When My Ghost Sings: A Memoir of Stroke, Recovery, and Transformation

Summary

A lucid exploration of amnesia, selfhood, and who is left behind when the past is obliterated.

Tara Sidhoo Fraser is thirty-one years old when a rare mutation in her brain causes a stroke. Awakening after surgery with no memory of her previous life, she attempts to piece it all back together through a haze of amnesia. Yet, as memories do begin to surface, they are seen through someone else's eyes—the person whose body she stole, whom she calls Ghost.

Fighting to stabilize her existence, Tara struggles with the gulf between who she was and who she is now, while constantly battling and paying penance to Ghost. She meets Jude, who is also contending with their identity, the gap between who they are and who they present to the world. As Jude's transition progresses and they begin testosterone injections, Tara's conflict with Ghost heightens. Ghost's voice becomes stronger, and memories of hospital visits, old desires, and her ex threaten Tara's new relationship.

She burrows deeper into the mystery of who she once was, recognizing the need to fuse herself and Ghost into one. When My Ghost Sings is a lyrical memoir of healing, a farewell letter, and an embracing/reclamation of selfhood.