In a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sharon Stone opened up about the profound impact the stroke she suffered back in 2001 had on her life. It drastically changed her perspective on things, prompting her to focus on the positives of her life despite the hardships she has faced.
Stone’s stroke changed her life
Sharon Stone’s career came to an abrupt halt when she suffered a stroke in 2001, which resulted in a nine-day brain bleed. This life-threatening event forced her to step away from Hollywood and brought about a dramatic shift in her life. Reflecting on the experience, Stone shared, “A Buddhist monk told me that I had been reincarnated into my same body. I had a death experience and then they brought me back. I bled into my brain for nine days, so my brain was shoved to the front of my face. It wasn’t positioned in my head where it was before.”
The stroke left Stone with severe impairments to her senses and cognitive abilities. “And while that was happening, everything changed. My sense of smell, my sight, my touch. I couldn’t read for a couple of years. Things were stretched and I was seeing color patterns. A lot of people thought I was going to die,” she explained.
During this vulnerable period, Stone became a victim of exploitation. She recounted how she lost millions of dollars that she had diligently saved, along with other personal items. “I had $18 million saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was all gone. My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people’s names. I had zero money.”
She chooses to focus on the positive
Despite these overwhelming challenges, Sharon Stone has made a conscious decision to focus on the positives in her life. Rather than succumbing to bitterness, she has embraced a mindset of resilience and gratitude. “I decided to stay present and let go,” she admitted. “I decided not to hang onto being sick or to any bitterness or anger. If you bite into the seed of bitterness, it never leaves you. But if you hold faith, even if that faith is the size of a mustard seed, you will survive.”
Stone has chosen to live her life with purpose and joy. “So, I live for joy now,” she added. “I live for purpose.” Initially, in the earliest days of her recovery, she could not see correctly and suffered memory loss. At first, she hid her disability, fearing rejection and judgment. “[I] was afraid to go out and didn’t want people to know. I just thought no one would accept me,” she explained.
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Over time, however, she has found comfort in sharing her story and being open about her experiences. “I’ve become more comfortable with publicly saying what’s really happened to me,” she said, acknowledging the long struggle to pretend she was fine.
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