The Woman Who Changed Her Brain

And Other Inspiring Stories of Pioneering Brain Transformation

By: Barbara Arrowsmith-Young

Narrated by: Lisa Bunting

Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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)

The Book of My Life!!!

This book in many ways is a truly description of the challenges that I suffer on my daily basis and more challenging is watch my 14 year old follow me in the same struggle. After reading felt frustrated because where we live doesn't have a Arrowsmith School.😒
Cristina Johnston.gg

Must read for anyone who has struggled with learning

This book is beyond hopeful for anyone who has struggled with learning. If you have a learning disability, brain injury or dyslexia you must read this book! Thank you for the well written account of how the brain can change!

I relate to many of the stories in this book, and opened wounds from the past. I am 76 years old and still suffer from the past. Would like to correct the problem.

validating and inspiring

this book gives me a great deal to think about in my work as a therapist. I have always believed that add/adhd were overdiagnosed, and this book shows us all the possibilities of what could really be going on beneath the surface. It is a bit intimidating to think that there are so many different types of learning disorders, but this book provides hope that there are people out there learning how to make a difference.

Brilliant

Brilliant account of how this amazing woman changed her own brain and used what she learned to help people with learning difficulties.

Everyone should read this book.

This book is about neuroplasty city and may very well change your life. Or the lives of those around you.

Advertisement for Arrowsmith-Youngs School

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Non repetition of case, after case, after case. No content on what was done with each case, other than what the learning disability was, and what was the outcome because of her school. It felt like blatant advertising to me, with no substance, which is a disappointment because it actually sounded transformational.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Getting more on the science of changing the brain and reading about it. Not having to go to a school to find out.

How could the performance have been better?

Less advertising of her school and more around what the cognitive activities were

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

First chapter or two were fascinating. New content to me and really got me interested....until I got to the never ending sales pitch. A real let down. Even my 15 year old son picked up before me as we listened in the car that this was blatant advertising without giving away any detail about 'how'.

Any additional comments?

Content, content, content, not sales, sales, sales.