One Hundred Names for Love

Everyone who cherishes the gift of language will cherish Diane Ackerman's narrative masterpiece, an exquisitely written love story and medical miracle story, one that combines science, inspiration, wisdom and heart. One day Ackerman's husband, Paul West, an exceptionally gifted wordsmith and intellectual, suffered a terrible stroke. When he regained awareness he was afflicted with aphasia - loss of language - and could utter only a single syllable: "mem." The standard therapies yielded little result but frustration. Ackerman soon found, however, that by harnessing their deep knowledge of each other and her scientific understanding of language and the brain she could guide West back to the world of words. This triumphant book is both a humane and revealing addition to the medical literature on stroke and aphasia and an exquisitely written love story.