Mini-Reviews: Memoirs

In the past I've never considered myself much of a memoirs reader, but for some reason over the last several weeks I have found myself drawn to several. What I found is, I think, typical for memoirs: one was pretty scattered and a chore to read, one was fine, and two were excellent. 

Living With Jonathan by Sheila Barton

I was drawn to Living With Jonathan when I saw it on NetGalley because I spent two years doing ABA therapy for a little boy with autism, and it was an amazing experience. The boy I worked with was pretty high-functioning, and I was curious to read about what someone's experience was like with a person who is less able to care for themselves. The details Barton shared were interesting, and I felt that I had a good window into her emotions as a mother and the day to day experience of Living With Jonathan. However, the way she organized events felt very haphazard and was not chronological, which I found disorienting and truly disturbed my overall enjoyment of the book. 

2.5 stars

Warnings: Language, some intense themes

Saturday Night Widows by Becky Aikman                                                              

I totally judged Saturday Night Widows by its cover. It looked fun, colorful, and positive -- and it was. The story of an anti-support group for young widows looking to deal with their grief in a positive way by having new experiences, Saturday Night Widows was engaging and unique. Becky Aikman's writing style was very pleasant to read, and I was invested in the lives of the friends she makes. However, something was missing for me in this book. Maybe it is simply that because I am not a widow, I don't fully relate to the experiences she writes about. At any rate, I found the book interesting but it didn't leave a lasting impact on me. 

3 stars

Warnings: Language, off-the-page sensuality and innuendo

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott

I saw a passing reference to this book and snapped it up without a second thought. Immersed in the messy chaos of trying to figure out how to take care of a tiny, brand new human being, the title Operating Instructions seemed too apt to be true. This book had me in tears at times and laughing out loud at times. It was just what I needed -- to know I wasn't alone in being overwhelmed, frustrated, and yet totally and completely in love. This quote is really all you need to know: 

I wish he could take longer naps in the afternoon. He falls asleep and I feel I could die of love when I watch him, and I think to myself that he is what angels look like. Then I doze off, too, and it’s like heaven, but sometimes only twenty minutes later he wakes up and begins to make his gritchy rodent noises, scanning the room wildly. I look blearily over at him in the bassinet, and think, with great hostility, Oh, he’s raising his loathsome reptilian head again.

Yes, yes, this is how it is. 

4 stars

Warnings: Language (quite a lot)

Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson

I love Stephanie Nielson's blog, the NieNie Dialogues, and my claim to Utah celebrity fame is that I once made her children soy hot chocolates when I was the barista at Borders (moment of silence for Borders). I decided it was finally time to read her memoir. I started reading the NieNie Dialogues a few years after the accident that severely burned Stephanie Nielson and her husband, and the memoir mainly focused on the accident and the aftermath. The experience was devastating, especially contrasted with her charmed life before the accident, which was described in the beginning of the book. I found Nielson's faith and ability to overcome the struggles she faced inspiring and applicable, even though my struggles are very different and less dramatic than hers. Stephanie Nielson is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormon church, and she frequently mentions her faith, but definitely wrote her memoir with readers not of the Mormon faith in mind as she explains different aspects of what she believes. I think this book is inspiring and powerful.

4 stars

Warnings: None, really, just a few mentions of sex

Parenting Books Mini-Reviews

I'm back! Kind of. With my new baby (seven weeks old already! I can't believe it), I haven't been blogging at all... but I have been reading quite a bit. And a main portion of that reading diet, both before and after he was born, has been books about parenting. With my type A personality, I really wish that babies came with step-by-step manuals that told me exactly what to do to turn out a well-adjusted, happy individual. Unfortunately, instead I have been sifting through many, many books, some of which are helpful and many of which are not. I thought I'd give you all a brief run-down on the parenthood-related books I have read lately, what worked for me, and what didn't.

Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality by Lara A. Jana and Jennifer Shu

This is actually the only book that was 100% awesome advice. Heading Home With Your Newborn covers a variety of topics, from how to bathe a baby to breastfeeding tips to information about various illnesses. The authors are pediatricians who also have children, so they have a solid background and know exactly what they are talking about. They also are careful to differentiate between their opinions and what is supported by science and the American Academy of Pediatrics. I recommend this book to any first-time parent for a wide range of advice and information about newborns.

 

Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall Tackett

While I was reading this book, pregnant and blissfully thinking that I wouldn't have any trouble with breastfeeding, I thought it was excellent advice. Mohrbacher and Tackett go through the logistics behind milk production, latching, the benefits of breastmilk over formula, etc. However, when I experienced problems after the birth of my son, I found that a) the book didn't really address the problems I faced, instead assuming that all women are capable of breastfeeding if they simply "stick it out" and b) I felt incredibly guilty that I had to supplement with formula because of this attitude. So in short, this is a good overview for someone who doesn't have too many problems, but doesn't address problems well for those who do.

