She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

By Stephen Dobyns | Published Wednesday, July 9, 2008


She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

Most stories begin with a person or an event. This one begins with a book.

Last summer I read The Brain That Changes Itself by research psychiatrist and psychologist Norman Doidge, M.D., which discusses developments in neuroscience, especially in the area of neuroplasticity. Now, if I were in a bar and the guy on the next stool leaned over and said to me what I’ve just written here, I’d give a wave to the bouncer. But hang on.