Brain, Heal Thyself

A Caregiver’s Tale

When Eve suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm, Madonna Siles, her housemate and friend, too quickly found herself making critical short- and long-term medical care decisions without any help. When the insurance and financial resources ran out and the conventional therapy providers discharged zombie-like Eve to the homecare of a solitary caregiver, both their futures seemed hopeless.

Instead of giving up, Madonna Siles drew on life experience and her marketing career to develop a rehabilitation program that harnessed the power of the subconscious mind. Using motivational techniques borrowed from the advertising world, she appealed to Eve’s subconscious to bypass the brain damage and restore normal functioning. In three short years, even the doctors were amazed at Eve’s recovery and return to a near-normal life.

Part memoir, part recovery manual, Brain, Heal Thyself is a guidebook for thousands of shell-shocked individuals who suddenly find themselves having to make life and death decisions for those they love. With humor, warmth, and arresting honesty, Madonna Siles’s lively narrative closely examines not only the patient’s recovery, but also the crucial role of caregivers—and the emotional, financial, and practical pressures they face. 

“Brain, Heal Thyself is a book that we all should read, especially caregivers, families of brain-injured patients, health professionals and their students. Our brains do have the capacity to be rehabilitated beyond our expectations. I truly loved Siles’ inspiring work.”—Rose Sgarlat Myers, PT, PhD, Executive Vice President Foundation for Cancer Research and Education

Book Excerpts

Chapter One

Table of Contents