Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Finalist for the National Book Circle Critics Award "A testament to the power of creativity in language, life--and love." --Heller McAlpin, Washington Post No other writer can blendthe science of the brain with the love of language like Diane Ackerman. In thisextraordinary memoir, she opens a window into the experience ofwordlessness--the language paralysis called aphasia. In narrating the recoveryof her husband, Paul West, from a stroke that reduced his vast vocabulary to asingle syllable, she evokes the joy and mystery of the brain's ability to findand connect words. Deeply rewarding to readers of all kinds, Ackerman has givenus a literary love story, accessible insight into the science and medicine ofbrain injury, and invaluable spiritual sustenance in the face of life's myriadphysical sufferings.