Book Review: Whole Brain Living by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

5⭐ - Must-Read!!

Jun 22, 2025

Ever feel like your own brain is working against you?

You’re not alone. Most of us are walking around without the user manual for our minds - reacting, overthinking, procrastinating, spiralling - and wondering why it’s so hard to break free. But what if you could learn to work with your brain instead of against it?

That’s exactly what Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor offers in Whole Brain Living - and it blew me away. If you’re into mindset, neuroscience, self-awareness or just figuring out why you are the way you are… this one’s a game-changer.

Jill Bolte Taylor | Speaker | TED — Image from TED

Here’s why I’m giving it five stars - and I’m taking the learnings from it with me into this next chapter of my life and business.

Why This Book Hit Me So Hard

A while back, I promised to include book reviews in this newsletter. And, true to human nature and good intentions, I promptly forgot… until now. (To be fair, very few books make such a lasting impact - but this one absolutely did.)

I stumbled across Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor via Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown podcast, where she shared her story: in 1996, she had a massive hemorrhagic stroke. But because she was a trained neuroanatomist, she could track what was happening in real time as parts of her brain shut down. Wild.

Her TED talk, My Stroke of Insight, was the first ever to go viral - and somehow I missed it until now. I watched it. I cried. I watched it again. I ordered her book.

And then I inhaled it.

From Brain Injury to Breakthrough Insight

The premise is deceptively simple: your brain isn’t just left = logic, right = emotion as neuroscientists thought at one time.

Here’s how our brains were thought to operate, until recently:

In fact, it’s not as simple as that, and scientists have realised that each hemisphere contains both emotional and thinking capabilities - giving you four distinct characters you can work with, that shape how you experience the world.

According to Dr. Taylor, these can be categorised as:

Character 1 – Left Thinking Brain (past/future): The CEO, The Organiser, The Planner
Character 2 – Left Emotional Brain (past/future): The Inner Critic, The Wounded Child
Character 3 – Right Emotional Brain (present): The Free Spirit, The Artist, The Inner Child
Character 4 – Right Thinking Brain (present): The Wise One, The Zen Master, The Observer

She suggests naming your characters and bringing them into a “brain huddle” when you’re stuck, overwhelmed, or making decisions.

It sounds simple - but it’s so effective. (My own characters now meet up for daily stand-ups, and one of them is now called Brunhilda - I’ll let you guess which one!)

Why This Resonates

I’ve been fascinated by neuroscience since 2003, when I retrained as a teacher and encountered Alistair Smith’s The Brain’s Behind It. That book opened the door to a lifelong rabbit-hole of self-help, psychology, and brain science.

And as a former software engineer with a decent dose of anxiety, I’ve realised I’ve spent years operating largely from Characters 1 and 2 - planning, analysing, catastrophising. worrying about the future.

But starting my own business is forcing me to lean into the softer, more present-focused sides of my brain - Characters 3 and 4 - for creativity, presence, and courage. It’s a whole new way of operating… and honestly, it’s uncomfortable and thrilling in equal measure.

The brain, it turns out, isn’t just a machine, and it isn’t just the prehistoric and higher order parts, pulling and pushing against one another in a tug ‘o’ war.

It’s a chorus. And when you learn how to listen to every voice - not just the loudest or the most habitual - things begin to shift.

Final Thoughts

I could say more, but I’ll leave you with this.

When Dr. Taylor was in the midst of her stroke, as the blood temporarily removed her left brain functions, she suddenly felt as if the boundaries between her own body and the rest of the universe had slipped away:

“I felt at one with all the energy that was, and it was beautiful there.”
— Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, My Stroke of Insight

Whether you watch the TED talk, pick up Whole Brain Living, or just sit with the idea that there are four of you inside your head - I hope this review helps you get curious about the way your brain runs the show.

If you’re into books, mindset shifts, neuroscience-meets-real-life, and navigating your own growth with a bit of grit and grace - you’ll want to stick around.

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