Mantle, John E.
Description
John Mantle, a self-described "opinionated, slightly obnoxious, successful businessman, avid motorcyclist and pilot," thought he had the world by the
...
tail. He was running his own community newspaper, the Fort Mill Times, and, after years of losses and constant worry, he was finally making money and having fun.
Then, in the flash of a second - "An active man's worst nightmare." He was felled by a catastrophic stroke, nearly died, and woke up unable to speak, paralyzed, dependent on his wife for everything from "bowel movements to entertainment."
Mantle's compelling narrative, written from the perspective of a "working stiff," is as impossible to put down as any thriller. It describes his struggle for survival and his search for sanity in the labyrinthine half-world of a hospital stroke floor.
A veteran newspaperman and long-time foreign correspondent in countries spanning the globe, Mantle takes us inside the world of small-town journalism and allows us a rare peek into the mindset of a conservative South Carolina community that rallied around its curmudgeonly, liberal publisher and refused to let him die.
Anyone who has ever watched a loved one, relative or friend attempt to beat the odds of a major stroke, and struggle to regain their independence, will want to read this book.
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