My year off - Robert McCrum

''A meticulous and highly literary account, written by a gifted storyteller . . . a book difficult to lay aside until its final sentence has been reached' Sherwin Nuland, author of How We Die, in the New York Times

Few of us can write in perfect health with the wit, skill, honesty and compassion that McCrum manages following a stroke' Professor Anthony Clare

'With its lucid heartfelt prose, My Year Off gives voice to the millions of people who suffer strokes . . . More importantly, this book is a testament to the parallel trials and courage of the family members of stroke victims' Abraham Verghese, New York Times Book Review

'McCrum's memoir is not only a story of courage and a serious warning to workaholics, it is also a love story' Brian Macarthur, The Times Books of the Year

'Not only a riveting account of his sudden illness, but of love being put under a real test: a heart-warming triumph both for author and Love' Kazuo Ishiguro, Sunday Times Books of the Year

'You will know a great deal more about strokes if you read this book, and certainly a great deal more about love' Elaine A. Zimbel, Toronto Globe and Mail

'One of the most stunning pieces of non-fiction to be published for quite a while . . . Has the zest and the effortless dramatic power of the highest kind of journalism. It deserves to be the biggest kind of bestseller' Peter Craven, Sydney Morning Herald

At the age of forty-two, happy, successful and newly married, Robert McCrum suffered a devastating stroke. It occurred without explanation, leaving his left arm and leg completely paralysed, his speech virtually absent, and his sense of himself radically altered.

My Year Off is the searingly honest account of what followed: of McCrum's anger, despair and frustration; his violent mood swings; and his gradual recovery of sensation, movement, confidence and self-esteem. Including extracts from his diary and that of his wife Sarah, it is not only an invaluable insight into the suffering of stroke victims and their families, but also a moving story of determination, courage and love.