"I thought about how good it felt that on the previous day, I had loosened the shackles of frustration in one way; by taking a big leap back into life in another. I congratulated myself on my success. I knew that I had to keep trying to crawl out of the fog to freedom again, across all areas of my life. I promised myself that no matter how difficult or frustrating it was going to be, I had to try. I had to regain control, confidence and independence."

Alana Henderson, a successful businesswoman, suffered a stroke at fifty-nine, losing her ability to communicate along with many...