Article: ISHMAEL AND THE NOVEL; Stricken with a brain hemorrhage during the birth of her son, Samina Ali was expected to die or be permanently disabled. What doctors didn't count on was the book she had not yet finished.(ENTERTAINMENT)

Byline: Sarah T. Williams; Staff Writer

Samina Ali had a critical question for her doctor, one that she feared would decide her future. "What part of the brain," she asked, "does a person need in order to write?"

"You need this part, this part, this part and this part," he told her, pointing to the front, back and sides of his head. A writer, he explained, uses the entire brain - both left and right hemispheres - to imagine, remember, theorize and calculate.

The news devastated Ali, 33, a budding author who grew up in the Twin Cities and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1993. Her first novel was still a rough draft, and her mind and ...

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