The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp

This book presents five methods to soothe crying babies (once their basic needs, like dirty diapers and food, have been taken care of). To be honest, the book itself bothered me -- it was written in a somewhat childish, over-simplified way, and the ideas that Karp presents, such as the idea that prehistorically babies really were in the womb for a fourth trimester, are not backed up by science. However, the methods themselves are pretty effective and worked for my son most of the time. I've heard a DVD accompanies this book (I checked it out from the library) -- maybe that would be slightly less grating.

On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

Countless people have told me this is THE book to get babies to sleep. When I read it while I was pregnant, I was skeptical -- it seemed too harsh to let babies "cry it out" and seemed too rigid. While there are still ideas that I don't agree with or follow in the Baby Wise method, I have, however, found many things it suggests to be effective now that I am actively parenting. I think that, like all parenting books, everything has to be taken with a grain of salt. No book is the true "user's manual" that will answer every question about babies. Like Happiest Baby on the Block, I also was at times irritated with the presentation of the ideas in Baby Wise. They present their ideas as if it is the only way to raise a well-adjusted child and that any parent would be foolish to do anything different. While I appreciate and use many of their ideas, I don't think it is the parenting gospel.

Your Amazing Newborn by Marshall H. Klaus and Phyllis K. Klaus

Your Amazing Newborn is an overview of newborns and their abilities. It was an interesting, brief read. It did leave me feeling a little cheated because it describes some of the amazing connections made between mother and baby when baby is placed on the mother's chest immediately after birth, and I had to wait almost an hour before meeting my baby for the first time after he was born. Still, that was a personal issue, and many things touched upon were interesting in this book.

Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields

Postpartum stress, whether it is full-blown postpartum depression or a few days of baby blues, affects many women after childbirth, and I was no exception. I am feeling a lot better now, but with a very traumatic labor and difficulties in feeding my baby, as well as a hospitalization early in his life for RSV, adjusting to motherhood definitely took some time. I checked out Down Came the Rain out of curiosity -- I wanted to see what someone else was experiencing. While many of Brooke Shields feelings and experiences differed from mine, many also struck a chord with me and helped me to feel less alone with the stresses I was encountering. The book was also well written, something I don't usually expect from a celebrity memoir (although I haven't read many of those, so I don't have much to judge from). I think any new moms dealing with any measure of postpartum stress will find something to relate to in Shields' memoir. It was definitely a rewarding reading experience for me.

I am reading two more parenting books right now... you'd think I'd be an expert by now, right? What parenting books have you read and enjoyed? (And those of you who aren't parents, hope you haven't been too bored by this smorgasbord!)

January First by Michael Schofield

Title: January First
Author: Michael Schofield
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Crown, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Read for: Review, Neuroscience list

January has been a high-strung child from birth, needing intensive stimulation all day in order to sleep at all. As she grows older and shows signs of extreme intelligence, her father believes -- and verifies with an IQ test -- that January is a genius. However, with the birth of a younger brother Jani begins displaying disturbing tendencies towards violence, and soon it becomes clear that it isn't just a phase -- Jani is suffering from severe mental illness.

I started January First when I finished my book on the bus and decided to knock out a review copy since I had my Kindle with me. I planned to read a few chapters on the bus and then finish it later. However, I could not put the book down and finished it within 24 hours. Jani's story is compelling, heartbreaking, and moving.

Michael Schofield chooses to relay his memoir in the present tense, which I think was very effective for this story. The immediacy of the present tense helped draw me in to his state of panic and confusion with Jani's bizarre and frightening behavior, as well as his frustrations with the institutions and doctors who are meant to be helping her but aren't always as willing or helpful as they could be.

I also felt that January First was written with stark honesty. I have read other reviews of the book complaining that Schofield's parenting was contributing to the problem, that he didn't pay enough attention to his other child, that his marriage was full of problems. There were certainly actions and attitudes Schofield had that I did not personally agree with, but he wasn't writing a parenting book -- he was writing the story of the effect his daughter's illness had on their lives. I appreciated that he included his mistakes with his successes. It also caused me to think about how I would handle a similar situation in my life -- it is easy to stand from a distance and judge Schofield's actions, but I can almost guarantee that none of the reviewers doing that have dealt with Schofield's unique situation. I appreciated his honesty and the direct look into the struggles of living with Janni and protecting their children.

