisdom, and heart.
One day Ackerman's husband, Paul West, an exceptionally gifted wordsmith and intellectual, suffered a terrible stroke. When he regained awareness he was afflicted with aphasia—loss of language—and could utter only a single syllable: "mem." The standard therapies yielded little result but frustration. Diane soon found, however, that by harnessing their deep knowledge of each other and her scientific understanding of language and the brain she could guide Paul back to the world of words. This triumphant book is both a humane and revealing addition to the medical literature on stroke and aphasia and an exquisitely written love story: a magnificent addition to literature, period. | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | Diane Ackerman | | Hardcover: | 322 pages | | Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company | | Publication Date: | April 04, 2011 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 039307241X | | Product Width: | 169.0 centimeters | | Product Height: | 244.0 centimeters | | Product Weight: | 1.36 pounds | | Package Length: | 9.5 inches | | Package Width: | 6.3 inches | | Package Height: | 1.4 inches | | Package Weight: | 1.35 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 21 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 21 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 54 found the following review helpful:
 Recovery for the Damaged Brain Apr 01, 2011
By Mary Azoy
One Hundred Names for Love is Diane Ackerman's brilliant and inspirational memoir of how she and her husband, the writer Paul West, coped with the stroke that left him - at age 75 - unable to walk, speak, or care for himself in any of the most basic ways. Devastating though it was, the crisis actually couldn't have happened to a better couple - two creative individuals for whom language is nearly as essential as breathing. In addition to the standard treatment protocols, through much experimentation and faith in the brain's plasticity, Ackerman and West developed their own rehabilitation regimen as innovative and playful as it was exhausting.
Four years into West's recovery, Ackerman invites a doctor unfamiliar with the case to comment on her husband's most recent brain scan.
[The doctor] pointed out the damage from the past stroke, in the temporal and parietal lobes, a large dead patch in the frontal lobe, and missing bits elsewhere.
"I'd assume this man has been in a vegetative state," he said with a soft humanity.
On the contrary, Ackerman assures him. By "working the brain hard every day for four and a half years," her husband has not only regained his speech and mobility, but also has written several new books and published a variety of essays.
The doctor shakes his head. "I'm so glad you told me this about him," he said thoughtfully. "It's important to know what's possible."
Certainly possible for two immensely creative and determined human beings who have had the knowledge, will, means, and mutual devotion to take the healing process to its fullest potential. Creative medicine indeed. For which Ackerman and West deserve nothing but the highest regard. But despite all the advances in standard treatment for traumatic brain injury, I can't help but worry about the respective outcomes of the many thousands of brain-injured combat veterans returning to our shores with fewer long-term resources for recovery at their disposal.
24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Heartbreaking and Helpful Apr 05, 2011
By Justin Hyde
One Hundred Names for Love is an intimate and heart-wrenching memoir of the author's journey from tragedy to revelation. After suffering a stroke, Diane's husband, also an author, lost his speech and his "rich and sophisticated vocabulary was obliterated." The dynamics of their relationship irrevocably changed and they were forced to begin anew.
This is the story of Diane's attempt to develop a new language whereby the couple may communicate and continue their relationship.
This is a perfect introduction to Ackerman's life and work, and an essential volume for her many fans and supporters.
The postscript entitled "Some Lessons Learned" (as well as the suggested further reading) is invaluable for others who have experienced or are experiencing a similar situation.
33 of 37 found the following review helpful:
Extremely Moving Mar 10, 2011
By Mark E. Seinfelt
The fates can be inordinately even perversely cruel. Everything that lives and breathes will be knocked down and smashed, leveled and overrun by the Destroyer of Delight eventually, but Death's sting is not so sharp as other stabs and punctures. There are crueler cuts and harsher hammer blows. For example, the bolt from the blue that felled author Paul West--perhaps our greatest living stylist in English--in 2004. The devastating stroke he suffered then--which ravaged the language centers of his brain and afflicted him with aphasia--seems more than wantonly cruel, rather the height of injustice, a flagrantly unfair and grevious wrong which gives not only West himself, but all his admirers and fans, all lovers and patriots of the word, just ground for complaint and fist shaking at the heavens.
In her new memoir "One Hundred Names For Love," West's wife of many years, the brilliant poet and natural historian Diane Ackerman details the terrible, heartrending period of Paul's loss of language, his long road to recovery and his eventual ressurrection as wordsmith. Her book is a powerful and deeply touching work. Extremely personal, it transcends the merely personal. It is part and parcel of the human condition that our bodies break down and fail us. All of us will have to tend someone we love. Anyone who has been a caregiver will identify with Diane's plight. Paul's case, of course, remains extremely poignant. What I love about the book is how positive and life-affirming it is. We witness a medical miracle unfold before our astonished eyes and learn, by book's end, that since his stroke Paul has completed three novels including a World War II novel and a science fiction extravaganza entitled "Now Voyager." I, for one, would very much like to read these new works.
That Paul is still writing is something that methinks only Diane could have brought about, or rather her love.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 My mom has aphasia.... Apr 21, 2011
By Jodes
My mom suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm 2+ yrs ago. She's 74 now, does not have use of her right side (she's left handed:) and suffers from Aphasia. Other than that....she is doing very well, good spirits, amazing patience and grateful for everyday she spends with those she loves. She's amazing. I hate seeing her struggle to "find the words" and my father's need to "rescue" her or correct her. His intentions are all good but it's better for her to exercise her verbal communication, so the struggle is part of it. Married 51 years now, and I think they love each other more everyday. But, love is not always enough and although I bought the book for my mom, my dad is reading it now...absolutely necessary to get a better understanding of what "normal" is now. Thank you for a beautiful book.
Jodes
8 of 9 found the following review helpful:
A Miracle! Apr 03, 2011
By Irvin D. Yalom
"Irvin Yalom"
Diane Ackerman's One Hundred Names for Love is a miracle. Every page teems with courage, love, fascinating information about the brain, and Ackerman's unforgettable and extraordinary language. The word-play, the dedication to recovery, the tenderness, and the triumph are stunning. Do read this book.
See all 21 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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