The Blink of an Eye, Rikke Schmidt Kjrgaard
The Blink of an Eye, Rikke Schmidt Kjrgaard
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

The Blink of an Eye
A Memoir of Dying--and Learning How to Live Again

Author: Rikke Schmidt Kjærgaard, Bill Bryson

Narrator: Stina Nielsen, Timothy Andrés Pabon

Unabridged: 6 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/14/2019


Synopsis

Acclaimed by Bill Bryson as “spellbinding and harrowing,” the story of one woman’s dramatic recovery from life-threatening illnessAt the age of 38, Danish scientist Rikke Schmidt Kjærgaard is struck down by an acute bout of bacterial meningitis. Weeks later, she wakes from a coma in intensive care to find herself “locked in,” unable to show she is conscious except by blinking her eyes. Despite a mere 5 percent chance of survival, she makes a miraculous recovery and returns to the world—painfully learning how to breathe, move, eat, and speak again, even resume her work as a scientist. The Blink of an Eye is a celebration of love, family, and every little thing that matters when life is in the balance—by a writer uniquely positioned to describe the journey from death back to life.

About Rikke Schmidt Kjærgaard

Rikke Schmidt Kjaergaard, PhD, is a scientist, mother, and cofounder of Graphicure, which develops software to help patients understand their conditions and manage treatment. She has held positions at Cambridge, Harvard Medical School, and Aarhaus University. She was a member of the Young Academy at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jo on June 24, 2018

A moving true story of a Danish woman who came near to death with bacterial meningitis and was 'locked in' for a while, only able to communicate by blinking one eye. Incredibly she survived and has made a good recovery, although she has lost most of her fingers and her sight in one eye. I saw Rikke......more

Goodreads review by Sally on December 08, 2018

An excellent view into what it's like to almost die and then slowly feel your way back into living, albeit a different kind of life--harder but richer. Rikke skips nothing. Almost in a day-by-day account, she talks about what it's like to be in pain, to be treated like a thing by medical professiona......more

Goodreads review by Marj on January 22, 2020

This book makes one realize how vulnerable we are and how we can quickly change from being in good health to having a devastating illness. However, found this book a tedious read....like listening to someone talk in painstaking detail about their illness and medical procedures. That could have been......more