While January First was an emotionally taxing book to read, it was also rewarding. While the Schofield family met with many challenges and setbacks, they also had moments of success. January First is not just about watching the train wreck of an awful disease -- it is also watching a family take an impossible situation and still manage to find solutions. January First is a fascinating memoir and story that will captivate readers.

4 stars

Warnings: Language, non-graphic violence

The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey

Title: The Cranes Dance
Author: Meg Howrey
Genre: Contemporary fiction, literary fiction
Publisher: Vintage Books, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Read for: Review, New Adult Challenge

Kate Crane is a solo dancer on a premier dance company in New York. Until a few months ago, her sister Gwen was a principal, surpassing her older sister -- until she had a nervous breakdown and intentionally injured her knee. In the aftermath, Kate has to recenter herself now that she doesn't have her sister to hold her in balance. As she examines what she has lost because of Gwen, her own sanity threatens to fray.

When I requested The Cranes Dance from NetGalley, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I'm drawn to books about mental health issues due to my first degree, and the ballet/perfectionism element also intrigued me, but I wasn't sure if the book would be enjoyable. While The Cranes Dance was certainly not an easy book to read, I was very impressed with the powerful way the story enveloped me in Kate's stressful world.

Initially, I had some issues with Kate's voice. While she is presumably in her mid to late twenties in The Cranes Dance, at times her voice is very superficial and young-sounding, peppered with profanity and at times immature images. However, as the story progressed, her voice became very real. As she described the way living with Gwen in the throes of her mental illness affected her and the continued stress of having to evaluate her life in ballet after Gwen left it, I felt compassion and empathy for her character, despite the fact that she was at times irritating.

I also felt that Kate's personal journey was compelling and believable. Kate hits some very low points in The Cranes Dance, abusing pain medications due to a neck injury, fascinating about taking comfort in some of Gwen's bizarre rituals in order to cope with life, entering into negative relationships for something to distract her from her life. However, she also experiences growth. While we journey with Kate into the lowest parts of her life, we also explore her thought processes. We see her act with compassion despite the fact that she is contemplating horrible things. I think The Cranes Dance was able to convey a message of hope to those struggling with mental health issues without sugarcoating the issue.

I think The Cranes Dance presents some compelling themes for the modern young woman, whether or not that woman has an interest in ballet. While my interest in dance has always been casual and amateur, in other arenas of my life I have felt the intense expectations, whether real or imagined, of peers and family, to excel and attain perfection. I think modern-day America has some high expectations for women -- we are supposed to have strong careers in spite of gender discrimination, as well as raising healthy, well-adjusted children, and being good friends, and maintaining spotless homes, and cooking well-balanced vegan meals for our families. Oh, and if we aren't thin and beautiful, all of that other success is negated. Does anyone else ever feel like this? Ballet is the perfect microcosm to display this more global issue -- the dancers are expected to execute difficult physical feats with exactness, learn multiple roles, and maintain tiny, beautiful bodies. I think these issues are relevant to all women, even if we don't execute them in the world of ballet. I think many women will find something to relate to in the overwhelming stress that affects Kate in The Cranes Dance.

The Cranes Dance is not always a pleasant book to read, but it presents many interesting truths for our modern society in the theater of ballet. I think many women will be able to relate to the stress and struggles Kate experiences.

4 stars

Warnings: Smattering of f-bombs, drug abuse, scene of sensuality, strong thematic material

YA Friday: Life is But a Dream by Brian James

Title: Life is But a Dream
Author: Brian James
Genre: YA, contemporary fiction
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends, 2012
Source: NetGalley
Read for: Review, neuroscience list

Sabrina has always fascinated her friends and family with her wild imagination and vivid drawings. However, as she grows older, her friends become more interested in boys and the internet, and her parents seem to quietly disapprove of the things they used to find beautiful. Confused and frustrated, events build up inside Sabrina to an outburst and she finds herself in a hospital, where the nurses give her pills that dull her senses and she is surrounded by people that seem lost. Until she meets Alec, the first person who seems to understand her, who wants to encourage and treasure the visions she sees. However, will their dreams prove to be destructive?

Before I read this book, I only saw a few reviews for it, and they were lukewarm to negative. I began it with some trepidation -- I know that opinions vary, but in general people seem to feel the same way about most books, and I figured it would probably be mediocre for me as well. However, I was totally, completely wrong. Life is But a Dream blew me away with its beautiful detail and gutting emotion. It isn't an easy book to read, but Life is But a Dream is a powerful journey and one that brings a new empathy for individuals suffering from mental illnesses.

