Into the Gray Zone: A Neuroscientist Explores the Mysteries of the Brain and the Border Between Life and Death

We have learned so much about the brain and yet there is still so much to learn. Interesting to see the lives of folks “in the grey zone”.

Informative and fascinating. The technical explanations weren’t too beyond a lay person’s understanding and the writing was engaging and fun.

Author is interesting writer, holds one's interest. Good history and update on more recent studies.

Very thoughtful and enlightening for me a doctor who works with many gray zone patients. I learned a lot with thrilling book.

A fantastic read. If you have ever wondered about people in a coma, read this- stunning

Fascinating read .. subject I knew little about but now want to learn more about. Could have been a dry difficult subject but must give the author credit for making an inviting and interesting read. Was always anxious to resume reading to find out what new advances were being made. Would like some of my doctor friends to read this and then discuss it with them.

Fascinating book. My nephew suffered a severe brain injury. His recovery has been amazing but it is clear the medical community lacks knowledge in this area and we revived little info on what to expect.This book was helpful in learning more about this challenging injury.

This book was a very readable story of a neuroscientist's research into people who were in a coma and judged to be in a vegetative state. He learned that some of these people were fully aware of what was going on around them. The writing is excellent and the stories were heartwarming and intereting.

Since I'm not a neuroscientist - this booked proved to be fascinating. New worlds opened up, but the best part is Adrian Owen's writing. Elegant, sensitive, and exciting. I found it hard to put down and constantly read snippets to anyone in the room who would listen. I read copious numbers of books each year and this was a favourite.

A mix between autobiography and popular science book but a very well executed. Best book on come / vegetative state that I have found so far. Well worth reading!

I can't remember what made me buy this book, but it left a lasting impression on me. The stories are beautifully told and actually made me cry, which is rare. Loved every page of it and the links to videos are a great extra. Couldn't put it down!

When somebody is deeply comatose, totally paralysed and completely unresponsive and has been in that state for a few months or many years, we are faced with a dilemma: is that individual still aware, do they have a mind that is unaffected by their physical limitations, are they still the same person that they were before the event that placed them in this grey zone between life and death?I use the word person deliberately. It comes from the classical Greek for the mask that actors wore to convey the personality of the character they were playing. It is the mask we wear in everyday life in interacting with the world outside our inner self.The author is a neuroscientist who is ideally positioned to give an account of the topic discussed in this book. When attempting the task of explaining a difficult and novel concept to those who have some knowledge of the background but are new to a particular field of enquiry, or to those who are intrigued by the question despite knowing nothing of the background, it is often helpful to describe the historical development of our current understanding. This the author does to perfection. He tells the story as a simple tale of exploration, beginning from where we knew little and ending with where we know a little more.This book is well crafted, and is an easy and entertaining read. The conclusion is hopeful. We now know how to communicate with individuals whose minds are alert but whose bodies are trapped in that most unfortunate of states. The future appears bright for those who would further advance our ability to interact with them and draw them back, closer into the comfortable world of human contact that most of us are privileged to inhabit.

An empathic and deeply moving account of the discovery that unresponsive, head-injured persons are potentially cognizant of their surroundings and of the people who care for them. The author is a thoughtful scientist who is deeply aware of the ethical dimensions of his work.