What happens when your brain is on fire?

"I have felt that odd whirr of wings in the head."

-Virginia Woolf, A Writer's Diary: Being Extracts from the Diary of Virginia Woolf 

(as quoted  in Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan, p.1)

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I read a good memoir last week about a successful newspaper reporter who went through a sort of mental and physical breakdown, and yet she found her way out of the darkness thanks to the love and support she received from her family and friends. She also gives credit to her amazing doctors who ran the right tests and provided the correct treatments to get her on the road to recovery after several months. 

Brain on Fire - My Month of Madness - by Susannah Cahalan is about a young woman who had everything going for her. She had a great job at a newspaper, a wonderful boyfriend, and a family who genuinely loved her.  But one day everything changed. She began having hallucinations, lost her balance repeatedly, lost her ability to speak correctly, and quit eating. At first, doctors thought she was an alcoholic and that this was the cause of her cognitive impairments. She essentially became a child again and grew incapable of taking care of herself. She grew paranoid and acquired many physical tics that seemed to come out whenever they felt like it, like constantly smacking her lips. Something was definitely wrong.

Eventually, Dr. Souhel Nazzar and others were able to diagnose the problem: Susannah had a disease called _anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune incephalitis. They came to this diagnosis after a brain biopsy and numerous other tests, and she endured several treatments such as IVIG, and the she was released to her parents while being given treatments as an outpatient. She had to be watched constantly, and her parents made sure she didn't drive or do anything else that could be dangerous. Cahalan used her drawings, notes, and more to put together this book about her ordeal. She can even explain the science behind her form of incephalitis, and it's very complicated. If you're a science-type person, you might enjoy reading the precise explanation of this rare and dangerous disease. Not everyone who gets this can heal from it, so Calahan is clearly one of the fortunate ones. This book is based on her article for the New York Post where she has been an investigative reporter for the past ten years. It was the jumping off point for her memoir, and it has helped a lot of people who were also searching for answers regarding their similar symptoms. She clearly did a lot of research to better understand her disease and its effects, and she shares her knowledge with us in this little paperback.

I read that this book will be made into a motion picture in the near future, so you might want to look for it.

Yesterday we went to see the new Disneynature movie, "Born in China." This movie is a relaxing way to celebrate Earth Day, and I enjoyed all of the animals that were featured in another beautiful film put out by Disney. There are snow leopards, pandas, cranes, and other animals featured in this movie, and we got to see them in every season of the year as they brave the elements to find food, raise their young, and seek safety. The movie is less than 1 1/2 hours long, but it's a beautiful film that gives us a rare chance to see these animals up close. The pandas were by far my favorite. Baby pandas are about the size of a stick of butter when they are born, and to be able to see them develop, change, and eventually climb a tree alone is a beautiful thing. They are so cuddly and sweet, and the mothers know how to take care of their babies. This was, of course, an intrinsic characteristic of all of the animals featured - the moms all knew what they were suppose to do from the moment they gave birth.

Enjoy this last week of April, and I'll see you again next time.

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

 

Grandma Hikes the Appalachian Trail

"'What the Lord didn't provide, I did. One day I was walking down the road and came upon a tin can. I turned it over a couple times with the tip of my cane and found a full, unopened can of beef stew. Opened it with my knife, and dined real well that night.'"

-Grandma Gatewood, Grandma Gatewood's Walk, p.204, by Ben Montgomery
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 I enjoy walking and hiking, so I "get" some of the reasons that Emma Gatewood, age 67, decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail beginning in Georgia in the year 1955. She did not take a map, a tent, or a sleeping bag. she only took a blanket, a raincoat, a walking stick, a pair of ordinary sneakers, a little bit of money, and a few other small items that she carried in her homemade bundle. But why did she abruptly leave her home in Gallia County, Ohio without telling her 11 children or anyone else where she was going? Emma Gatewood was a Great-Grandma who just loved to walk and enjoyed the great outdoors so much that she decided one day that she would "go for a walk" just for the same of walking. She was blind without her thick gasses, and she needed her set of false teeth, but she was in great health for a woman her age so she didn't see any reason why she couldn't go on a very long walk.

