A Review of A Neuropsychologist’s Journal

by Dr. Batya L. Ludman

I was recently invited to review A Neuropsychologist’s Journal: Interventions and “Judi-isms.” Normally this wouldn’t take me long as I would get the gist of the book by quickly skimming through it. Instead I found myself engrossed in reading this book word by word, cover to cover. The short chapters had me hungrily turning the 459 pages for more, and at times, I just could not put it down.

Now, I must admit, I am acquainted with Dr. Guedalia’s work as we are professional colleagues and I have heard her speak on numerous occasions, and, as I read her book I could almost feel her presence because her writing style manages to capture the essence of who she is, both as a person and a professional. This makes the book enjoyable for both the professional and lay reader alike.

Dr. Guedalia, in describing the American psychiatrist Milton H. Erickson’s approach (p. 83) captures her own style as well: “For [Milton] Erikson, the unconscious mind was creative, solution-generating, and often positive. But more than anything else, his ability to ‘utilize’ anything about a patient to help them change, including their beliefs, favorite words, cultural background, personal history, or even their neurotic habits, fit with my ideas of the goals of therapy: to help my patients solve problems, achieve goals, and change their behavior.” This is what she shows us in this book.

Dr. Guedalia wears many hats. The head of neuropsychology at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, she brings us into her life – whether as a member of the hospital’s emergency response team, while conversing with Chaim K (a respirator dependent quadriplegic man who co-authors her column for The Jewish Press), winning an award, or as an eshet chayil around her Shabbat table.

We gain insight into Guedalia’s world through her little “Judi-isms,”

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