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Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown
With irreverent and at times mordant humor, Most of Me chronicles Robyn Michele Levy 's early, mysterious symptoms (a dragging left foot, a crash into “downward dead dog” position on the yoga mat), the devastating Parkinson’s diagnosis, her subsequent discovery of two lumps in her breast (Little Lump and Big Blob), her mastectomy and her life since then dealing with her diverse disease portfolio. She is accompanied on her journey by a fantastic cast of characters, including her Cry Lady (who always makes appearances at inopportune times) and perky Dolores the Prosthesis, as well as a convoy of health professionals, family members, friends, and neighbors. Both heartbreaking and hilarious, Most of Me offers a unique glimpse into a creative mind, an ailing body, and the restorative power of humor and fantasy.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 2011
6 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Robyn Michele Levy
1 book9 followersRobyn Michele Levy was born in 1964 in North York, Toronto. She is visual artist, radio broadcaster, and writer. Her paintings can be found in private and public collections around the world. Her radio work includes documentaries, commentaries, poetry, and sketch comedy for CBC Radio. Her writing has been published in the Vancouver Sun, the Georgia Straight, among other publications. She has performed stand-up comedy, sketch comedy and slam poetry. Robyn lives with her family and her remaining body parts in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Robyn's debut memoir, Most Of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown (2011) was shortlisted for the 2012 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour & the 2012 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
Robyn's debut memoir, Most Of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown (2011) was shortlisted for the 2012 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour & the 2012 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 26, 2012
This review was originally published at StoryCircleBookReviews:
http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org...
Sometimes, laughter is the only way to deflect despair. Robyn Michelle Levy knows it from personal experience. Her memoir Most of Me is simultaneously amusing and poignant. From the first word, the story pulled me in and never let go, and the pages practically turned themselves. But it was a harrowing read, too, because of the subject matter: a serious, life-altering illness. Or rather two of them at once.
With poise, candor, and self-deprecating humor, Levy writes about her medical plight. At the age of 43, she was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s. Eight months later, while still reconciling her debilitating affliction, she added breast cancer to her list of maladies. So far, she has won both battles.
Her memoir covers several years before and after her diagnoses. The book starts with ‘before,’ when the author struggled with her deteriorating health and bouts of depression without knowing why. Her immediate family—husband and teenage daughter—were often on the receiving end of her black moods, and afterwards, she was swamped by remorse. Then the bomb of Parkinson’s exploded in her face.
Throughout the book, Levy is relentlessly honest, as she chronicles her seething cauldron of emotions: anger and guilt, shame and acceptance, terror of impending diapers and determination to survive. She also details the support and affection she received from her friends and family during her arduous medical journey. In a way, the book is a tribute to her loved ones, although the writing never slides towards melodrama. Funny asides and droll observations keep the narrative balanced on a tasteful line between mushy and tragic.
One of the grimmest problems the author faced after each of her two diagnoses was how to tell her thirteen-year-old daughter. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that Levy’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a couple years before. She writes: “We’re in the same sinking boat now: daughters coping with parents who have Parkinson’s. Under these circumstances, how can anything be OK? How can we get through this together, when I’m falling apart?”
Tears sprang to my eyes when I read those and similar lines. But more often than not, a morbid joke was only one step behind. Laughter and gentle self-mockery permeate the book. No dysfunction of the writer’s ailing body is off-limits to her irreverent keyboard, even when breast cancer piles on top of Parkinson’s. In her bleakest moments, humor sparkles, as she describes her recovery after mastectomy; outlines her wrestling with the question: chemo or no chemo; or tells us about naming her prosthetic breast Dolores. “If I don’t laugh I would cry,” she writes.
The same applies to me, as a reader. If I didn’t smile so often while reading the book I would’ve cried too. Books about illnesses are always emotionally draining, and this one was no exception. I wanted to protect myself from the author’s pain, but even more I wanted to understand how she found the strength to deal with her “diverse disease portfolio.” I read the book, and grinned, and chuckled, and learned from Levy’s courage.
Definitely recommended to anyone.
http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org...
Sometimes, laughter is the only way to deflect despair. Robyn Michelle Levy knows it from personal experience. Her memoir Most of Me is simultaneously amusing and poignant. From the first word, the story pulled me in and never let go, and the pages practically turned themselves. But it was a harrowing read, too, because of the subject matter: a serious, life-altering illness. Or rather two of them at once.