Along her trip, Grandma met many kinds of people who gave her shelter or a hot meal. But many nights she made a bed of leaves and slept in the open air, realizing that the leaves made a very nice bed. She shared cabins with all sorts of hikers, people such as boy scouts, hunters, or reporters. She was friendly and outgoing, and so she wasn't hesitant to ask people for food, a place to sleep, or a ride to a nearby motel. And she was never afraid. She seemed to trust everyone, and she never feared for her life. She didn't even seem to be afraid of wild animals, but a porcupine did try to sleep in her leaf bed one night. Every now and then she would mail a postcard to her children just to let them know that she was having a great time and was in good health. To Emma Gatewood, her historic hike was "just a walk," but she did it because she had never enjoyed anything about her hard, abusive life with her husband. The long hike was something she wanted to do for herself, something she saw as a great vacation. Eventually reporters got wind of her trip. They began to show up at various points along the trail to ask for a photo. Of course, they always had questions for her as well. The trail of 2,050 miles was out there, and Grandma wanted to see every bit of it so she flew to Georgia and began her adventure.

Emma Gatewood had a hard life. Her abusive husband beat her nearly to death several times, so one day she decided it was the last time. She filed for a divorce and got rid of him for good, well before she hiked the trail. She had endured unimaginable beatings and a hard life on the farm, so she thought walking the trail would be much easier than those experiences, so she set off. She faced challenges such as the time she broke her glasses, and getting through parts of the trail were sometimes very difficult. She noted later on that the A.T. wasn't as well-carved out as advertised, and many of the shelter huts were in bad disrepair. So she noted the areas of the trail that needed to be worked on and improved. Emma Gatewood went on to hike the trail two more times, more than any other woman in America. She became a sort of folk hero, leading parades and making guest appearances in many settings. Articles and such were written about her extraordinary adventures, and she received gifts of clothing, meals, and more.

In the front of the book by Montgomery there are some great quotes that I'd like to share here. They are...

"We do not go into the woods to rough it; we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home." -George Washington Sears

"Now or never." -Henry David Thoreau

And Emma Gatewood said of herself, "I get faster as I get older." And she was pretty darn fast!

I think you'll enjoy this book that came out just three years ago. It's about a woman who thought she was just an ordinary lady who liked to walk, yet she was so much more. You don't need expensive hiking supplies like boots from R.E.I., R.T.E. rations, a tent, and other things in order to do what she did, you just need to want to do it. And don't be afraid of the unknown. That's what she would tell us today. She was 85 years old when she died peacefully in 1973.

What's on the bestseller list today? Below you'll find pictures of the current shelves at a bookstore chain. Have you read some of them? I've read Hillbilly Elegy, A Man Called Ove, Lilac Girls, The Circle, The Nest, The Shack, and All the Light We Cannot See. I've written about these books in the past couple of years as well. The Circle will hit the big screen in a couple of weeks, so look for this film starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. This science fiction book and movie will really make you think about your personal privacy and how the world is changing rapidly. Also, if you have HBO look for the movie version of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laks. Sure wish I had HBO! I was intrigued by this true story about how an African-American woman's cancer cells were used long after her death. Have a blessed Easter and a beautiful Spring.

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

Fiction

Nonfiction

Paperbacks

A History of Social Class in America

 

"If this book accomplishes anything it will be to have exposed a number of myths about the American dream, to have disabused readers of the notion that upward mobility is a function of the founders' ingenious plan, or that Jacksonian democracy was liberating, or that the Confederacy was about states' rights rather than preserving class and racial distinctions."

-Nancy Isenberg,  White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America.