First, look at that cover. Do you see how the sky and flowers are beautiful, but the girl on the cover is forlorn and lying on stark ground? That is Sabrina's life at the hospital. The longer she spends there, the more medications she is given, the further the dreams that colored her life and the more isolated she feels. That is, until Alec comes to the hospital. Alec and Sabrina have an instant attraction to each other, and Sabrina loves that for the first time in months, she has a ready listener for her dreams and imaginings. Alec doesn't tell her to grow out of it, that she is crazy and needs to change. He tells her the rest of them are crazy and that she is the only person to see life clearly. He is completely transfixed by her view of the world, which I found completely endearing. So often, in adolescence especially, I think people shy away from what is different. Mental illness is completely stigmatizing in many cases. The fact that Alec saw past the fact that Sabrina was a patient in an institution and found beauty in her was moving. (I know that he is also in the mental institution -- his case is a little different. Revealing why would be a huge spoiler, however, so you're just going to have to read Life is But a Dream to find out).

As Sabrina and Alec grow closer and closer, they want to escape, and this is where the tension really enters into the story. We read Life is But a Dream through Sabrina's perspective. She tells us that her visions are beautiful, that they make her who she is, that her soul is being stolen without them. However, as the story progresses and Sabrina resists treatment, she begins to completely unravel, and the reader begins to wonder if everything the beautiful visions she is desperate not to lose are as benign as Sabrina believes them to be. There are no clear answers -- by taking the visions away, part of Sabrina's life is lost, but by letting them reign over her, she loses all control. I thought the issue of treating mental illness and whether it is disease or just difference was handled exceptionally well. I was also amazed at Brian James' ability to delve into Sabrina's mind so deftly. Often, I think we see schizophrenia as the homeless person muttering on the street or someone running down the street convinced that the government is after them. Sabrina's manifestation was very unique but absolutely convincing, and it is not until late in the story that the full story of her hospitalization is unveiled.

At times, the emotion and the uncertainty in Life is But a Dream is uncomfortable. I think mental illness is inherently a difficult subject -- we all expect our bodies to fail us at some point, but hope to be able to hang onto our minds, because that is who we are, more than the frames that carry us. However, Life is But a Dream offers a unique and powerful insight into the mind of someone with schizophrenia, and carries with it a very touching love story as well. Life is But a Dream will appeal to those interested in psychology and reading books about the "heavy issues" in YA literature.

4.5 stars

Warnings: Language, some descriptions of heavy making out

Spark by John J. Ratey

Title: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
Author: John J. Ratey, M.D. with Eric Hagerman
Genre: Nonfiction, medical, neuroscience
Publisher: Little, Brown, & Company, 2008
Source: Library
Read for: the husband, who is obsessed with it.

Dr. John J. Ratey explores the effects of exercise on various brain functions, from natural processes like learning and aging to disturbances in brain chemistry such as ADHD, clinical depression, and anxiety disorder. He intersperses anecdotal stories from his own practice with research studies to support them.

I've joked with my husband that we really just need to buy this book, because we have checked it out of the library three times and renewed each time. (It took him two times to read it because he was in school, and then he checked it out again to use a quote for a paper). By the third time we had it out, I decided I should just go ahead and read it. And it was absolutely fascinating, despite the fact that I didn't work out at all that week, therefore plunging me into feelings of guilt.

Ratey's hypothesis is that exercise alters basic brain chemistry, enhancing mental and emotional performance. He discusses the application of this theory in several contexts, starting with an anecdote about a school that utilizes aerobic exercise shortly before difficult classes for kids who need remedial intervention. This school has received incredibly high rankings on international standardized tests, and Ratey believes it is because aerobic exercise increases brain concentrations of BDNF -- a growth factor present in learning and other important brain processes associated with memory. He follows this anecdote with several examples of the positive effects on running and other aerobic exercise in disease processes like ADHD and addiction. I found it interesting that he had examples of people to whom he had made recommendations and seen results as well as more scientific, rigidly controlled studies to back up his results.

While any neuroscience book is susceptible to being bogged down with jargon, Ratey and his co-writer Hagerman keep the writing fluid and comprehensible on layman's terms (I assume. I thought it was pretty clear-cut, and while my husband does have a biology background, he hasn't done much neuroscience beyond basic physiology). He keeps his findings clear and gives his own recommendations for dealing with mental crises, suggesting a target heart rate and amount of time to exercise.

I think we are all aware that exercise is important for a healthy body; this book illustrates the importance of exercise to a healthy mind as well. Anyone with an interest in exercise and/or neuroscience, or especially someone needing motivation to put on their workout clothes and go, will find a great resource in Spark.

