Unexpected Alchemy

For fans of Suleika Jaouad and Jill Bolte Taylor, a stroke memoir about a woman who navigates the collapse of a life that no longer fits and discovers the unexpected alchemy of freedom.

Emily is a high-achieving, whip-smart marketing consultant and yoga teacher doing her best at balancing a hectic life—until a stroke at thirty-two changes everything. By the time she is properly diagnosed, her carotid artery has closed, leaving her partially paralyzed. Brain damage, betrayal, and bankruptcy ensue, and the life she’s worked so hard to build falls apart. Drowning in medical bills for treatments that don’t work, she watches her world spiral into chaos.

Two handstands bookend Emily’s story: one before paralysis, the other after. Between them is a fast-paced adventure in resilience and recovery spanning Southeast Asia, California, a small factory town in Ohio, and a beach yoga community in southern India. Each place forces her to redefine strength and reinvent herself until she learns what yogis have always known: Balance begins from within.

A deeply human journey through illness, heartbreak, and identity loss, Unexpected Alchemy will speak to anyone navigating chronic illness, burnout, betrayal, or the upending of a life that’s no longer working. Emily’s road is not an easy one, but she finds something surprising in her recovery: the unexpected alchemy of freedom.