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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
Porochista's recounts her experience getting a clear diagnosis of Lyme disease. Interesting perspective given it's wide and sporadic symptoms, limited Lyme disease awareness and the medical community's treatment via dangerously addictive pharmaceuticals. She discusses her multiple misdiagnosis and the impact her disease had on her creative writing process, family and relationships. I didn't realize how serious Lyme disease is. Her engaging writing made this book easy to read through quickly, and I feel more educated about the effects of this disease.
Less of a memoir about chronic illness, more of a memoir about relationships & place. The entire memoir was organized by location (wherever she lived at the time) and whoever she was subsequently dating in that city. I could barely following the timeline, since it all seemed to be the same struggle, just with different settings and different white boyfriends (whose names I could not keep straight) - I became easily bored after the first few chapters when I realized that that structure would remain constant throughout the book. I was able to tab some pages that I liked - mostly pages within the chapters that were quick critiques of larger concepts like belonging, sickness, etc. But I found little to remember in the actual substance of the memoir, which I felt had barely any substance at all.
I enjoyed this medical memoir, following Porochista's story from childhood and especially her college years to the present and her long struggle to deal with and be diagnosed with Lyme disease. I hesitated on picking this one up for a long time because it deals with drug addiction, but the drugs in question are ones prescribed to help her (for the most part - there are some 'party drugs' too) and I wouldn't call this an addiction memoir, although that's certainly part of Porochista's life and journey. The audiobook was captivating and motivated me to get my exercise and errands in so I could listen longer. I think memoirs translate very well to audio and this narrator had a smooth voice and logical phrasing.
Hand this to reads who enjoy medical memoirs like Brain on Fire by Susannah Calahan or writer memoirs like Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy (Porochista actually mentions this book in her memoir and I think it makes a great readalike).
Hand this to reads who enjoy medical memoirs like Brain on Fire by Susannah Calahan or writer memoirs like Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy (Porochista actually mentions this book in her memoir and I think it makes a great readalike).
A powerful and enlightening read on living with chronic illness. Kept me thinking and made me appreciative.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This memoir is about an author who goes through a long struggle with her health and is ultimately diagnosed with end stage lime disease. And her struggles of also being an addict. She goes through what many with a hard to diagnose illness go through and that is medical trauma and being dismissed not only by medical professionals but her peers and family.
What I could not understand is how the author did not have any personal growth from this or takeaways to help anyone else from her medical journey. It was disheartening that she never fought for herself or advocated for a diagnosis. The author even indicated in her book that she became the patient no doctor or nurse wanted to work with because she was whining all the time for things; she became a person who loved medical attention and wanted to be waited on. She wanted people to care for her and used her friends also. I was hoping for a story of how someone overcame addiction or a medical crises that they had to fight to overcome and get care. Because I personally know the struggle to find good care, but it instead was a book of a person who does not like America but lives here and has a political agenda versus a message about her health journey. She focuses widely on anti-trump rants and Anit-American healthcare rants but offers no solutions to change or how any of it personally impacted her. And it was a person who thinks they are the best author in the world who probably has a tinge of Munchausen disease.
Being a person of the chronic illness community myself I was so hoping for more of a survival story, even if it doesn't have a happy ending. Instead I got a political platform and a woman who craves attention and anyone who doesn't give it to her must be racist.
What I could not understand is how the author did not have any personal growth from this or takeaways to help anyone else from her medical journey. It was disheartening that she never fought for herself or advocated for a diagnosis. The author even indicated in her book that she became the patient no doctor or nurse wanted to work with because she was whining all the time for things; she became a person who loved medical attention and wanted to be waited on. She wanted people to care for her and used her friends also. I was hoping for a story of how someone overcame addiction or a medical crises that they had to fight to overcome and get care. Because I personally know the struggle to find good care, but it instead was a book of a person who does not like America but lives here and has a political agenda versus a message about her health journey. She focuses widely on anti-trump rants and Anit-American healthcare rants but offers no solutions to change or how any of it personally impacted her. And it was a person who thinks they are the best author in the world who probably has a tinge of Munchausen disease.
Being a person of the chronic illness community myself I was so hoping for more of a survival story, even if it doesn't have a happy ending. Instead I got a political platform and a woman who craves attention and anyone who doesn't give it to her must be racist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
informative
reflective
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Rape
There are some great thoughts and sentences in this, but it was ultimately disappointing. It felt to me like all plot and no insight, so you get a chapter on undergraduate drug-fuelled exploits with really no payoff (reading about other people's drug experiences is a little like reading about their dreams - you know it's important to them but it's incredibly dull to you). It felt like there were tons of insights the author started making about gender and race and the medical system but never carried on with. I think it is too stripped back. I'm not sure what the purpose of reading a list of horrible things that happened to someone without reading what they took from it, or the context, or where the problems are, or how things could change.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
It can be difficult to rate and review a memoir, and to separate judging the book from judging the person's life itself. While the life of every person has value, some life stories are going to more relatable, more eye opening, more educational, and so on.
I did find parts of Porochista's battle with Lyme disease relatable, and sometimes appreciated a different perspective on some of the same struggles I had (God was kind to me by sending a Lyme-literate doctor very soon after my diagnosis, and I never had to fight the medical system the same way she did). Many sections of her life story, however, such as her time on drugs in college, did nothing for me but renew my irritation with a culture that makes bad choices or bad situations seem desirable.
I wouldn't recommend this one for younger readers, as some choices like the drugs and the string of boyfriends (and also girlfriends, though these are only mentioned in passing) are sometimes presented in a glamorized light.
I did find parts of Porochista's battle with Lyme disease relatable, and sometimes appreciated a different perspective on some of the same struggles I had (God was kind to me by sending a Lyme-literate doctor very soon after my diagnosis, and I never had to fight the medical system the same way she did). Many sections of her life story, however, such as her time on drugs in college, did nothing for me but renew my irritation with a culture that makes bad choices or bad situations seem desirable.
I wouldn't recommend this one for younger readers, as some choices like the drugs and the string of boyfriends (and also girlfriends, though these are only mentioned in passing) are sometimes presented in a glamorized light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts