Customer Reviews

I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I cried quietly. I laughed aloud. My head hurt. My heart ached. And I've had trouble putting down this nuanced and splendidly illustrated memoir chronicling Suzy Becker's recognition that her seizure-like "stress episodes" were caused by a tumor that required brain surgery, and her journey through preparation, surgery and recovery. An award-winning best selling author-illustrator, Becker was staggered to discover that her language skills had been "stolen" by the surgery. This innovative narrative of her quest for recovery is enriched with her cartoons, graphics and commentary revealing a complex array of responses. Her humor lets the reader look at her ordeal with some of the empathy she craved during the recovery; and her honesty lets us see the pain and courage of her fight to regain her self. I admire the boldness and beauty of this reflection, the penning of which she characterizes as her recovery.

Tragic, comic and beautifully written, I will recommend this book to my patients anticipating surgery.

This book surprised me in so many ways. Knowing the author's other works, I expected it to be witty and thoughtful, but I was surprised by the emotion I felt reading it, and by its amazing complexity. There is considerable humor in the book, but there is so much more. While I know this book will be of interest and inspiration to anyone who has had brain surgery or any kind of life-threatening illness or harrowing medical experience, I also believe that the story is so universal and accessible, as it charts the author's dealings with her doctors, her family, and her own physical and mental limits, that it will appeal to anyone who picks it up and starts to read it. I was sad when it was over, because I wanted it to go on and on. And then there is the incredible design of the book, composed of cartoons, charts, quotes, and various other types of illustration, all woven in smoothly with the text. It's a truly original artistic and literary work.

The cover and cute illustrations might lure a reader looking for humor. It has some humor, but mostly it's a very personal account of a year in the life of Suzy Becker (author, illustrator, lesbian, AIDS activist, and impatient patient).
The energy in the book is often angry, sometimes frustrated, frightened, and lonely as she goes through seizures, brain surgery, and recovery. Through it all, the author comes to terms with what is important in her life and gradually builds back the structure she craves. This memoir chronicles that and shows her achievement in overcoming the initial loss of memory, humor, and other abilities.
The writing might feel depressing, but the humor in the sketches counterbalances that. A word of caution: some readers may find the interactions with the author's lover more frank than they would wish.

I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. However, I was also intrigued by the medical story and the first-hand account of recovering from brain surgery - physically and emotionally. Becker's book should be read by people headed to brain surgery and their friends and families.

When I was first browsing this book in the shop, I wondered how she could have written this whole book on just one surgery. I myself am a frequent neurosurgery patient, and have had 11 surgeries in the past 14 months. As I started to read, however, I recalled how the first of my surgeries was the scariest because it was all new to me.

Suzy Becker does a fantastic job of explaining her story with wit that makes me find humour in my own situation. It is important to keep a good perspective about something so crazy, and Suzy obviously does a great job in doing that.

Uplifting and Depressing: I say this because I had brain surgery as well. It was comforting to hear someone had a similar experience. Depressing, because my memories came back. I read it one year after my surgery. It was theraputic. Although, if I had read it before hand, I think it would have scared the heck out of me. I recommend it to anyone recovering (or knows someone) from surgery.

I loved her humor and her illustrations.

An inspiring story, told with humor and panache. No one is spared the brunt of the author's jokes; her wit is directed at doctors, friends, family, and, perhaps most of all, herself. And ultimately, no one is left outside the author's warm embrace.

I just wanted to add to the other reviews that this book is not only good for those recovering from or who know someone recovering from brain surgery but anyone who has dealt with a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), an injury that can many times the result of auto crashes or sports injuries. I had an auto crash MTBI and would highly recommend this for not only the "victim" of the MTBI but those close to him/her. It provides a pretty frank picture of what is so frustrating about MTBI--you look "normal" (i.e. have no outward physical signs of being sick or injured) but the you inside is not the same, and so many people don't realize that.

As for the lesbian "issue", I think, regardless of personal beliefs about homosexuality, people really should look past that and see the deeper relationship and interpersonal issues that apply to any post-MTBI relationship, heterosexual or homosexual. I was not familiar with Suzy, her previous work, or her sexual orientation before I started the book, and while I don't necessarily think homosexuality is morally ok, I found her romantic relationship struggles after surgery to be not specific to gay couples (with the exception of one while she was in the hospital) but things that would be equally true about any close relationship after such a major health problem, even non-sexual relationships. As for the sexual side of the relationship, she is not overtly sexual in nature when talking about their romantic relationship, saying no more than "we made love," which if a heterosexual writer said no one would think twice, and frankly "IT" is just as much of an issue for heterosexual couples after medical problems as it is for gay couples.

For the reviewer who thought it was misleading that she remembered enough about the whole thing to write a book about it, you totally missed the point, sir. It is not about if things happened word for word the way she wrote it but about the struggle to deal with your brain not being like it used to be, knowing it is not totally like it used to be, the process of recovering what you can, and learning to deal with what you have now. As one person also noted, different brains + different types of surgery/injury/illness = different outcomes. It is not that her story is exactly like mine or yours, but the underlying process of healing, both physically and emotionally.

Overall, I thought it was a good read and, as a post-MTBI sufferer, identified with much of her struggle. While it wasn't identical to what I went through, really nothing someone else goes through is ever identical to our own experiences, the underlying emotions brought back vivid memories of my own healing process. It is a good resource for post-MTBI patients and, even more importantly maybe, for those close to post-MTBI patients who wonder what in the world has happened to their loved one when the boo-boos have healed but they are still not "right."

I had the pleasure of somewhat relearning how to read using this book after I had brain surgery also. If there is anyone out there that has had brain surgery or knows someone who has had it, it is a must read to get a small taste of what the effects before and after the surgery are. The little scetches in the book are great to add a bit of humor to a huge situation, which is much needed to sit back and laugh at.