Tell Me the Planets: Stories of Brain Injury and What It Means to Survive - Hardcover

Platts-Mills, Ben

 
9780241257210: Tell Me the Planets: Stories of Brain Injury and What It Means to Survive
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0241257212 ISBN 13: 9780241257210
Publisher: Fig Tree, 2018

Synopsis

'An absorbing and moving account of what it is like to live with brain injury' Penelope Lively

'Heartbreaking and uplifting' Robert Newman

Matthew has a meticulously logical mind. He is intelligent, compassionate and fiercely loyal. He also has a brain injury.

When Matthew underwent surgery to remove a life-threatening cyst in the middle of his brain, he was left with extreme fatigue, a difficulty forming new memories and with a tendency to confabulate - to 'remember', with absolute conviction, events that have not occurred.

In Tell Me the Planets, Ben Platts-Mills tells stories about his work with survivors of brain injury, offering a rare glimpse into the world as seen through their eyes: charismatic Danny, whose criminal past has left him paralysed down one side, but who now helps others worse off than himself; Sid, whose memory for the present lasts only moments; and Liah, who is caught in a battle with the care system threatening to make her homeless.

But above all this is the story of the extraordinary friendship between Ben and Matthew, following their attempts to discover what has happened to Matthew's brain and how he might begin to rebuild his life. It is a journey that takes them to the frontiers of science and to the limits of human resilience: when they discover that the cyst is growing again, Matthew is left with an impossible decision to make.

'Platts-Mills writes with truth and eloquence about his relationships with brain injury survivors' Julia Samuel

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Ben Platts-Mills lives in Hackney and has spent the last 14 years working for Headway East London, the charity that supports survivors of brain injury. In 2013 he led on the development of the life writing project, Who Are You Now? which publishes survivors' stories (www.whoareyounow.org).

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Fig Tree
Publication date
2018
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0241257212
ISBN 13 
9780241257210
Binding
Hardcover
Number of pages
256

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780241976838: Tell Me the Planets: Stories of Brain Injury and What It Means to Survive

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0241976839 ISBN 13:  9780241976838
Publisher: Penguin, 2019
Softcover