Everyone who cherishes the gift of language will cherish Diane Ackerman's narrative masterpiece, an exquisitely written love story and medical miracle story, one that combines science, inspiration, wisdom and heart. One day Ackerman's husband, Paul West, an exceptionally gifted wordsmith and intellectual, suffered a terrible stroke. When he regained awareness he was afflicted with aphasia-loss of language-and could utter only a single syllable: mem.A" The standard therapies yielded little result but frustration. Ackerman soon found, however, that by harnessing their deep knowledge of each other and her scientific understanding of language and the brain she could guide West back to the world of words. This triumphant book is both a humane and revealing addition to the medical literature on stroke and aphasia and an exquisitely written love story.

黛安•艾克曼（Diane Ackerman），美国作家、诗人、自然学家。她的自然历史书籍中的写作风格可被称为诗一般的语言与通俗易懂的科学知识相融合。所获奖项包括：古根罕奖（Guggenheim Fellowship）、布洛斯自然奖（John Burroughs Nature Award）和美国学院诗人勒文奖（Academy of American Poet's Lavan Award）。

艾克曼曾任教于哥伦比亚、康奈尔等大学，康奈尔大学图书馆收藏有一套她的手稿、文章以及论文集合。她与丈夫保罗•韦斯特现居于纽约。