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Tell Me the Planets: Stories of Brain Injury and What It Means to Survive
What if you remembered things that never happened?
Or you forgot everything every few seconds?
Or one side of your body stopped working? In Tell Me the Planets Ben Platts-Mills explores the fractured lives of survivors of brain injury, providing an extraordinary glimpse into their daily struggles to lead normal lives. With empathy and insight, he describes their efforts to understand what has happened to them, avoid homelessness, help others worse off than themselves and make risky, almost impossible medical decisions about their futures. Essential and inspiring, Tell Me the Planets will take you on a journey to the frontiers of science and the limits of human resilience. 'An absorbing and moving account of what it is like to live with brain injury' Penelope Lively
'Extraordinary' Nature
'Heart-breaking and uplifting . . . a vivid and unforgettable portrait of modern Britain by an extraordinarily-gifted story-teller' Robert Newman, author of Neuropolis
Or you forgot everything every few seconds?
Or one side of your body stopped working? In Tell Me the Planets Ben Platts-Mills explores the fractured lives of survivors of brain injury, providing an extraordinary glimpse into their daily struggles to lead normal lives. With empathy and insight, he describes their efforts to understand what has happened to them, avoid homelessness, help others worse off than themselves and make risky, almost impossible medical decisions about their futures. Essential and inspiring, Tell Me the Planets will take you on a journey to the frontiers of science and the limits of human resilience. 'An absorbing and moving account of what it is like to live with brain injury' Penelope Lively
'Extraordinary' Nature
'Heart-breaking and uplifting . . . a vivid and unforgettable portrait of modern Britain by an extraordinarily-gifted story-teller' Robert Newman, author of Neuropolis
- GenresNonfictionPsychology
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 7, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 28, 2018
In brief - Some parts of this were very good and I really enjoyed Matthew's story. Other parts and some of the organisation of the book didn't work as well for me. 3 or 3.5/5 maybe.
In full
This starts off with a quote from Oliver Sacks, a man whose books I am a fan of. We then meet Matthew who is exceptionally intelligent and brain injured. Sid is the next person we are introduced too. Again brain injured, he is not as fluent or lucid as Matthew. He also requires some distraction from his regular question "can I have a cigarette now?". Both of these people are survivors who are seen at Headway (East London) by the author. Over this book we are introduced to other Headway survivors and their stories.
To start with I found the reading easy and was caught up in Matthew's story particularly. During the book other brain injured people are introduced. The stories varied rather for me. Some were more interesting than others. I realise that I had a proof copy of this book however there was little or no signposting about the time periods or who the text referred to in my copy. Equally, within individual stories there was no real continuity and little to indicate whether a section was about an earlier time or not. This very unstructured approach didn't hold me very well sadly.
Ultimately I found myself happily engaged with Matthew's story whenever it appeared in the book. One or two of the other people's stories certainly interested me however the rather random and disjointed approach to telling their stories didn't work well for me. This book does contain some very worthwhile stories about brain injured people and, peripherally, the excellent work that Headway does for them. It may take patience and digging to get the best out of this book however.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
http://viewson.org.uk/non-fiction/tel...
In full
This starts off with a quote from Oliver Sacks, a man whose books I am a fan of. We then meet Matthew who is exceptionally intelligent and brain injured. Sid is the next person we are introduced too. Again brain injured, he is not as fluent or lucid as Matthew. He also requires some distraction from his regular question "can I have a cigarette now?". Both of these people are survivors who are seen at Headway (East London) by the author. Over this book we are introduced to other Headway survivors and their stories.
To start with I found the reading easy and was caught up in Matthew's story particularly. During the book other brain injured people are introduced. The stories varied rather for me. Some were more interesting than others. I realise that I had a proof copy of this book however there was little or no signposting about the time periods or who the text referred to in my copy. Equally, within individual stories there was no real continuity and little to indicate whether a section was about an earlier time or not. This very unstructured approach didn't hold me very well sadly.
Ultimately I found myself happily engaged with Matthew's story whenever it appeared in the book. One or two of the other people's stories certainly interested me however the rather random and disjointed approach to telling their stories didn't work well for me. This book does contain some very worthwhile stories about brain injured people and, peripherally, the excellent work that Headway does for them. It may take patience and digging to get the best out of this book however.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
http://viewson.org.uk/non-fiction/tel...
