The Stroke Artist

Finalist in the 2021Eyelands Book Awards




At thirty-five, Dr. Bevan Choate, was a successful surgeon and the captain of his own ship. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was alone and adrift, the victim of a massive stroke.




"Your thinking self begins to panic. You're revving the engine with the pedal to the floor, but the clutch is still in first gear. You have been told by every impassioned therapist that the brain is an amazing thing, and they all have a story of Methuselah returning to rollerblading at six months after his stroke that was worse than mine.




So, you ask of yourself the impossible. You say, 'Look you son of a bitch. We are going to do this if it kills us both.' And you make something happen. The first few times you look like an absolute fool. You stumble. You literally drop the ball. You are failing but at least you are doing it in style.




Then, after lots of failing, you begin to start succeeding. You accomplish the impossible. Your soul, your being, your 'amazing brain' just won a battle that puts you that much closer to winning the war."




Brave and irreverent, The Stroke Artist is an unforgettable, first-hand divulgence of facing an unthinkable tragedy and emerging victorious to tell the tale.