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How to Use a Fork
‘Deserves to join Oliver Sacks and Henry Marsh on the list of top popular neuroscience writers’ Melanie Reid, The Times
‘Beautifully observed, beautifully written . . .’ Rory Stewart
‘Intensely moving and awe-inspiring’ Marina Hyde
‘A tribute to the spirit of people faced with calamity’ Literary Review
Every ninety seconds someone is admitted to hospital in the UK with a brain injury. From the woman who thought her arm was a baby, to the man who saw mannequins peering at him through the dark, these are the remarkable stories of resilience and recovery behind the statistics.
As a medical student, Orlando Swayne was taught that a broken brain never mends. But as a junior doctor, he began to meet patients for whom this was clearly not the people learning to speak again to the people they love, regaining lost mobility, even using a fork. Delving into the emerging neuroscience of brain reorganisation, he discovered the extraordinary ways that the brain can adapt after injury, and that shattered lives can be rebuilt.
Irresistible to anyone curious about the mysteries of the brain, How to Use a Fork is a moving and profound journey to the outer reaches of human experience that asks the what makes us who we are?
‘Beautifully observed, beautifully written . . .’ Rory Stewart
‘Intensely moving and awe-inspiring’ Marina Hyde
‘A tribute to the spirit of people faced with calamity’ Literary Review
Every ninety seconds someone is admitted to hospital in the UK with a brain injury. From the woman who thought her arm was a baby, to the man who saw mannequins peering at him through the dark, these are the remarkable stories of resilience and recovery behind the statistics.
As a medical student, Orlando Swayne was taught that a broken brain never mends. But as a junior doctor, he began to meet patients for whom this was clearly not the people learning to speak again to the people they love, regaining lost mobility, even using a fork. Delving into the emerging neuroscience of brain reorganisation, he discovered the extraordinary ways that the brain can adapt after injury, and that shattered lives can be rebuilt.
Irresistible to anyone curious about the mysteries of the brain, How to Use a Fork is a moving and profound journey to the outer reaches of human experience that asks the what makes us who we are?
- GenresPsychologyNonfiction
Audible Audio
Published June 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 20, 2026
Wow wow wow. Absolutely loved this book. Neuroscience has always been something I’ve found so fascinating and learning about neurorehabilitation and the incredible journeys of recovery the stroke patients in this book made was inspiring to say the least. Beautiful but also confronting - such multi-disciplinary rehabilitative support is gold standard but not common standard, by any means.
Especially loved the discussion of artificial intelligence and the author contemplating AI as developing a dorsal stream of conciousness. My PSYC211 self, who spent hours making mind maps of the different lobes of the brain in Central, was rejoicing to see the words ‘Wernicke’s aphasia’ written down again 💝💝
Especially loved the discussion of artificial intelligence and the author contemplating AI as developing a dorsal stream of conciousness. My PSYC211 self, who spent hours making mind maps of the different lobes of the brain in Central, was rejoicing to see the words ‘Wernicke’s aphasia’ written down again 💝💝
August 21, 2026
Teared up a few times listening to this. Really hope there’s doctors like him everywhere advocating the importance of brain injury rehab. What seem like minor improvements are life changing to these patients - things I defo take for granted like communicating and my independence. Feels like we’re just scratching the surface of how the brain can adapt and overcome. A lot of medical knowledge but easy to understand and follow
July 26, 2026
*How to Use a Fork: Stories of Mending the Broken Brain* is one of those books that quietly stays with you. I first picked it up because the blue cover with the fork caught my attention. As I read, I realized it is much more than a neuroscience book. It is about people, hope, and the brain's incredible ability to heal even after life changing injuries.
Orlando Swayne shares the stories of patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries, and other neurological conditions while explaining the science in a way that feels approachable. I liked that every chapter introduced a different journey, making it easy to read a little at a time instead of rushing through it. His acknowledgements also stood out to me because he sincerely thanked his patients for trusting him with some of the hardest moments of their lives.
