A Narrative Approach. Life after Encephalitis by Dr Ava Easton

Life After Encephalitis provides a unique insight into the experiences of those affected by encephalitis, sharing the rich, perceptive, and often powerful, narratives of survivors and family members. It shows how listening to patient and family narratives can help us to understand how they make sense of what has happened to them, and also help professionals better understand and engage with them in practice. The book will also be useful for considering narratives associated with brain injuries from other causes, for example traumatic brain injury.

Life After Encephalitis will appeal to a wide range of people: professionals working in neurology and rehabilitation, and also to and survivors of encephalitis, their families, and carers.

"Dr Ava Easton has done something remarkable with this book: she has given life and support to patients and families living through this silent disease. From the first-person cases to the in-depth research and passionate dedication to her work as the head of the Encephalitis Society, Ava Easton has given us a gift with this tremendously important book". - Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness

"This book is equally relevant to survivors, family members, carers, neurologists, psychiatrists, nurses, relatives and even disinterested readers. Ava Easton has brought the same demotic wisdom to this book that she exercises as the inspirational CEO of The Encephalitis Society. Over the years she has taken what was a deadly but obscure illness out to the world, and explained it simply and cogently to people who had no reason to have thought about it before, and to experts who had almost certainly never thought about it in those terms before.

The Encephalitis Society has brought together top professionals such as neurologist Professor Tom Solomon with survivors such as me, bereaved family members, and those unfortunate enough to still be living with the after-effects of encephalitis to create a wonderful, and strangely uplifting extended family. There is no hierarchy in The Society – but if Dr Easton had to choose my guess is that she’d rather hear first from the survivors, then the experts.

She has brought the same philosophy to Life After Encephalitis. There is a useful explanation of the different forms of encephalitis, pre­vention measures, experts have their say, but at the heart of the book is a series of beautifully written, desperately moving first-hand accounts from those who have lived with the illness". – Simon Hattenstone, The Guardian

"Encephalitis is undoubtedly a thief, and Easton does an excellent job at explaining why." - Jules Morgan, The Lancet Neurology. Read the full review in The Lancet Neurology.

You can buy your copy of the book here: Routledge and you will get a 20% discount available with the code: FLR40

You can buy a limited edition signed copy of the book from our Shop.