The book is a collection of stories of doctors and patients showing that the human brain is capable of undergoing change, including stories of recovering use of paralyzed body parts, deaf people learning to hear, and others getting relief from pain using exercises to retrain neural pathways.

[5] Dr. Doidge, a Canadian psychiatrist and award-winning science writer, recounts the accomplishments of the "neuroplasticians," as he calls the neuroscientists involved in these new studies, with breathless reverence.

[6] Kirkus Reviews stated the book is "somewhat scattershot, but Doidge's personal stories, enthusiasm for his subject and admiration for its researchers keep the reader engaged.

"[3] In a review of the book for the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, Jane Hall wrote in 2011 "Contrary to the original belief that after childhood the brain begins a long process of decline, [Doidge] shows us that our brains have the remarkable power to grow, change, overcome disabilities, learn, recover, and alter the very culture that has the potential to deeply affect human nature.

[...] More than anything else, it is Doidge's standing as a professioinal observer of human behavior that ultimately captivates the reader.