This is Swayne's debut book, and you can feel both his medical knowledge and his compassion throughout. If you enjoy non fiction that teaches you something while also reminding you how resilient people can be, this is worth reading. It left me with a better understanding of the brain and a little more hope than I had before I started.
Orlando Swayne shares the stories of patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries, and other neurological conditions while explaining the science in a way that feels approachable. I liked that every chapter introduced a different journey, making it easy to read a little at a time instead of rushing through it. His acknowledgements also stood out to me because he sincerely thanked his patients for trusting him with some of the hardest moments of their lives.
This is Swayne's debut book, and you can feel both his medical knowledge and his compassion throughout. If you enjoy non fiction that teaches you something while also reminding you how resilient people can be, this is worth reading. It left me with a better understanding of the brain and a little more hope than I had before I started.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A fascinating look at what happens when the brain is injured and its amazing ability to rebuild itself after injury. The science of neuroplasticity is incredible but the stories of people relearning how to speak, move, connect and regain pieces of themselves are what make this book so powerful. Along with the way Orlando Swayne never loses sight of the person behind the diagnosis.
The key takeaway for me is that while recovery and outcomes can vary and the work can be gruelling, people should be given the opportunity to discover what recovery their brain is capable of before the system decides on their behalf that nothing more can be gained.
His broader criticism is that scientific understanding of neuroplasticity has moved much further than the clinical care most people actually receive. Access to rehabilitation remains patchy and declining in some places.
If you find yourself or a loved one in hospital with a brain injury, it’s important to know:
- we should not be accepting a lack of input after discharge from hospital
- ask what rehabilitation is available
- push for specialist neurorehabilitation and multidisciplinary therapy
- question decisions to reduce or stop therapy
- don’t assume that “this is as good as it gets” simply because somebody says the conventional recovery window has passed.
“The argument that proper rehabilitation for stroke and brain injury is a luxury that we cannot afford in straightened times doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Early, intensive therapy saves long term care costs.”
“As a society if we can afford cars, TV streaming services, holidays and ever smarter computers, then we can provide the means for millions living with acquired brain injuries to achieve the best outcomes their conditions allow. To do otherwise makes neither moral nor economic sense.”
This book is educational, compassionate and also quietly infuriating. We know better outcomes are possible. We should be demanding the care that gives people the opportunity to reach them.
The key takeaway for me is that while recovery and outcomes can vary and the work can be gruelling, people should be given the opportunity to discover what recovery their brain is capable of before the system decides on their behalf that nothing more can be gained.
His broader criticism is that scientific understanding of neuroplasticity has moved much further than the clinical care most people actually receive. Access to rehabilitation remains patchy and declining in some places.
If you find yourself or a loved one in hospital with a brain injury, it’s important to know:
- we should not be accepting a lack of input after discharge from hospital
- ask what rehabilitation is available
- push for specialist neurorehabilitation and multidisciplinary therapy
- question decisions to reduce or stop therapy
- don’t assume that “this is as good as it gets” simply because somebody says the conventional recovery window has passed.
“The argument that proper rehabilitation for stroke and brain injury is a luxury that we cannot afford in straightened times doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Early, intensive therapy saves long term care costs.”
“As a society if we can afford cars, TV streaming services, holidays and ever smarter computers, then we can provide the means for millions living with acquired brain injuries to achieve the best outcomes their conditions allow. To do otherwise makes neither moral nor economic sense.”
This book is educational, compassionate and also quietly infuriating. We know better outcomes are possible. We should be demanding the care that gives people the opportunity to reach them.
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September 9, 2026It's not right for me to leave a star rating of this book as Orlando Swayne is a remarkable professional and anyone working with him or under his care is lucky. I should have twigged from the book title "Stories of Mending the Broken Brain" that this book is a collection of case studies. So I stopped reading early on. The concept of neuroplasticity and advanced rehab is profoundly positive and brings hope.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews