The Brain's Way of Healing

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2015 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS 'BEST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BOOK'

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain's complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

The phenomenon of neuroplasticity — the discovery that the brain can change its own structure and function in response to mental experience — is the most important development in our understanding of the brain and mind since the beginning of modern science. Here, Doidge shows how the amazing process of neuroplastic healing really works. When it is understood, it is often possible to radically improve — and even cure — many conditions thought to be irreversible.

Doidge introduces us to the doctors, therapists, and patients who are healing the brain without surgery or medication. We meet patients who have alleviated years of chronic pain; children on the autistic spectrum, or with ADD or learning disorders, who have used neuroplastic techniques to complete a normal education and become independent; and sufferers who have seen symptoms of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, brain injuries, and cerebral palsy radically diminish; and we learn how to lower our risk of dementia by 60 per cent. Through hopeful, astonishing stories, The Brain's Way of Healing explains how mind, brain, and body, and the energies around us, work together in health and healing.

PRAISE FOR NORMAN DOIDGE

'This is a book of miracles. Fascinating ... An absorbing compendium of unlikely recoveries from physical and mental ailments offers evidence that the brain can heal.' The Guardian

'Doidge is the master of explaining how the brain's plasticity can be harnessed to improve the symptoms of brain-related disorders, ranging from stroke to autism.' The Independent