'When I was just forty-two I suffered a severe stroke. Paralysed on my left side and unable to walk, I was confined to hospital for three months, then spent about a year recovering, slowly getting myself back into the world.

When I was seriously ill in hospital, I longed to read a book that would tell me that I might expect in convalescence and also give me something to think about. . .'

'Not only a riveting account of his sudden illness, but of love being put under a real test: a heart-warming triumph' Kazuo Ishiguro, Sunday Times Books of the Year

'With its lucid heartfelt prose, My Year Off gives voice to the millions of people who suffer strokes . . . More importantly, this book is a testament to the parallel trials and courage of the family members of stroke victims' New York Times Book Review

'Few of us can write in perfect health with the wit, skill, honesty and compassion that McCrum manages following a stroke' Professor Anthony Clare

At the age of forty-two, happy, successful and newly married, Robert McCrum suffered a devastating stroke. It occurred without explanation, leaving his left arm and leg completely paralysed, his speech virtually absent, and his sense of himself radically altered.

My Year Off is the searingly honest account of what followed: of McCrum's anger, despair and frustration; his violent mood swings; and his gradual recovery of sensation, movement, confidence and self-esteem. Including extracts from his diary and that of his wife Sarah, it is not only an invaluable insight into the suffering of stroke victims and their families, but also a moving story of determination, courage and love.