A Stroke of Bad Luck and the Potholed Road to Recovery is my memoir, now in the final stages of revision, about my journey into the netherworld of stroke and autoimmune disease.

How the book came to be

On that eerie Wednesday morning in 2002 when my stroke hit, I was lost in a mental whiteout, unable to remember my address, my husband’s name, or how to dial 9-1-1.

At the hospital, I didn’t believe the doctor who told me I was having a stroke. After all, I was perfectly healthy with, I thought, not a single risk factor for stroke. But there were risks, “hidden risks”–like migraine, miscarriage, common clotting disorders and autoimmune disease–that I didn’t understand.

In the year that followed my stroke, I had to relearn the alphabet, how to hold a fork, how to tie my shoes. I had to relearn to type in spite of a therapist who wanted me to braid potholders! That year I also had to learn, kicking and screaming, how to be a patient with a serious chronic illness taking scary-high level of blood thinner to prevent another stroke.

Far too young to “retire” after the stroke, but lacking the metal quickness to resume my public relations career, I began my search for something constructive to do. I wrote about my experience with stroke and APS, first as an exercise to regain writing skills, then with a passion to spread the word about the “hidden” risk factors for stroke in women.

A Stroke of Bad Luck and the Potholed Road to Recovery is the result. Read the synopsis here.

 

Advance Praise for A Stroke of Bad Luck and the Potholed Road to Recovery

“Talk about comebacks! A stroke survivor, adventure traveler, and self-confessed klutz, Anne Sigmon gives everyone a lesson in heroism and what it means to be intrepid. Profoundly inspiring, entertaining and informative, A Stroke of Bad Luck and the Potholed Road to Recovery is a must-read for anyone interested in the journey toward wellness.”

—Linda Watanabe McFerrin, Author of The Hand of Buddha and Dead Love (Stone Bridge Press, 2010)

 

“Anne Sigmon’s journey back from a stroke–she was damned if she was going to braid potholders–is a poignant story laced with humor, insight and hope. It’s also a great read.”

— Adair Lara, author of Naked, Drunk, and Writing (Ten Speed)