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Austin Guitarist Sees His Music In A 'New Way' After Suffering Stroke

Avrel Seale plays his telecaster at home
Jack Morgan
Avrel Seale plays his telecaster at home

Avrel Seale was a published author and semi-professional musician in Austin who had the world on a string until he hit the mid-century mark of his life.

That's when everything he knew fell apart. In 2017, he suffered a devastating stroke. He lost use of his strumming hand. But he still found a way to continue making beautiful music on his guitar.

“I can't play everything I used to play on guitar, but I can still play guitar,” he said.

He wrote a book about it too. Through music and writing, he found his way back to life.

Jack Morgan can be reached at jack@tpr.org and on Twitter at @JackMorganii