What do you think?
Rate this book
Between Heaven and Hell: The Story of My Stroke
Acclaimed writer, bestselling author, and founder of Salon magazine, David Talbot has brought us masterful and explosive headline-breaking stories for over 25 years with books like the New York Times bestsellers Brothers , The Devil's Chessboard , and nationally recognized Season of the Witch . Now for the first time, journalist and historian David Talbot turns inward in this intimate journey through the life-changing year following his stroke, a year that turned his life upside down, and ultimately, saved him.
• A portrait of how a health crisis can truly shift one's perspective on life and purpose
• Includes insider stories on the wild early days of Internet journalism, tech culture, and Hollywood
• Powerful storytelling of the physical, emotional, and psychological impact a stroke has had on the author's identity
Fans of My Stroke of Insight , The Devil's Chessboard and Season of the Witch will love this book.
This book is perfect
• Fans of David Talbot
• Anyone dealing with or recovering from health issues (particularly stroke or brain injury) and looking for insight and inspiration
• Gen Xers and baby boomers who understand their risk for stroke
• Entrepreneurs scared of burnout
• A portrait of how a health crisis can truly shift one's perspective on life and purpose
• Includes insider stories on the wild early days of Internet journalism, tech culture, and Hollywood
• Powerful storytelling of the physical, emotional, and psychological impact a stroke has had on the author's identity
Fans of My Stroke of Insight , The Devil's Chessboard and Season of the Witch will love this book.
This book is perfect
• Fans of David Talbot
• Anyone dealing with or recovering from health issues (particularly stroke or brain injury) and looking for insight and inspiration
• Gen Xers and baby boomers who understand their risk for stroke
• Entrepreneurs scared of burnout
176 pages, Hardcover
Published January 14, 2020
15 people are currently reading
938 people want to read
About the author
David Talbot
44 books298 followersDavid Talbot is an American progressive journalist, author and media executive. He is the founder, former CEO and editor-in-chief, an early web magazine, Salon. Talbot founded Salon in 1995. The magazine gained a large following and broke several major national stories. It was described by Entertainment Weekly as one of the Net's "few genuine must-reads".
Since leaving Salon, Talbot has researched and written on the Kennedy assassination and other areas of what he calls "hidden history." Talbot has worked as a senior editor for Mother Jones magazine and a features editor for The San Francisco Examiner, and has written for Time magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and other publications.
Talbot was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended Harvard Boys School, but did not graduate after falling afoul of the school's headmaster and ROTC program during the Vietnam War. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz, he returned to Los Angeles, where he wrote a history of the Hollywood Left, "Creative Differences", and freelanced for Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. He later was hired by Environmental Action Foundation in Washington, D.C. to write "Power and Light," a book about the politics of energy. After he returned to California, he was hired as an editor at Mother Jones magazine, and later, by San Francisco Examiner publisher Will Hearst to edit the newspaper's Sunday magazine, Image. It was at the Examiner where Talbot developed the idea for Salon, convincing several of his newspaper colleagues to join him and jump ship into the brave new world of web publishing.
Since leaving Salon, Talbot has researched and written on the Kennedy assassination and other areas of what he calls "hidden history." Talbot has worked as a senior editor for Mother Jones magazine and a features editor for The San Francisco Examiner, and has written for Time magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and other publications.
Talbot was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He attended Harvard Boys School, but did not graduate after falling afoul of the school's headmaster and ROTC program during the Vietnam War. After graduating from the University of California at Santa Cruz, he returned to Los Angeles, where he wrote a history of the Hollywood Left, "Creative Differences", and freelanced for Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. He later was hired by Environmental Action Foundation in Washington, D.C. to write "Power and Light," a book about the politics of energy. After he returned to California, he was hired as an editor at Mother Jones magazine, and later, by San Francisco Examiner publisher Will Hearst to edit the newspaper's Sunday magazine, Image. It was at the Examiner where Talbot developed the idea for Salon, convincing several of his newspaper colleagues to join him and jump ship into the brave new world of web publishing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 20, 2025
David Talbot, Perfectly Candid Stroke Survivor. I love this writer, but love him even more after reading his brutally honest story of his stroke. Don't miss reading this one.
For those of you who may not recognize this author's name, DO READ, The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, The CIA, and The Rise of America's Secret Government, also by this same writer.
For those of you who may not recognize this author's name, DO READ, The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, The CIA, and The Rise of America's Secret Government, also by this same writer.
February 12, 2020
A wonderful book! The author's brush with mortality ironically made him more alive. David has already given much to us with his books and journalism, but this is perhaps his most important, about living, and accepting mortality, and loving all that is good around us.
March 22, 2020
I really liked this book. My dad had a stroke at about the same life stage. AND this captured so well life in San Francisco in the late 20-teens ... The political climate, the changes in the city w/ more and more tech money, the wildfires and more.
February 8, 2020
Had the pleasure of attending Mr Talbot appearance at my neighborhood book store. Good to see him up and about. Enjoyed this book, and he so aptly inscribed to me, "Live Life Fully!". Indeed.
April 9, 2021
I feel bad for anyone with an illness or disease, and in this author's case, a stroke. So while I feel bad, the book itself detailed well the hours before and after his stroke, but wasn't as detailed in his spiritual renewal, or his bodily functions coming back online one by one.
