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The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

And Other Inspiring Stories of Pioneering Brain Transformation

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The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

By: Barbara Arrowsmith-Young
Narrated by: Lisa Bunting
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About this listen

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young was born with severe learning disabilities that caused teachers to label her slow, stubborn - or worse. As a child, she read and wrote everything backward, struggled to process concepts in language, continually got lost, and was physically uncoordinated. She could make no sense of an analogue clock. But by relying on her formidable memory and iron will, she made her way to graduate school, where she chanced upon research that inspired her to invent cognitive exercises to “fix” her own brain. The Woman Who Changed Her Brain interweaves her personal tale with riveting case histories from her more than thirty years of working with both children and adults.

Recent discoveries in neuroscience have conclusively demonstrated that, by engaging in certain mental tasks or activities, we actually change the structure of our brains - from the cells themselves to the connections between cells. The capability of nerve cells to change is known as neuroplasticity, and Arrowsmith-Young has been putting it into practice for decades. With great inventiveness, after combining two lines of research, Barbara developed unusual cognitive calisthenics that radically increased the functioning of her weakened brain areas to normal and, in some areas, even above-normal levels. She drew on her intellectual strengths to determine what types of drills were required to target the specific nature of her learning problems, and she managed to conquer her cognitive deficits. Starting in the late 1970s, she has continued to expand and refine these exercises, which have benefited thousands of individuals. Barbara founded Arrowsmith School in Toronto in 1980 and then the Arrowsmith Program to train teachers and to implement this highly effective methodology in schools all over North America. Her work is revealed as one of the first examples of neuroplasticity’s extensive and practical application. The idea that self-improvement can happen in the brain has now caught fire.

The Woman Who Changed Her Brain powerfully and poignantly illustrates how the lives of children and adults struggling with learning disorders can be dramatically transformed. This remarkable book by a brilliant pathbreaker deepens our understanding of how the brain works and of the brain’s profound impact on how we participate in the world. Our brains shape us, but this book offers clear and hopeful evidence of the corollary: we can shape our brains.

©2012 Babara Arrowsmith-Young (P)2012 Post Hypnotic Press Inc.
Biological Sciences Psychology Women Human Brain Physical Exercise

Critic Reviews

“If you have a son, a daughter, a parent, a spouse, or a brain, this is a must-read book. It will open your mind to new possibilities on how to deal with ‘traffic jams in the brain.’” (Alvaro Fernandez, CEO & Co-Founder, SharpBrains.com)
"Arrowsmith-Young has been able to describe, in a poignant and often unforgettable way, what it feels like to have a devastating learning disorder - but also what it’s like to leave it behind. Most everyone reading this book will find in its unique case histories, a new way to think about people’s cognitive difficulties in coping with the world. Here is an opportunity to understand the mental glitches and deeper problems of their own or of others in a new way. As I envisage the future of neuroplastic education, I think that Arrowsmith-Young’s notion of a school that has multiple brain exercises at its core for much of the day is the most promising model to get children back on track as quickly as possible.” (Norman Doidge, M.D., author of The Brain That Changes Itself)
“This is a poignant book about two people who connected across continents and generations - a Canadian woman with an unusual cognitive makeup, and the great Russian neuropsychologist Alexander Luria whose writings gave Barbara Arrowsmith-Young the tools to change her own life and the lives of her many students. Moving, insightful and empowering!” (Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., author of The Wisdom Paradox and The New Executive Brain)

What listeners say about The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

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Amazing!

Loved it and want to learn more about the exercises. I love that we can retrain our brain no matter who we are!

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Neuroplasticity...Wow!!

This book has had a deep impact on me and forever changed my ideas about students with learning difficulties.

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Lots of light bulb moments. Loved this

Lots of light bulb moments. Loved this and enrolled both my children in the Arrowsmith program as a result. This book makes me so excited for what the future could hold for my children and all the others this program could reach

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Fantastic

As someone with trauma this is the only book I've read that I could relate to. It made me cry to feel understood, and helped me recover! Fantastic examples. Great book :)

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Disappointing

This book reads like an advertising brochure. It promises much but delivers very little detail about how Arrowsmith-Young actually achieves the improvements in learning deficits.

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