4 stars

Warnings: May make you feel guilty for sitting on your butt and eating ice cream.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Title: Cutting for Stone

Author: Abraham Verghese

Genre: Contemporary fiction, historical fiction

Publisher: Vintage Books, 2009

Source: Gift from my father-in-law

Marion and Shiva Stone are the twin sons of Thomas Stone, an amazingly gifted but asocial surgeon, and Mary Joseph Praise, a beautiful nun with a healer's touch. History, misunderstanding, and one devious woman conspire to both connect and sever the unique relationship Marion and Shiva share as surgeons, brothers, and fetuses that once shared a womb.

I feel as if that summary is inadequate. I know many people copy and paste their summaries from GoodReads, but to me writing my summaries is a small way for me to sum up the book and what the plot told me on my terms. However, this is difficult to do with Cutting For Stone. The story is both eventful and powerful, but it unfolds gradually, with many of the surprises and unexpected outcomes that assault us in our own lives. In some ways, the book felt episodic to me - much of the first few hundred pages described events of Marion and Shiva's lives, beginning with their parents' relationship and continuing through childhood to their separate decisions in adulthood. However, all the bizarre elements and seemingly isolated incidents of Marion and Shiva's lives come together in an astounding climax that I couldn't believe. Each event in their childhood came to a head in the final events of the book, and I was vastly impressed with Verghese's skill in weaving these elements together. In the last few pages of the book, Marion reflects, "The world turns on our every action, and our every omission, whether we know it or not."

The characters of this book were well realized. Marion, the voice of the story, is a romantic, driven by love for Genet, the daughter of one of the family's servants, and his admiration for Ghosh, his adoptive father and a skilled surgeon. Shiva is an eccentric and idiosyncratic boy that grows into an odd but giving and skilled man. Genet is an oversexed and thoughtless flirt, Hema a motherly medical machine, and Stone a heartbreaking, lost character, unable to escape from his demons when he cannot save the woman he loves. However, out of this sea of individually drawn lives, my favorite is without a doubt the homely and talented Ghosh, a man whose sheer passion for medicine ignites the fire in Marion's own soul. His wisdom, patience, and capacity for forgiveness coupled with his very human shortcomings manages to hold the rest of the characters together, despite their occasional tendency to destroy each others' lives.

I also found the writing very interesting. Verghese is a physician, and he describes the many medical procedures in this book in high detail. The book is definitely not for a weak-stomached reader. While the writing is not poetic in the manner of glimmering sunlight and pretty colors, the realism and power with which Verghese paints his scenes gives the words a harsh beauty. The ruthlessness of a country in civil turmoil adds more grittiness to the book. It isn't always a beautiful picture but it is compelling.

One little element that particularly endeared this book to me was when the twins are first born and Hema and Ghosh must stay up all night to make sure they keep breathing. In boredom, and trying to stay awake, Ghosh picks up a leather bound book and starts reading through them, beginning a life-long love of literature that is passed on to his children. I think writers can't help putting in bookish elements, either because they love books so much or as a sly, subliminal sales tactic.

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is grimy and abounds with every body fluid that exists. However, the story will move you and the characters will win your heart, even as they make you wonder what on earth they were thinking. This is a heavy book, but one that is worth the 657 pages.

4 stars

Neuro notes: While never explicitly diagnosed, I think Shiva has Asperger's syndrome. His behaviors were a great example of the lack of social awareness and single-minded drivenness of an Asperger's patient. I also thought Verghese did an excellent job of bringing out the humanity in Shiva. Despite the fact that he didn't perceive emotions in a typical way or subscribe to many social conventions, he was still capable of a great amount of love.

Darkness Visible by William Styron

Title: Darkness Visible

Author: William Styron

Genre: Nonfiction, memoir

Publisher: Open Road, 2010

Source: NetGalley

Sorry about the ugly Amazon image.

For some reason I was having difficulties getting a good image for this book cover. And also, I am lazy.

EDIT**: The lovely people at Open Road sent me their cover. It is more aesthetically pleasing, yes?

Anyway, Darkness Visible is a glimpse into acclaimed author William Styron's (Sophie's Choice; Confessions of Nat Turner) dark struggle with clinical depression. A slim volume of only 84 pages, the book is nevertheless packed with vivid imagery and insight into the depressed mind.

Styron begins his chronicle of his experience with the disease in Paris, where he is receiving a literary prize, the Prix Mondial Cino del Duca. Despite the great honor and large monetary prize, all Styron can think of is his desire to get home and see a psychiatrist. His oppressing feelings lead him to commit

some social faux pas and misplace his (hefty) prize check. This incident opens the door for Styron's meditations on his mental illness, including a strong attempt to convey what a depressed person feels, his speculations on the causes for himself personally, thoughts on suicide, and how loved ones can help.