With poise, candor, and self-deprecating humor, Levy writes about her medical plight. At the age of 43, she was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s. Eight months later, while still reconciling her debilitating affliction, she added breast cancer to her list of maladies. So far, she has won both battles.
Her memoir covers several years before and after her diagnoses. The book starts with ‘before,’ when the author struggled with her deteriorating health and bouts of depression without knowing why. Her immediate family—husband and teenage daughter—were often on the receiving end of her black moods, and afterwards, she was swamped by remorse. Then the bomb of Parkinson’s exploded in her face.
Throughout the book, Levy is relentlessly honest, as she chronicles her seething cauldron of emotions: anger and guilt, shame and acceptance, terror of impending diapers and determination to survive. She also details the support and affection she received from her friends and family during her arduous medical journey. In a way, the book is a tribute to her loved ones, although the writing never slides towards melodrama. Funny asides and droll observations keep the narrative balanced on a tasteful line between mushy and tragic.
One of the grimmest problems the author faced after each of her two diagnoses was how to tell her thirteen-year-old daughter. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that Levy’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a couple years before. She writes: “We’re in the same sinking boat now: daughters coping with parents who have Parkinson’s. Under these circumstances, how can anything be OK? How can we get through this together, when I’m falling apart?”
Tears sprang to my eyes when I read those and similar lines. But more often than not, a morbid joke was only one step behind. Laughter and gentle self-mockery permeate the book. No dysfunction of the writer’s ailing body is off-limits to her irreverent keyboard, even when breast cancer piles on top of Parkinson’s. In her bleakest moments, humor sparkles, as she describes her recovery after mastectomy; outlines her wrestling with the question: chemo or no chemo; or tells us about naming her prosthetic breast Dolores. “If I don’t laugh I would cry,” she writes.
The same applies to me, as a reader. If I didn’t smile so often while reading the book I would’ve cried too. Books about illnesses are always emotionally draining, and this one was no exception. I wanted to protect myself from the author’s pain, but even more I wanted to understand how she found the strength to deal with her “diverse disease portfolio.” I read the book, and grinned, and chuckled, and learned from Levy’s courage.
Definitely recommended to anyone.
September 11, 2012
I just picked this up and started reading it at random, and I cannot truthfully say I couldn't put it down. Quite the opposite -- I had to put it down, frequently, because to read any further would be too heartwrenching -- but I always picked it back up again.
This is a wry, funny, and extremely heartbreaking book about a woman diagnosed with first early-onset Parkinson's (she first starts having symptoms at around age 38) and then breast cancer and how she deals with it all. It's crammed with gallows humor and honestly uplifting moments. I'm sort of glad Levy doesn't live anywhere near me, though; she seems like the kind of person I'd love to hang out with, but then I'd have to go home and invoke my own personal Cry Lady.
This is a wry, funny, and extremely heartbreaking book about a woman diagnosed with first early-onset Parkinson's (she first starts having symptoms at around age 38) and then breast cancer and how she deals with it all. It's crammed with gallows humor and honestly uplifting moments. I'm sort of glad Levy doesn't live anywhere near me, though; she seems like the kind of person I'd love to hang out with, but then I'd have to go home and invoke my own personal Cry Lady.
May 9, 2013
Wow. This author has such a gift for storytelling. She has been through the most awful things, yet she finds humor in all of it. You want to cry one minute and then you literally laugh out loud the next because she is so clever and irreverent with her words. I was so frustrated with her not getting the diagnosis that explained her symptoms for so long - why does that still happen in this day and age of instant information about everything? But so relieved towards the end as things actually do get better again - not all better, by any stretch - but much better than they were. Phew. I would read anything this author writes. She should have a weekly column somewhere - Anna Quindlen style.
June 28, 2018
I can only give this book two stars because while I believe the author is strong and writes about the experience of living with disease realistically and honestly, I actually found the book slow and kind of boring. Which, to be fair, is often how living with disease feels, so the reflection of reality is accurate, and her ability to find moments of joy do make you smile and root for her, and reading about how gracefully her family copes with her illness, the book didn't keep my attention. I had to put it down several times and finished it because it felt like the right thing to do, like Ms. Levy's story deserved the respect of my reading it, and I am happy to do that, but would I recommend it to others to read/ can I think of anyone who would enjoy this? Unless they're struggling with their own diagnoses and hardships with coping with diseases, probably not. I imagine, more than anything, that people who know and love her will love this book and be grateful that it has been published, that she has shared this piece of herself with the world, but it likely won't interest that many others out there in the world. Two stars for the book, but 5 for the heart of a woman doing the best she can in a tough situation.