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A few weeks ago my friend recommended that I read this book about social classes in America. She somehow knew that I would probably enjoy it because we've known each other for more than forty years. Even though we haven't lived in the same state for more than thirty of those years, we keep in touch and always manage to talk about a good book. I think my friend knows that I don't like beach reading such as romances, mysteries, comic books, or a book that is just too fluffy for me. I'm not opposed to these, I just don't enjoy them. More than anything, I enjoy books abut history or epic-style dramatic novels that pull me in such as Cutting for Stone. And I love to read historical novels. What do you like to read?

That being said, I did finish the book before I had to renew it at the library, and I'm pleasantly surprised. The book has over 100 pages of notes in the back, and since I didn't feel that I needed to read all of those, I stopped at the end of the book. You can tell that Isenberg did a ton of research for this book. She had to do it in order to honestly study the social trends of our country, dating from the time of the pilgrims until today. She discusses the slang terms that we have used in our country to refer to various groups of people, titles such as "white trash," "trailer trash," "squatters," "crackers," "half-breeds," "clay-eaters," "mudsills," "thoroughbreds," "scalawags," and of course, "rednecks." She devotes a lot of time to discussing the views of class of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and some of our more current political leaders. She discusses celebrities and politicians such as Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Jimmy & Billy Carter, the Duck Dynasty family, Sarah Palin, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and many others. She shares what people in the U.S. said and wrote about these people, many of whom rose from homes of immense poverty to become very wealthy and famous. There is also another side of this, of course, and this is when celebrities and others claim to come from humble roots when they actually came from a fairly affluent family. But don't we all like to read that a celebrity or politician worked very, very hard to get where he or she is today? Everyone likes a story about a hardworking person who "made it" by struggling, not merely be receiving the silver spoon. But as always, we must search for the facts before we believe anything. In general, Americans like to believe that this is the best place in the world to live because if we are born into a poor, uneducated family we can still climb up the ladder to become middle-class people. It is possible, of course, as many people throughout history have proven, but to do so honestly and authentically is still challenging. This is a very enlightening book that sheds light on the cultural phenomena that have shaped our country, so if you've ever wondered why we are the way we are as a nation, you will get a lot out of White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg. The author is currently a professor of American History at L.S.U. 

There are so many other good non-fiction books that I've come across and read over the years. As you probably remember, I've kept a card file on all of the books that I've read in the past 33 years so bringing titles to mind is pretty easy. Have you ever heard of My Life in Orange by Tim Guest? I found this book on the shelf while browsing in a store one day, and it was very "interesting." This book is about someone who grew up in a cult that required everyone to wear orange clothing at all times. Other memoirs that I've enjoyed are My Life in France by Julia Child, Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams, Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom, A Woman in Berlin by "Anonymous," and We'll Always Have Paris by Jennifer Coburn (one of my readers). Some of the biographies that I've enjoyed are The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper, and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I can't help but wonder what other stories still need to be written. The world is full of amazing people who have had extraordinary experiences that need to be told. I've read many other non-fiction ooks that  have been eye-opening and inspiring, and I'll share more of these titles in the future. As I've said before, there is so much to share and so little time!

So...how does your basketball bracket look? I did have Gonzaga and North Carolina going far in the NCAA tournament, but I didn't have them playing each other for the championship. But I'll watch the game along with millions of other people and I'll enjoy my last one fix of basketball. I'm very sorry to see the season end. And WHY oh WHY doesn't the media do more with the women's tournament?? As a former player myself, I do follow women's basketball. After all these years of struggle, women's sports still aren't where they should be. I go to all of the Duke women's games because they play just a few minutes from our house, but the crowds are tiny most of the time. I don't understand it. The Duke women have gone to the NCAA tournament every year in the past 20 years that I've watched them except for last year, so why don't more people support them? And I promise you, it won't cost NEARLY what it costs to get in to the men's games.

I'm now going to return my library book and pick up another one. Time is a wastin'.

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com 

 

This is me yesterday as I headed to the Al Buehler Trail at Duke. I found this great hat at Costco, the perfect thing for sun protection and a little style!