Book excerpt: During her career as a clinician and researcher, Christine H. Davis has worked with and written about the phenomenon of aphasia. Aphasia leads to word- and sentence-formation difficulties and is associated with damage to the left hemisphere of the brain often from strokes or tumors. Davis was urged by stroke survivor, Michael W. Maher, to write these stories as a valuable contribution to the aphasia literature as experienced by her patients. These stories are from the survivor's perspective as they struggle to express themselves. Their battle to join their families and communities says much about what is crucial about language and the meaning of being human. The book is divided into sections by aphasia type: anomic, Broca's, Wernicke's and mixed aphasias. Within each section survivors and their families explain their recovery from the onset of the stroke through discharge home and into a meaningful life forward. Through the testimony of thirteen stroke survivors and seventeen of their family members, you gain an understanding of aphasia and the remarkable resilience of these survivors and their families.