MY STROKE SPEAKS - Living, Laughing & Surviving

A trippy ride into the Twilight Zone…
An intimate—and rarely shared—journey from the moment you wake to the day you begin accepting who you've become: humorous, heartfelt, frightening, and sometimes dark. Sleep is the only escape. Waking means facing what it takes to rebuild a life. Recovery truly begins when you can laugh again.

Who Will Benefit Most:

* Healthcare Conferences
* Hospitals & Rehabilitation Centers
* Medical, Nursing & Therapy Schools/Programs
* Stroke & Brain Injury Organizations
* Caregiver Groups
* Corporate Wellness Programs
* Associations & Nonprofits
* Community Organizations
* General Audiences

What I Hope Stays With You
* Spend an hour seeing the world through the eyes of a stroke survivor.
* Discover how humor becomes an essential part of the survival kit.
* Learn why asking for help is a strength—not a weakness.
* Understand why what was once simple is now difficult...and sometimes impossible.
* Discover joy and purpose, even when life takes an unexpected turn.
* See how survivors navigate daily confusion, frustration, and uncertainty with resilience.
* Leave knowing how to connect with survivors through empathy and humor.

As a television personality and lifelong storyteller, Steve Boorstein has appeared on The Today Show, The View, Inside Edition, and numerous other national television programs. Still in the early stages of recovery, Steve summoned the strength and stage presence to deliver his first stand-up performance, earning a standing ovation.

His interviews and articles have been featured in numerous national magazines and newspapers, including National Enquirer, Reader's Digest, Style Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post, among others.

An entrepreneur in diverse industries, Steve built one of the nation's premier dry-cleaning businesses in Washington, D.C., serving an elite clientele that included Supreme Court justices, U.S. presidents, professional athletes, entertainers, and diplomats. After more than 25 years of delivering exceptional customer service, he became known for his guiding philosophy: "How can I please you?"

Known nationwide as "The Clothing Doctor," Steve authored four books that taught consumers how to care for and preserve their wardrobes. As a spokesperson for Tide and Whirlpool, he reached millions of consumers and became a sought-after keynote speaker for conventions throughout the clothing and dry-cleaning industry.

Fifty-two years young, Steve was healthy, happily retired, and looking forward to the next chapter of life when he and his wife of 30 years moved from Bethesda, Maryland, to Boulder, Colorado. Just two years later, a bizarre skiing accident triggered a devastating stroke that forever changed the course of his life, forcing Steve to rebuild every aspect of it.

Just four years into his recovery, he began speaking to nurses, physicians, therapists, and other healthcare professionals, offering the unique perspective that only a survivor can provide. Through his presentations, he invites audiences inside the emotional, physical, and psychological realities of stroke recovery—the loss of identity, overwhelming confusion, and the difficult acceptance that tasks once taken for granted can suddenly become impossible.

Rather than allowing his stroke to define him, Steve discovered a new purpose: giving survivors a voice. He speaks not as a victim, but as someone who continues to embrace the lifelong journey of recovery with resilience, humor, and hope. Humor has become an essential part of Steve’s personality, his recovery, and his acceptance. It is part of his survival kit—his anchor when he feels he has hit a wall. Without it, he believes he would have caved under the weight of life’s challenges.

Stroke support groups welcome Steve, and recommend him to other hospitals. Numerous testimonials reflect his warmth, empathy, self-depracating sense of humor and casual honesty.

His newest book, Different Strokes, blends humor, vulnerability, and hard-earned wisdom. After interviewing fellow survivors—people using canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and even those emerging from comas—Steve gained a profound perspective. He realized that, despite his own challenges, his stroke was only "a drop in the bucket" compared with what many others endure. That realization became both the inspiration for his book and the foundation of his message: resilience grows when we choose gratitude, perspective, and purpose over despair.

Emergency-Room Nurse - Caesar’s Palace
Well, I can tell you that he had me close to tears more than once. That was very enlightening. I’m an emergency room nurse. It will give doctors and nurses a completely different perspective of a stroke survivor. I think it will change my practice forever, especially with patients that come in that are unresponsive or aphasic. I hope as much as you’ve touched me and change my thoughts and my practice, I hope to perhaps change somebody else’s life.

Jefferson Neurosurgical Associates at AtlantiCare
Summit Co-Chairperson
Dear Steve,
Thank for taking the time from your busy schedule to plan and present at the Stroke Summit.
The lecture you presented titled "Different Strokes: An Intimate Memoir" was very well received by the physicians, nurses and general attendees of the 2nd Annual Stroke Summit. The objectives were clearly and concisely met. The consensus of opinion from the evaluations was that your lecture was exceptionally well prepared and informative.

Sincerely,
Mania Tito, mar, sou en
Monica Titus, MBA, BSN, RN
Neuroscience/Trauam Program Director
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center

* Lapel mic
* Possible opening of my song, "I was stroked"
* A slide projector for my thumb drive
* A round chair or lectern for water and a props.
* Stage to see all three angles of the audience.
* Floor monitor for titles, not necessarily for slides