That said, I was hoping he could either describe the physical body healing in detail, or the mind change in detail. He did both but in vague terms. For example, he had "alter egos" after his stroke, one was an ego that loved to dance, but more description there, why he had the ego, when did the ego kick in, frequency. Or even introductions to the ego itself, and others, weren't there, or at least perfunctory.
Hoping this book could be more informative.
That said, I was hoping he could either describe the physical body healing in detail, or the mind change in detail. He did both but in vague terms. For example, he had "alter egos" after his stroke, one was an ego that loved to dance, but more description there, why he had the ego, when did the ego kick in, frequency. Or even introductions to the ego itself, and others, weren't there, or at least perfunctory.
Hoping this book could be more informative.
February 22, 2024
A decent stroke memoir. Talbot, despite still having some of that Boomer self-admiration, does a valuable job of capturing the experience of stroke.
November 13, 2023
Listened to the audio version, really liked this a lot. Having grown up in the SF bay area in the 60s/70s, the author is someone I've followed for a while. This was very well written and quite an honest telling of his journey after having a stroke.
December 5, 2019
It was a good read.
April 4, 2022
A thoughtful and reflective book to read as we transition from winter to springtime.
Food: An apple, of course.
Food: An apple, of course.
December 12, 2023
This book will go on my bookshelf along with others that give nuggets of wisdom for navigating, accepting, and living life.
October 14, 2025
author has a stroke and shares a year of his life. some insights but blathers about other subjects.
January 9, 2022
XXXXX
An important book especially for “Type A” personalities
XXXXX
“And certainly writing this book has been emotionally cathartic for me.
But I also hope to convey a sense of the strange joy that my stroke has bestowed in me. The sense of liberation from the dead weight of the past or at least from those parts that have too much gravity.
My stroke did not just change my life. It saved my life.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from this extremely well-written memoir by David Talbot. He is a journalist, columnist, best-selling author and media executive. Talbot is the founder, former CEO, and former editor-in-chief of one of the first successful Internet magazines.
What is a stroke? It is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow causing blockage and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly. Average life expectancy after a stroke is one year.
In late 2017, an ischemic stroke overtook author Talbot’s high energy, fast paced, and stressful life. This book is an honest and personal account of his many struggles and healing (both physical and emotional) in the year following his stroke.
Forced to substantially slow down his life, Talbot continues to be concerned with death, recovery, and the meaning of life.
Finally, this book’s cover art (shown above by Good Reads) is interesting. It came to the author, as if in a vision, in the middle of his stroke.
In conclusion, this is a wise, charming, and intimate stroke memoir, both touching and informative, that is sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing but always interesting!!
(2020; introduction; 16 chapters; postscript; main narrative 165 pages; appendix; acknowledgements; author’s note)
XXXXX
An important book especially for “Type A” personalities
XXXXX
“And certainly writing this book has been emotionally cathartic for me.
But I also hope to convey a sense of the strange joy that my stroke has bestowed in me. The sense of liberation from the dead weight of the past or at least from those parts that have too much gravity.
My stroke did not just change my life. It saved my life.”
The above quote (in italics) comes from this extremely well-written memoir by David Talbot. He is a journalist, columnist, best-selling author and media executive. Talbot is the founder, former CEO, and former editor-in-chief of one of the first successful Internet magazines.
What is a stroke? It is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow causing blockage and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly. Average life expectancy after a stroke is one year.
In late 2017, an ischemic stroke overtook author Talbot’s high energy, fast paced, and stressful life. This book is an honest and personal account of his many struggles and healing (both physical and emotional) in the year following his stroke.
Forced to substantially slow down his life, Talbot continues to be concerned with death, recovery, and the meaning of life.
Finally, this book’s cover art (shown above by Good Reads) is interesting. It came to the author, as if in a vision, in the middle of his stroke.
In conclusion, this is a wise, charming, and intimate stroke memoir, both touching and informative, that is sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing but always interesting!!
(2020; introduction; 16 chapters; postscript; main narrative 165 pages; appendix; acknowledgements; author’s note)
XXXXX
July 3, 2020
A few months ago, I suffered a stroke. My affected area was the Pons, as was the case with David Talbot. It was my wife that ran across this title and recommended it to me.
The book was pleasant reading, but I was hoping for more. By more, I guess I mean more of the things that came to mind as he was recovering - either spiritual reflections or reflections on life.
The book seemed personal, what else could it be, and to me it was more of a USA Today version of things. I wanted a little more meat. Having made that comment, I have to add that I think it’s remarkable that someone who has had a severe stroke can create such a robust post-stroke life and write about it. That is a significant feat, but that doesn’t mean the book itself was Tolstoy-level. It was a good, easy read. Best to Mr. Talbot for his work here.
The book was pleasant reading, but I was hoping for more. By more, I guess I mean more of the things that came to mind as he was recovering - either spiritual reflections or reflections on life.
The book seemed personal, what else could it be, and to me it was more of a USA Today version of things. I wanted a little more meat. Having made that comment, I have to add that I think it’s remarkable that someone who has had a severe stroke can create such a robust post-stroke life and write about it. That is a significant feat, but that doesn’t mean the book itself was Tolstoy-level. It was a good, easy read. Best to Mr. Talbot for his work here.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews