Wolverhampton University researcher writes memoir after waking up unable to speak or write

Professor Sebastian Groes suffered a stroke in 2013 whilst finishing a research project on the role of memory and navigational skills in the digital age.

Although his aphasia (speech impairment) soon disappeared, the period of recovery took over a year during which he suffered what is called ‘emotional turbulence’ and ‘sensory disturbances’, which confronted him with many questions about the nature of selfhood.

Published by Jetstone publishers, the new book – Right in the Head – is being launched at the Being Human Festival 2023 in London, as part of a world-leading research team in the University of Wolverhampton’s School of Humanities which is delivering an exciting series of events in November after securing funding for a series of community activities.

Professor Groes said: “My memoir mixes my own experience of a stroke with a historical investigation of brain in art and culture and the event at the Being Human Festival offers the audience a piece of immersive theatre that will take them on a journey of what happens to the brain when someone has a stroke.

“There will be performances by actors, including Raymond Waring who starred in 24 Hour Party People and No Time to Die, as well as a reading by the award-winning writer, Jon McGregor, and a series of interactive, multisensory exercises that allow for a working through of brain trauma.

"The event draws on neuroscience, psychology, literary and cultural studies whilst offering innovative creative writing exercises.”

Groes and a multidisciplinary team are also embarking on a new, innovative research project that investigates the ways in which stroke impairs language and cognition whilst offering creative writing methods for younger stroke survivors to aid their recovery.

By deploying new computational methods on textual communication, Groes hopes to be able to aid diagnosis of stroke by the health care services. The project team collaborates with the UK’s Stroke Association, Different Strokes, Nottingham University and UCL’s Neuroscience Department and will be showcasing their work at the UK Stroke Forum in front of hundreds of Health Care Professionals.

Right in the Head has received praise by fellow writers including Will Self, who said of the book: "A highly enjoyable, multi-perspectival stroke memoir that is trenchant and critical about the way ‘neuromania’ - like ‘genomania’ before it – leads people into a bogus search for a total explanation. Very engaging."