The most impressive parts of the book were, for me, the vivid descriptions of Styron's moods and feelings. In general, we deal with the outside of a depressed person, unless we ourselves are depressed. We deal with the irritability, the lack of desire to participate in daily life, the melancholy. I think at times this leads to impatience on the part of those who are not depressed. Styron's conveyance of his painful emotions inspired strong sympathy and a better understanding of the state of mind of a depressed person. Here are just a few of his poignant images: "a sense that my thought processes were being engulfed by a toxic and unnameable tide that obliterated any enjoyable response to the living world;" "a sensation close to, but indescribably different from, actual pain;" "this leaden and poisonous mood the color of verdigris;" a veritable howling tempest in the brain;" "a sto

rm of murk;" "one's bed of nails, attached [...] wherever one goes." These dark images drove the Styron's emotions into my mind. The most powerful excerpt, to me, was this -

I did notice that my surroundings took on a different tone at certain times: the shadows of nightfall seemed more somber, my mornings were less buoyant, walks in the woods became less zestful, and there was a moment during my working hours in the late afternoon when a kind of panic and anxiety overtook me, just for a few minutes, accompanied by a visceral queasiness - such a seizure was at least slightly alarming, after all.

I think these images are powerful and probably applicable to many who suffer from depression. One aspect that probably is not the same for other clinical depression sufferers are some of Styron's hypothesized causes for his depression, including a decreased tolerance for alcohol, which he describe

s as "a soothing, often sublime agent, which had contributed greatly to my writing." Styron also cites his father's own depression and the loss of his mother at a young age as potential reasons for his own experience. While these are all certainly potential causes, one must bear in mind that Styron does not use evidence to support these hypotheses and they cannot therefore be viewed as scientific. I don't think this is Styron's intent; however, I could picture readers applying his statements to themselves, which may not be valid.

Styron also presents some interesting ideas on suicide, giving a long list of authors and artists who committed suicide due to depression. The idea of creative and artistic people being susceptible has always been of particular interest to me so I found this section intriguing, although slightly disheartening, because no one wants to think that genius predisposes to

ward suicide.

Despite the dark subject matter of the book, Styron ends it with a message of hope, comparing the progress of depression to Dante's journey in The Divine Comedy - while he descended through a labyrinth of despair, hell itself, he emerged and "beheld the stars." Styron writes that the best thing one can do for a depressed loved one is to remind them that the disease will run its course - it will eventually come to an end.

One need not sound the false or inspirational note to stress the truth that depression is not the soul's annihilation; men and women who have recovered from the disease - and they are countless - bear witness to what is probably its only saving grace: it is conquerable.

Darkness Visible is a powerful and aesthetic survey of depression in one man's life. Its slim size makes it an a

ccessible and quick read, but its message reverberates after the story is finished. I actually put off writing this review for several days because I wanted to think about the story and let it set in for a while before I wrote a review. Whether or not you yourself are a victim of depression's iron grip, this brief memoir paints a compassionate portrait and inspires thought.

4 stars

Neuroscience Notes: This book is mainly a psychological description of depression rather than a scientific description. However, Styron does an excellent job of describing artistically the symptoms of depression and gives a compassionate window into the emotions of a depressed person. He also spends a bit of time describing the dichotomy between pharmacology and psychotherapy.

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Title: The Emperor of All Maladies
Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D.
Publisher: Scribner, 2010
Genre: Nonfiction
Source: Gift from The Husband

(I'm trying to be a little more organized, hence the abundance of information above)

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is subtitled "A Biography of Cancer." The book attempts, then, to describe the cancer from its birth to its death, a multidimensional canvas that includes its history, its pathogenesis in the human body, and its range of treatment. Mukherjee adds to this broad scope of information his personal experiences with patients as a student doctor in an oncology fellowship. The result is a vast, information-filled tome of knowledge about this unruly, capricious disease.

Mukherjee's writing leaps around a bit, describing ancient tumors found on mummies, pathologies inscribed on ancient tablets (treatment: none, marked drearily on one), and then snapping into his beginning experiences as an oncologist. The main chronological thread is that of the discovery of ways to treat cancers, beginning with simple excision of a tumor and leading to the complicated and elegant array of gene therapies pharmaceutical companies are marketing today. While this main thread was followed throughout the novel, it was at times a little disorienting to jump from learning about a developing drug in the 40's to Dr. Mukherjee's current patient in the 21st century.

The book tended to focus on a few specific types of cancer, including Hodgkin's disease, breast cancer, and especially the leukemias. I understand his reason for this, as these particular cancers, possibly because of their uniqueness, led to specific cancer treatments. However, I would have liked to learn more about other cancers as well, such as skin cancer, colon and stomach cancer, and especially brain cancer. Mukherjee's main focus was on the development of treatment and government funding for research, while I personally would have been more interested in learning the biological details of the different diseases. However, through elucidating the development of different treatments, Dr. Mukherjee deftly pulls together the common causes of different cancers into a concise and uncomplicated genetic explanation.

