Singapore Stroke Survivor Living with Aphasia Terence Ang Wins 2026 NYC Big Book Award® for Brokenness Becomes Beautiful

AI-narrated audiobook wins Audiobook: Poetry/Memoir, transforming a journey with aphasia into international literary recognition

NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, September 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Singaporean author, stroke survivor and aphasia advocate Terence Ang has been named a 2026 NYC Big Book Award Winner in the Audiobook: Poetry/Memoir category for Brokenness Becomes Beautiful: Inspiring Pieces Of Poetry.

For Ang, the recognition carries significance beyond a literary award.

After suffering a haemorrhagic stroke in 2020, Ang was left living with aphasia, a condition that affects communication and language. Writing became a way for him to express what he could no longer always say easily.

The audiobook takes that journey further. It was narrated using an AI-generated digital recreation of Ang’s own voice, created from recordings of him speaking after his stroke. The technology allows his words to be heard in a voice recognisably connected to him despite the effects of aphasia.

“This award means so much to me because it recognises the audiobook — the very form that allowed me to find another way for my words to be heard,” said Ang. “AI did not replace my voice, and it did not cure my aphasia. It helped me reclaim something personal: a way to speak my own words, in a voice that still feels like mine.”

The project has received an endorsement from Debra Meyerson, PhD, and Steve Zuckerman, co-authors of Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke and Co-Founders and Co-Chairs of Stroke Onward.

“You so beautifully capture the experience of millions of stroke survivors living with aphasia—frustration, opportunity, hope, beauty and so much more. By using AI voice-cloning technology to narrate the audiobook in a digital version of your own voice, you have created a powerful impact by not letting aphasia silence your voice.”

Brokenness Becomes Beautiful explores what happens when life changes unexpectedly and a person must reconsider identity, confidence, vulnerability and purpose. Rather than presenting recovery as a return to the person he was before his stroke, Ang writes about learning to live with change and discovering meaning in what has been fractured.

The audiobook adds another dimension to that message. For someone living with aphasia, voice can represent identity, dignity, confidence and participation in the world. Ang’s project brings together lived experience, literature and artificial intelligence to explore how technology can support human expression without replacing the person behind it.

“I never wanted AI to speak instead of me,” Ang said. “I wanted it to help me communicate something that was already mine — my thoughts, my experiences and my words. The voice may be created with technology, but the story behind it is human.”

The NYC Big Book Award recognizes excellence across a wide range of literary categories, with submissions from authors and publishers around the world.

For Ang, the award brings together parts of a journey that began when his life changed suddenly in 2020: stroke, aphasia, writing, technology and the continuing search for purpose.

“Six years after my stroke, I am still living with aphasia. I am still finding words. I am still learning what it means to communicate differently,” Ang said. “Winning this award does not mean that the journey is finished. To me, it means that even when a voice changes, it can still be heard.”

A changed voice does not mean a person has nothing left to say.

Where to Listen and Read

Brokenness Becomes Beautiful: Inspiring Pieces Of Poetry is available as an audiobook through ElevenReader and Spotify, and as an ebook, paperback and hardcover through Amazon.

The complete list of 2026 NYC Big Book Award Winners and Distinguished Favorites is available at the NYC Big Book Award website.

About Terence Ang

Terence Ang is a Singaporean author, stroke survivor and aphasia advocate whose books draw on lived experience to explore stroke, identity, communication and recovery. Since his stroke in 2020, his writing has received international literary recognition. Through his books and advocacy, he seeks to raise awareness of aphasia and encourage greater inclusion, understanding and thoughtful use of technology to support people with communication difficulties.

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