Gary was an Artist who had a stroke. Tracy was a fitness trainer at the gym near his home. They met one day as he approached her in the gym using his walker. He was six months post stroke at the time. He had his sister, brother-in-law, and his neighbor by his side. It was powerful and special meeting. Tracy knew at that moment this was going to be a powerful journey, and it was.

Gary trained with Tracy for almost three years. From early on in his training, he told Tracy he wants his story of training with her as hi personal trainer shared to help other stroke survivors and their caregivers, family, and friends. He would often stop in a middle of a workout and say, “Don’t every have a stroke they suck.” One day Tracy responded by saying “We need to write a book and call it Dear Stroke You Suck.” Shortly before the book was published, the title of the book was changed to The Stroke of and Artist.

This book Dear Stroke You Suck, The Journey of a Fitness Trainer and A Stroke Survivor is the Stroke of an Artist Book republished with the original book title we planned. Both book titles are available here on Amazon.

In most cases, physical therapy for stroke recovery is not nearly enough for a survivor to reach the most recovery they can attain. In this book, Tracy shares what she learned through this special journey training Gary in his stroke recovery after his physical therapy session ended. With Tracy’s education and experience in the fitness industry, the muscle illustrations,, and exercise explanations, we hope to bring knowledge, ideas, and hope to stroke survivors as well as fitness professionals to help them understand and learn more about working with survivors in recovery.

Gary always told other stroke survivors to “Never give up!”