Despite my occasional disappointment in the type of information presented, this book is a stunning accomplishment. Cancer is a diverse and elusive disease with behavior that still baffles some of the most intelligent people in the world. I loved Dr. Mukherjee's characterization of cancer as an alien opponent maneuvering its way through battles with the human body - its amazing adaptations to treatments and the way it harnesses the life-promoting ability of dividing cells is eerie and frightening. The range of information and research necessary to write a book like this is astounding, and despite the occasionally scattered narrative, I think Mukherjee did as good a job as anyone could in integrating the story elements.

Dr. Mukherjee's personal stories also give this intimidating and huge volume a personal touch. He describes the heaviness of his cancer fellowship, the way it changed his life and the lives of the doctors with whom he worked. He describes his feelings of defeat when he has to tell a cancer patient they really have no more options, and the delicate balance the doctor must tread in displaying hope for a treatment but not too much hope. I was especially touched by his story of driving to his leukemia patient, Carla's, home to bring her flowers when she was officially in remission. Dr. Mukherjee is not just a scholar, intent on discovering the root of a medical problem - he is a soldier struggling to protect the lives of those caught in the snare of a formidable enemy.

Dr. Mukherjee is also an excellent writer. His prose was never too thick with medical terms. He crafts his sentences well, clarifying complicated scientific processes with elegant metaphors. One such metaphor compares science as unveiling a picture one small piece at a time, until it resolves into a complete picture -

Science is often described as an iterative and cumulative process, a puzzle solved piece by piece, with each piece contributing a few hazy pixels of a much larger picture. But the arrival of a truly powerful new theory in science often feels far from iterative. Rather than explain one observation or phenomenon in a single, pixelated step, an entire field of observations suddenly seems to crystallize into a perfect whole. The effect is almost like watching a puzzle solve itself.

Overall, I think this book is a daunting read, but a worthy one. I think in our lifetimes cancer will affect all of us, whether from the disease in our own bodies or that of a loved one. While our understanding of the disease is far from complete, The Emperor of All Maladies gives us a small window of understanding. It is not a perfect portrait of this complicated enemy of ours, but may be one of the best we have so far.

Overall Rating: 4


Neuroscience Notes: While the book didn't spend much time describing cancers of the brain, there were a few interesting anecdotes about certain cancers metastasizing to the cranial cavity, causing intense headaches, hallucinations, etc. For this reason, I am including it in my neuroscience list.

Read for the Chunkster Challenge and the South Asian Challenge.

The Neuroscience List

Photo Credit

Over the last few weeks, I have gotten an idea and I finally decided to act on it. As many of you know, I am a neuroscience student in my last semester of my undergraduate. While I love learning about the brain (and there is so very much to learn!) I have mostly only read textbooks, rarely venturing out into the realm of literature. A few months ago, Eva at A Striped Armchair wrote about a fantastic list that she compiled in response to a lady asking her for book ideas for people who work in a non-profit neurological support organization. Eva found books pertaining to stroke, epilepsy, autism, Parkinson's Disease, headache/migraine, dementia, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, etc., both listing books she had read and others she had heard about.

I was so excited to find this list, I scribbled down the titles that looked interesting to me and pasted them to my Challenges page. I didn't think I'd get through them all, but I wanted to have them there in case I ever needed ideas. I more or less forgot about the books for a couple of weeks, until recently. Because of my interest in neuroscience, I want to make my own neuroscience list/review database. I'm leery of recommending books that I haven't yet read, and when I wrote down Eva's list I didn't organize it (if you visit her page, you will find descriptions of all the books, as well as divisions into types of neurological disorder and whether the book is fiction or nonfiction, etc.) I also wanted to include books about general neuroscience as well as neurological disorders.

So here's my plan. If you look up at my pages, there is a new "Neuroscience List" tab. As I read books about neuroscience, or books that pertain to the brain, I will add them under one of three headings: Fiction, Nonfiction, or Memoir. (Yes, I know memoir is a type of nonfiction - however, to me memoir has a very different feel to it than other nonfiction, so I want to give it its own category). Anyway, those will be my "sorted" books - books I have read. I will follow the book title with neuroscience topics that relate to it in alphabetical order and any reviews I am aware of on the book. I will put the list of Eva's books that I am interested in underneath, but as I read those books I will move them up to my three categories.

