Off the top of my head

the long version

Off the Top of My Head is a candid and thought-provoking set of twenty-six alphabetical essays (A-Z) penned over five years by Stephen Lorch as he coped with, and ultimately overcame, a life-threatening illness. Paired with the typographic styling of award-winning book designer Jean Wilcox, Off the Top of My Head is a contemporary illuminated manuscript that explores how we think about, experience, and ultimately communicate--to ourselves as well as to others--the impact of significant life events. At the book's core is the author's own story: a Jewish boy growing up in New York City in the 1940s and 50s, a lifetime of overcoming the challenges of physical handicap, the culminating experiences and influences of being a mathematician, a student of philosophy, a psychotherapist, a project manager, an opera lover, and a foodie, as well as an organizational consultant and executive coach to leaders of major hospitals, universities, social service agencies, and think tanks. Complemented by a rich and eclectic tapestry of Lorch's favorite quotes, books, recipes, jokes, poems, and song lyrics (reflecting a lifelong and insatiable love of learning), Off the Top of My Head is both witty and poignant, heartfelt and wise.