Recalled to Life: The Story of a Coma

This detailed, anecdotal account of recovery from a coma that lasted for almost four months is a resource and inspiration for the families of other such patients. It is to intensive family intervention that doctors credit the recovery of Moshe Goshen-Gottstein, a distinguished Israeli scholar who at age 59 lapsed into a coma following coronary by-pass surgery. In telling of her husband's arduous progress through the stages of recovery, the author, a psychotherapist, describes the changes in her life and that of their two sons that allowed their intimate involvement in the patient's care. Refusing to accept the medical prognosis of a continued vegetative state, they and their friends enlisted other support, including prayer. The recovery of her husband remains unexplained except in terms of the devotion of a remarkable family. The foreword by neurologist/author Sacks affirms the importance of this ``intensely human document.'' (Oct.)