Sorry if that sounds complicated! I think it will take a bit of time for me to work the system out but I think it will be the best way for me to build a list as well as work my way through Eva's list. I have to give a public shout-out to Eva - it is an amazing list and I know that she put lots of work into it. I am not trying to replace her impressive list - just trying to alter it to fit in with my needs.

My final little detail about the list is that if you have reviewed any of the books I would love to add your link to the list. I want to have a resource for people who want to learn more about the brain. So if you have read any of the books on my list (rather small) or Eva's list (much longer) please send me your link and I will add it. I'm hoping this experiment goes well! Thank you in advance for your contributions!

The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok

Before I say anything else about this book, I have to voice how impressed I am with its author, Mira Bartok. It seems this woman has done everything - she lived in Italy, Israel, and Norway, wrote children's books, taught lectures and guided tours, painted, and now she has written a book for adults. She has a blog dedicated to connecting hopeful artists, writers, and composers with grants to allow them to continue their work. And she has dealt with many difficulties, from an unstable and frightening childhood to a life-changing accident, on her way there. I want to meet her - maybe one of these days she will come and do a book signing in Salt Lake.

Anyway, now that I've gushed a little bit... In a few words, The Memory Palace is a memoir about Mira Bartok's relationship with her schizophrenic, from whom she is estranged for seventeen years, but is able to reunite with shortly before her mother's death. However, there is much more to the story. Bartok sustained head injuries during an accident and began struggling with locating memories and dealing with excess stimuli. This experience helps her to relate to her mother's disordered thinking.

There is so much to this book that it is hard to know where to start. Bartok's writing is gorgeous. Sometimes I feel like memoirs and biographies get bogged down with details and chronology. Not so with The Memory Palace. She lays out different experiences from her life by taking us through her "memory palace," a technique of the scholar Matteo Ricci developed in 1596 to help scholars protect their memories. For every memory, there is an image and a location in the palace. Mira gives a tour of her palace, describing important scenes from her fascinating life in vivid detail. One of my favorite images is from the time she spent in Norway with her first husband -

The clouds had changed from white to shimmering green in an instant, then to twisting ribbons of magenta light swirling around the stars. [...] We stood, half buried in snow, holding each other's mittened hand, trying to balance against the wind. My hand slipped out of his and I let myself fall back into the snow. (243)

Not all of Bartok's images are peaceful, though - her mother has frightening delusions, and is prone to violence when certain delusions are upon her. One image that I couldn't get out of my mind was that of Mira's mother holding a broken bottle to Mira's neck as she struggled to escape.

Norma Herr's frightening episodes mark Mira and her sister, Natalia's lives so strongly that they change their names and separate themselves from her. (Their original names were Myra and Rachel. Bartok is a Hungarian composer - Both Mira and her mother were passionate musicians, a fact I appreciate, especially as I spent several months of high school trying to perfect a particularly discordant Bartok piece). However, despite the horror that Norma brings into their lives, there is beauty as well. Norma was a musical prodigy, originally married to a talented, drunken writer (who abandoned the family when the girls were still very young). Mira often compares her parents to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Even though Norma spends much of her adulthood homeless, she fills notebooks with facts she has studied and spends hours in museums, admiring paintings (Mira and Norma both loved Chagall). On her deathbed, Norma is surrounded by women who lived at her women's shelter, women who loved her and were inspired by her.

The women congregate around her bed. They massage her feet and hands, offer her spoonfuls of applesauce, and treat her like a baby. They love her and see in her a kind of wisdom I never imagined she had. (293)

As Mira explores her mother's life, reading journals and finding strange items in a storage unit her mother has kept for years, she is able to appreciate the woman Norma was beneath her schizophrenia - the loving, brilliant, and passionate woman. She sees similarities in herself and her mother, and she struggles to reconcile the difficult decision to separate herself from her mother so many years before.

This book was not easy to read. It was dark and frightening (especially as I have just started work at a home for the mentally disabled - hearing my coworkers tell stories of unexpected violence and then reading from this book was unsettling). At times it seemed hopeless. However, Bartok sifts through the horrors of her mother's struggle and presents us with a gem refined by fire. I was sobbing at the end of this book and couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterward. It is definitely a story that I will remember. I feel like I've hardly done it justice.

I have to add one more thing that didn't seem to fit anywhere in the review - I really appreciated Bartok's accurate neuroscience. In a field that is often misinterpreted, I was very impressed with her sources and knowledge.

Overall? This is a heavy dark book, not for the faint of heart, but it is beautiful. I'm glad I own a copy and hope to revisit it in the future.

FTC Disclosure: Book received from publisher

Accessibility/readability - Bartok's writing flows beautifully. Very readable.
Literary merit/Aesthetics - 4
Plot - 4
Characters - 5
Personal response - 4.5
Overall: 4.5