This book is a cracker, especially if you are a stroke survivor. Here is someone who has been through what you have been through. But it is also a book for friends and families of stroke survivors (it would be a good idea for every Stroke Club to have a copy). It deals in a very helpful way with a wide range of questions that are so often asked. Wolfgang is not afraid to criticise medical professionals when it seems justifiable. For often a doctor or other medical person may be an expert in their field, but have never trained to interact with people - they treat you as if you are a case, not a person: Wolfgang's chapter on sexual problems and how many people fight shy of dealing with them is a case in point.

The book is written in straightforward language, with some good comments on PC (being politically correct). Buy a copy, read it, and although it is yet early, pass that or another copy to a care giver or other interested person. Wolfgang's book is a very good advocate for those of us who are disabled. Incidentally he is working on a second book which will deal in detail with some of the deeper, personal problems stroke persons face that many people are not willing to talk about, like sexual matters that are ignored. Possibly many stroke persons are 50 plus - but we all want to live life to the full in the days after a stroke.

By Michael Horn, Co-ordinator: Pt. Chevalier Stroke Club.