Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An inside look at surviving a rare illness that tried to take away almost all the author was as a person, and the family, friends, and doctors who fought for her to be accurately diagnosed and treated.

This was both scary and fascinating.

Pages: 250

Bright Side by Kim Holden

Bright Side by Kim Holden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*&%^$#

+!@#^*%$*&%

&^$%*$@&%^$#*&^%&$@





I am not okay today, on any level, and this book is to blame.





I was even less okay last night, when I finished this.





And I'm already worried about tomorrow.




Book 244 read in 2018

Pages: 423

"Love Me Tenor" by Annabeth Albert

This touching and sometimes funny book centers on Trevor Daniels and his role in a reality television competition between boy bands.  The producers want him to pretend to be in a relationship with one of his fellow band members to up viewership.  Having recently graduated from a religious college and been kicked out of his family for coming out of the closet, Trevor figures he has little to lose.  Unfortunately, things don't go as smoothly as he'd hoped.  His poor self-esteem, loneliness, and recent diagnosis of diabetes, which he tries to hide from everyone, nearly does him in.  Luckily, he does manage to befriend the singer with whom he's been paired for "romance," Jalen Smith, a natural caretaker with a beautiful voice.  Can he help Trevor work through his problems enough for their group to win the competition?

This was a fun story with lots of characters and two likable, compassionate leading men.  Poor Trevor goes through so much with his health, his family, and his lack of confidence that it's not hard to root for the guy.  Jalen starts off a bit gruff but turns out to have a very caring side not just for Trevor but for his own family as well.  This was book two in the Perfect Harmony series; I did not read book one but do not feel like I missed anything.  232 pages (Kindle edition).

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

Noggin by John Corey Whaley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so bizarre in the best sort of way. The 16 year-old main character was the 2nd person to survive a full body transplant, after being “dead” (having his head cryogenically frozen) for 5 years after cancer wrecked his body.

When he wakes up, he feels as if he has been asleep for a few days, but everyone in his life is 5 years older. They have moved on with their lives without him and grown up and apart in all different kinds of ways, having never expected to see him again, but he feels and thinks the same.

The story tackled all kinds of big questions and issues in a way that was unique, unexpected, and serious yet somehow never too heavy.

Pages: 368

"The Mating of Michael" by Eli Easton

This is an unusual love story about two very different men with lots of baggage.  Michael Lamont is a home health nurse with a former burlesque dancer as his main client, and James Gallway is a successful novelist who contracted polio at age five and must use a wheelchair.  Michael loves James' books, and when they meet at a book signing, Michael is smitten.  However, James is practically a hermit and is dealing with his books not selling as well as his first, which he wrote at age 18.  They do eventually start dating, but Michael has a big secret that may tear them apart. 

This was a well written story with enough angst to make me worry that there wouldn't be an HEA.  James is not a very likable person at the beginning, but once we learn more about his childhood the reader can understand why he has a huge chip on his shoulder.  Michael is a sweet, giving, and trusting soul, and is the heart of this book.  His client, Marnie, is a hoot and gives the story a lot of its humor.  I liked most things about it except its title.  (It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone; I have not read the others but might in the future.)  240 pages (Kindle edition).

"The Upward Spiral" by Alex Korb

This book about treating depression has the subtitle "Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time".  Korb is a neuroscientist and explains the various parts of the brain involved in depression and anxiety.  As someone with a degree in psychology, nearly all of the terms he used were familiar to me; however, it's easy to see how a reader who has never studied the parts of the brain and its processes would be overwhelmed or even tune out much of this book.  The author offered suggestions on changing brain activity to lessen depression as well as anxiety, most of which I had already heard.  Still, I liked the chapter on anxiety the best.  I listened to this book on CD with David deVries performing.  He had a nice, moderate voice which was easy to hear while driving.

Audio:  5 hours, 39 minutes
Print:  240 pages

"Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History's Great Personalities" by Claudia Kalb

This excellent book covers the mental illnesses and/or personality disorders of 12 very famous people:  Marilyn Monroe (borderline personality disorder), Howard Hughes (obsessive-compulsive disorder), Andy Warhol (hoarding), Princess Diana (bulimia), Abraham Lincoln (depression), Christine Jorgenson (transgender), Frank Lloyd Wright (narcissism), Betty Ford (alcoholism/drug addiction), Charles Darwin (anxiety), George Gershwin (hyperactivity), Fyodor Dostoevsky (gambling addiction), and Albert Einstein (Asperger's syndrome).  I love personality theory and found this book to be extremely engrossing and accessible with many sources and notes listed for each person, some of which I can't wait to read for a deeper understanding.  The author is not making diagnoses on her own (she's a journalist and editor) but used these many sources to paint a fascinating and usually compassionate portrait of these well known people.  I found all except the final two figures and their diagnoses to be engrossing, probably because I don't find gambling addiction and Asperger's syndrome to be all that interesting.  However, the fact that all of these people made great contributions to society while trying to deal with sometimes debilitating problems makes their accomplishments all the more remarkable.  (Except for Frank Lloyd Wright - he was just a huge jerk to everyone around him and probably could have achieved even more if not for his extreme narcissism.)  320 pages.

"The Invasion of Tork" by Claire Davis and Al Stewart

Tork is a homeless young man with green hair.  Adam is a handsome but cocky know-it-all who has been forced to volunteer at a homeless shelter.  Tork struggles with mental illness, but his intelligence and humor win over Adam and his bad attitude.  Well-written and moving in its depiction of Tork's problems, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.  82 pages (Kindle edition).

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Concept: A group of teenagers are sent to a sanatorium/boarding school to try to overcome a mutated strain of tuberculosis that cannot be treated. This move is to both help them grow well and keep them isolated from the rest of the population.

Shortly after failing breakfast and learning there is nothing he could do to ever fail a real class, Lane gets caught up with a rebel group of sick teens and falls for Sadie, despite the fact that neither may ever leave the sanatorium.

I adored this book from start to finish, so I read it in one sitting.

Pages: 336

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice by Lisa Genova is a brutally honest look at Alzheimers Disease and the havoc in can wreak on both the individual who is diagnosed and the family and caregivers around her. Alice Howland is a professor of psychology at Harvard University when she is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 50. The story is told from her point of view and shows how she views her world during the course of the disease. At once fascinating, heartbreaking, and frightening, this novel takes an in-depth look at the disease from early onset forward. Genova's storytelling makes this a quick read. I read the entire thing in a few hours and could barely put it down. But don't let the speed of the read fool you--this is a meaty narrative with lots to take in. Genova masterfully weaves the sensory perceptions Alice experiences throughout her illness and their changes. There is a lot to consider. For example, if you could be genetically tested to find out if you would develop Alzheimer's in the future, would you want to know? I heartily recommend this book to EVERYONE. We all need to know more about this terrifying disease and the people who take care of its victims. 289 pp.

"When Beauty Tamed the Beast" by Eloisa James

Piers Yelverton, Earl of Marchant, is known as a beast for his bad temper.  He is a trained doctor who treats patients in his large castle in Wales.  Linnet Thrynne has just had her reputation ruined based on a lie, and now has no prospects of a good marriage.  However, Piers' father, the Duke of Windebank, convinces her to travel with him to Wales and use her beauty to captivate his son, but Piers has sworn never to marry.  Additionally, he has not seen his father in over 20 years and blames him for many problems in his life.  This book did not start off well for me and it took a while to enjoy, but I'm glad I stuck with it for its unusual storyline about a "gentleman doctor." The most interesting part is when a scarlet fever epidemic hits the area, and one of the major characters contracts it.  374 pages.