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A review by mothreadsbookssometimes
The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains by Pria Anand
3.0
Thank you Atria Books for the gifted copy!
The Mind Electric is an exploration of the scientific history of neurological disorders mixed with the author’s personal anecdotes related to each disorder.
This was interesting, but not a favorite. I have a lot of conflicting feelings about it. It was written well but wasn’t quite cohesive in its tone. It was very informative and interesting, but it didn’t quite deliver a solid message
The mix of memoir and scientific case study was good in theory, but they didn’t quite work together. I needed one or the other, but the book didn’t work with both. The tone wasn’t cohesive, and there was almost a whiplash effect from the switch between the two.
The personal anecdotes were interesting, but they felt a little shallow. To write about a patient’s suffering, or even the horrible working conditions of medical residency, but not discuss the need for change or possible ways to change? It just felt weird to me.
I also wish the book would have focused more on marginalized voices like the synopsis said. There were several vague mentions of the author working in a hospital with mostly impoverished/POC patients, or there was the fact that all of the anecdotes were about women, but that was it.
I also wish there was more about the patient outcomes. The diagnoses were discussed in detail, but we get very little information about what happens after the diagnosis. I wanted to know if the patients actually improved. I was so invested in their stories, and I wish we had gotten a bit more.
The Mind Electric is an exploration of the scientific history of neurological disorders mixed with the author’s personal anecdotes related to each disorder.
This was interesting, but not a favorite. I have a lot of conflicting feelings about it. It was written well but wasn’t quite cohesive in its tone. It was very informative and interesting, but it didn’t quite deliver a solid message
The mix of memoir and scientific case study was good in theory, but they didn’t quite work together. I needed one or the other, but the book didn’t work with both. The tone wasn’t cohesive, and there was almost a whiplash effect from the switch between the two.
The personal anecdotes were interesting, but they felt a little shallow. To write about a patient’s suffering, or even the horrible working conditions of medical residency, but not discuss the need for change or possible ways to change? It just felt weird to me.
I also wish the book would have focused more on marginalized voices like the synopsis said. There were several vague mentions of the author working in a hospital with mostly impoverished/POC patients, or there was the fact that all of the anecdotes were about women, but that was it.
I also wish there was more about the patient outcomes. The diagnoses were discussed in detail, but we get very little information about what happens after the diagnosis. I wanted to know if the patients actually improved. I was so invested in their stories, and I wish we had gotten a bit more.
CW: medical content (fairly graphic); pregnancy & childbirth (graphic); racism; sexism & misogyny; death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Classism