January 11, 2012
Um, I just finished this book. Already. That's just over 2 days. I don't think this has happened before... (I'm usually a really slow reader, I swear).
I loved it. As someone who lives with multiple chronic illnesses, I found the author's account of getting diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons, and then within a year, early stage breast cancer slightly horrifying. And also amazingly brave, honest, and funny, amongst the sadness. It's funny in a good way though, not one of those silly comedies about illness types of books. That she's from the CBC only puts the icing on the cake.
I can only hope I too will eventually learn to deal with my own (non-life threatening, and non-degenerative) illnesses with that much humour and vitality.
I loved it. As someone who lives with multiple chronic illnesses, I found the author's account of getting diagnosed with early onset Parkinsons, and then within a year, early stage breast cancer slightly horrifying. And also amazingly brave, honest, and funny, amongst the sadness. It's funny in a good way though, not one of those silly comedies about illness types of books. That she's from the CBC only puts the icing on the cake.
I can only hope I too will eventually learn to deal with my own (non-life threatening, and non-degenerative) illnesses with that much humour and vitality.
November 4, 2018
I know I’m in the minority here, but I just didn’t enjoy this book. I have all the sympathy in the world for Levy, but found the crude humor wearing. I have no idea what it’s like to have Parkinson’s and can’t imagine how frightening that would be. But I can relate to breast cancer and while I respect her right to deal with it in whatever way she needs to, I just found her approach jarring.
May 12, 2015
The author tells the story of her diagnosis with early-onset Parkinson's disease and breast cancer within 8 mos. of each other. She refers to herself as "the morbid measuring stick" (Levy, 137)--a barometer in which everyone else measures their own suffering. Yet, I have never met a story so full of suffering while simultaneously so full of hope and humor. She doesn't turn the story of receiving two life altering diagnoses in her early forties into a slap stick comedy: her humor is carefully chosen, coping with the absurdity of it all and illuminating the complex and painful emotions associated with her illnesses.
March 11, 2012
It's unusual that a book affects me in such a profound manner however Robyn writes with fierce honesty and a seriously deranged but delicious wit. The prose alternates between the realities of having serious medical problems and her very funny reactions to dealing with the enormity of the situation. I found the book a page turner and read the book in virtually one sitting.
I could go on and on describing a very readable and enormously satisfying book that will appeal to a wide range of readers but don't want to give away any of the juicy bits.
I could go on and on describing a very readable and enormously satisfying book that will appeal to a wide range of readers but don't want to give away any of the juicy bits.
October 17, 2012
I loved this memoir. I read it in two sittings, sneaking off to finish it when I had things I was supposed to be doing. I laughed out loud several times while reading it. And I learned a lot--about things every woman kinda wants to know but doesn't really want to ask because you're not quite sure what you're getting yourself in for when you ask about cancer procedures. And I knew nothing about Parkinson's disease, and painlessly and humorously, I learned a great deal. Robyn Levy is a marvelous writer, laugh-out-loud funny, clear, and astute.
January 25, 2013
It's rare that I review a book about Parkinson's because usually they fit into one of 2 categories: 1) the "now that I have PD my life goal is clearer and I'm happier" or 2) the "I just got the diagnosis and it's not so bad". For obvious reasons there are very few "it takes me an hour to put on my socks,I don't really care if my Depends look like real underwear, and doesn't everyone take 3 naps a day" books. Most of Me is one of those rare books that takes a realistic look at PD and mixes the cold honesty with laugh-out-loud humor.
September 7, 2012
So after a surprise diagnosis of Parkinsons disease, Robyn Michelle Levy is just beginning to live with that when she discovers she also has breast cancer.
With an older husband, a teenage daughter and older parents dealing with their own health issues, most of us can understand her bewilderment at the changes going on in her life. I admire her ability to keep her sense of humour throughout, and to be able to laugh when I know that I would have broken down and cried.
A 4/5 from me.
With an older husband, a teenage daughter and older parents dealing with their own health issues, most of us can understand her bewilderment at the changes going on in her life. I admire her ability to keep her sense of humour throughout, and to be able to laugh when I know that I would have broken down and cried.
A 4/5 from me.
January 15, 2013
With lots of grit and determination, Robyn Levy faces some incredible medical challenges. Her sense of irony and humor seems to have gotten her through some devastating diagnoses. This was a relatively quick read and in spite of the subject matter, is not the downer you would think. It's quite a lesson in spunk!
