About The Book
About The Book
My Stroke Of Life
A Personal Reflection On A Journey From Old To New
‘My Stroke of Life’ opens with Felicia Reeves at 31, special education teacher, wife, and mother of two. She believed strokes happened to elderly people, not someone her age building a full life. On May 20, 2012, at 2:00 AM, her entire right side went numb while twisting her hair. Her young daughter, awake as usual, called for help.
Days later, Felicia woke in the ICU unable to move or speak. She learned she had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke from an arteriovenous malformation, a condition she’d never heard of. The book documents nearly two months of intensive rehabilitation, relearning basic functions most people never consider: walking, speaking, using her dominant hand. Physical therapy pushed her body past limits.
Occupational therapy tackled suddenly impossible everyday tasks. Speech therapy addressed communication challenges. Returning home brought different struggles. Assistive devices made her feel limited. Walking to the grocery store became monumental. She couldn’t continue teaching, the career defining her identity for a decade. After 231 federal job applications, she found work in 2015.
The marriage ended. The teaching career ended. Everything familiar dissolved, forcing complete rebuilding from foundation up. Thirteen years later, she reflects on pain, loss, and unexpected growth. The memoir provides honest testimony about surviving trauma, finding strength in faith, and discovering your story continues even when everything changes.
Why Read It?
My Stroke Of Life
A Personal Reflection On A Journey From Old To New
‘My Stroke of Life’ matters for anyone facing sudden health crises, particularly younger people who assume certain conditions only affect the elderly. Felicia writes from lived experience, documenting real struggles without romanticizing recovery. At 31, she became a stroke survivor, shattering assumptions about who experiences these events.
The book provides practical insight into stroke recovery: the rehabilitation process, learning to function with physical limitations, navigating medical systems, dealing with insurance and disability. Felicia shares mistakes made and lessons learned, offering guidance others can apply directly.
Beyond practical advice, the memoir addresses emotional dimensions rarely discussed openly. She writes about humiliation, frustration, anger at her body, relationship strain, and identity loss when career and marriage both end. That vulnerability makes her story accessible to readers facing different challenges but similar emotional territory.
