I Never Promised You A Rose Garden | Book Review
I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg Original Publication Date: 1964 Genres: Fiction, Illness Goodreads A modern classic, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden remains every bit as poignant, gripping, and relevant today as when it was first published. Enveloped in the dark inner kingdom of her schizophrenia, sixteen-year-old Deborah is haunted by private tormentors that isolate her from the outside world. With the reluctant and fearful consent of her parents, she enters a mental hospital where she will spend the next three years battling to regain her sanity with the help of a gifted psychiatrist. As Deborah struggles toward the possibility of the “normal” life…
Brain on Fire: My Month Of Madness | Book Review
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan Original Publication Date: 2012 Genres: Illness, Medicine, Memoir, Non-Fiction Source: I purchased this book Goodreads Brain on fire: One day in 2009, twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. A wristband marked her as a “flight risk,” and her medical records—chronicling a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory at all—showed hallucinations, violence, and dangerous instability. Susannah had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: a healthy, ambitious college grad a few months into her first serious relationship and a…
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | Book Review
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Original Publication Date: 2010 Genres: Biography, Illness, Medicine, Science Source: I purchased this book Goodreads Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to…
Life Itself: A Memoir | Book Review
Life Itself: A Memoir by Roger Ebert Original Publication Date: 2011 Genres: Illness, Memoir, Non-Fiction Source: I purchased this book Goodreads Life Itself: Roger Ebert began reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967 and was the first film critic ever to win a Pulitzer Prize. He has appeared on television for four decades. In 2006, complications from thyroid cancer treatment resulted in the loss of his ability to eat, drink, or speak. But with the loss of his voice, Ebert has only become a more prolific and influential writer. And now, for the first time, he tells the full, dramatic story of his life and career. In this candid,…