July 11, 2013
The author shares her story about having both breast cancer and Parkinson's in her early forties with sarcasm and humor. I was left wondering how dark things got for her. I had a hard time accepting someone could be so lighthearted about having these diseases so young. The most she touched on this side of things was referencing her "Cry Lady" which I couldn't relate to.
July 19, 2013
Great book, touching and funny all at the same time. Mom in her 40s discovers she is going through early onset Parkinson's as her father is also going through it. Then on top of everything else she discovers she has breast cancer.
this was right along the same lines as the book the Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
this was right along the same lines as the book the Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
April 9, 2012
Robyn Levy is a Vancouver artist/broadcaster who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's and then breast cancer. She writes with wry humour and brutal honesty and I couldn't put it down. Ironically, her neurologist and oncologist are the same as Mum's. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
October 13, 2013
I really enjoyed this memoir. After facing two life altering diagnoses, the author gets through her challenges with humor and honesty. She writes candidly about how her life has been affected and how she's evolved because of it. Very good book.
December 1, 2013
I appreciated learning more about Parkinson's disease, with which the author was diagnosed at 43 (followed in rapid succession by breast cancer). The wise-cracking style wore on me a bit, but that's a matter of taste.
October 2, 2012
I laughed out loud.
My review in Library Journal
My review in Library Journal
May 8, 2015
I really enjoyed this book, I love her sense of humor through all that she's going through.
July 30, 2012
Humorous yet honest revelation of dealing with the diagnosis of 2 terminal diseases.
August 16, 2012
Hilarious and heartbreaking I read this in two days. Love her sense of humor and reflection on the ups n downs life throws at her. I'd recommend!
Read
September 17, 2012wonderful , informative, insightful, funny surprises that delight you.
January 15, 2013
A great story about a young woman dealing with 2 devastating diagnoses; Parkinson's disease, and 8 months later breast cancer. Splendid wit and humor. A great fast read!
February 18, 2013
Beautifully told story of one woman's battle with early onset Parkinsons and breast cancer. Her story telling is humorous, despite the subject matter
August 2, 2013
Veers almost uncontrollably between funny and sad. More honest (i.e., helpful) than the Michael J. Fox books I would say.
June 6, 2013
Smart, tragic, hilarious, real!
September 2, 2013
Funny, snarky, and oh so truthful. A really good read.
July 28, 2014
Well written but the facetiousness of her writing took away from the story. Recommended .
April 5, 2015
I loved some of the lines in this book - the kind of wry humour that takes some of the sting out of very difficult situations.
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November 29, 2019Most of me, written by Robyn Michele Levy was a wonderfully transparent and tragically humorous book. It was hopeful and sad and beautiful. While reading the book, I admired her ability to keep her sense of humour throughout, and to be able to laugh. Her story telling is humorous, despite the subject matter. Her jokes were her defence, and when they collapse so did she, thereby paving the way for the entrance of her Cry Lady, which is her alter ego, always weeping or ready to weep.
I thought this book was very informative and gave valuable insight into the progression of both Parkinson’s disease and breast cancer from the patient’s point of view. She spends a lot of time describing the support she receives from her husband and teenage daughter as well as her many friends from all over Canada. Her medical support team also sounds very ideal which is an amazing thing to have. Although, sometimes I found the author’s approach to be somewhat unrealistic for the average woman who might find herself in similar circumstances. Quite often, family support is not so readily found and the friends are not so numerous and attentive. But this is also her story and even though it’s not always the same for everyone she was just telling her truth. Other than that I thought it was a beautifully told story of one woman's battle with early onset Parkinsons and breast cancer that offers a unique glimpse into a creative mind, and the restorative power of humour.
I thought this book was very informative and gave valuable insight into the progression of both Parkinson’s disease and breast cancer from the patient’s point of view. She spends a lot of time describing the support she receives from her husband and teenage daughter as well as her many friends from all over Canada. Her medical support team also sounds very ideal which is an amazing thing to have. Although, sometimes I found the author’s approach to be somewhat unrealistic for the average woman who might find herself in similar circumstances. Quite often, family support is not so readily found and the friends are not so numerous and attentive. But this is also her story and even though it’s not always the same for everyone she was just telling her truth. Other than that I thought it was a beautifully told story of one woman's battle with early onset Parkinsons and breast cancer that offers a unique glimpse into a creative mind, and the restorative power of humour.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews