Stroke affects the personal, social, professional and family lives of patients and their carers. This book is based on a study in which 175 stroke patients and their family carers were followed from the time of the stroke for a period of eighteen months. It tells of their experience of the illness and examines their patterns of coping, including physical, social, economic and emotional aspects. The words of the patients and their carers illuminate these histories of life after stroke, vividly expressing the difficulties encountered with the services designed to help them. At a time when the...