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•艾剋曼（Diane Ackerman），美國作傢、詩人、自然學傢。她的自然曆史書籍中的寫作風格可被稱為詩一般的語言與通俗易懂的科學知識相融閤。所獲奬項包括：古根罕奬（Guggenheim Fellowship）、布洛斯自然奬（John Burroughs Nature Award）和美國學院詩人勒文奬（Academy of American Poet's Lavan Award）。

艾剋曼曾任教於哥倫比亞、康奈爾等大學，康奈爾大學圖書館收藏有一套她的手稿、文章以及論文集閤。她與丈夫保羅•韋斯特現居於紐約。