The day after losing his job, Ricky suffered a catastrophic stroke aged just 38. Unconscious, he was wheeled into hospital with girlfriend Beth by his side. This is the story of their love, his recovery and their return home.
The day after losing his job, Ricky suffered a catastrophic stroke aged just 38. Unconscious, he was wheeled into hospital with girlfriend Beth by his side. This is the story of their love, his recovery and their return home.
'Written with charm and self-deprecating humour, and without an ounce of self-pity, this is a very clear-eyed and weirdly entertaining account.'
* The Big Issue *'The 44-year-old's book, Stroke, has an undercurrent of sadness and fear. But it is devilishly funny and an insight into the topsy-turvy world inhabited by a man whose brain is broken.'
* The Daily Record *'An inspirational story... It is told with both sadness and humour. It has lessons for all people who care for those with a stroke, and has a fascinating, and unexpected, ending.'
-- Professor Sir Kenneth Calman'No memoir about a major neurological injury should be this funny. As much a narrative about navigating adulthood and everything that comes with it as it is about recovery, locating illness and everything that comes with it in a painfully real context that should be required reading for anyone who has ever been a patient or a partner.'
-- Kaite Welsh'By turns funny, philosophical, and morbidly fascinating, Stroke is a wryly humourous meditation on love, home, memory, the strangeness of life and, if we are lucky, the miracle of second chances. '
-- Allyson Stack'Stroke is a brilliant memoir. Written with searing honesty, literary panache and, most importantly, a hefty dose of humour, this is a great book about a difficult subject matter.'
-- Doug Johnstone'Witty and eye-opening, it's delightful to see a memoir focusing on such a heavy subject (that's in need of renewed, heightened awareness) in a light-hearted, accessible way.'
-- Chiara Bullen, CommonSpace'A worthy read and is most eloquently written. Few will end this book without being moved by its contents and without an incredible admiration for this extraordinary individual.'
* Undiscovered Scotland *Ricky Monahan Brown suffered a massive haemorrhagic stroke in 2012. Doctors gave him a one-in-twenty chance of a good outcome, where a 'good outcome' would be surviving in a non-vegetative, non-plegic state. During recovery, Ricky realised he had stories to tell. His writing has subsequently been published in books, magazines, journals and newspapers - his stroke recovery memoir will be published in January 2019.
Ricky received a Stroke Association Life After Stroke Award for Creative Arts in 2016, and his night of live literature and music - Interrobang - won the 2017 Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Night in Britain. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife and their son.