August 27, 2020
I ordered The Planets after reading Ben's powerful essay in Aeon.
https://aeon.co/essays/matthew-had-a-...
The essay was honestly the best thing I have read in many a year.
I struggled a little with the book though. It covered a lot of the same ground but with less of the philosophy that made the essay so thought-provoking and I found it hard to get going. About a third of the way through I decided that, like the wedding guest cornered by the ancient mariner, it was essential that I hear the story through to the end. I owed it to Ben and Matthew. I read the second two-thirds in a marathon session this evening. I'm glad I did.
I think Ben — and the other folks around him at Headway — are like angels sent from on high to watch over people like Matthew, Danny and Liah. People who are trapped in difficult lives and Ben's book raises so many questions about how society is organized that I can't think where to begin.
I'll start by sharing Ben's anger and frustration at the bureaucrats who wield their clipboards without a trace of compassion or empathy. I have a lifelong fear of people with clipboards. Clipboards are my Kryptonite.
I have a bit more sympathy with the doctors who make life or death decisions with incomplete information. I had a moment in my life where I briefly considered becoming a neurosurgeon (for reasons that I will expand on below) and after thirty years of not being a neurosurgeon, I know for sure that I made the right choice.
I had an episode in my life where my girlfriend was rushed to the Royal London Hospital (not a thousand miles from Headway where Ben works) and we spent several weeks in the ICU where they treat brain injuries. I witnessed the terrible pain that families suffer while watching their loved ones cope with brain damage. I'll never forget that. And I'll never forget the kindness of the angels at the hospice in Bethnal Green where we spent the remaining weeks of Rita's life.
I think people like Ben are born with a gene that the rest of us are missing. I don't know how they are able to give so much but I'm glad that Matthew has him in his life. I'm glad I read his story.
https://aeon.co/essays/matthew-had-a-...
The essay was honestly the best thing I have read in many a year.
I struggled a little with the book though. It covered a lot of the same ground but with less of the philosophy that made the essay so thought-provoking and I found it hard to get going. About a third of the way through I decided that, like the wedding guest cornered by the ancient mariner, it was essential that I hear the story through to the end. I owed it to Ben and Matthew. I read the second two-thirds in a marathon session this evening. I'm glad I did.
I think Ben — and the other folks around him at Headway — are like angels sent from on high to watch over people like Matthew, Danny and Liah. People who are trapped in difficult lives and Ben's book raises so many questions about how society is organized that I can't think where to begin.
I'll start by sharing Ben's anger and frustration at the bureaucrats who wield their clipboards without a trace of compassion or empathy. I have a lifelong fear of people with clipboards. Clipboards are my Kryptonite.
I have a bit more sympathy with the doctors who make life or death decisions with incomplete information. I had a moment in my life where I briefly considered becoming a neurosurgeon (for reasons that I will expand on below) and after thirty years of not being a neurosurgeon, I know for sure that I made the right choice.
I had an episode in my life where my girlfriend was rushed to the Royal London Hospital (not a thousand miles from Headway where Ben works) and we spent several weeks in the ICU where they treat brain injuries. I witnessed the terrible pain that families suffer while watching their loved ones cope with brain damage. I'll never forget that. And I'll never forget the kindness of the angels at the hospice in Bethnal Green where we spent the remaining weeks of Rita's life.
I think people like Ben are born with a gene that the rest of us are missing. I don't know how they are able to give so much but I'm glad that Matthew has him in his life. I'm glad I read his story.
August 10, 2018
I am a close friend of the author, and therefore my own review is hardly credible. These instead are the words of the prestigious science journal 'Nature':
"In Ben Platts-Mills's extraordinary book, the characters of people damaged by violence, stroke or accident of birth outshine the medical details. He tells [their stories] wonderfully"
"In Ben Platts-Mills's extraordinary book, the characters of people damaged by violence, stroke or accident of birth outshine the medical details. He tells [their stories] wonderfully"
March 25, 2022
Tell me the planets, is an amazing insight into the struggles brain injury survivors have to deal with. It is such a well written book and really captures the emotions of not just Ben the author but also the survivors, support staff and the families of survivors.
It was such a depressing and hard book to read because you are confronted with the fact that a brain injury can happen so unexpectedly to anyone. In saying that I'm so happy I read this book as it was amazing to hear about the hard work of the staff at Headway and the bravery of all the survivors.
It was such a depressing and hard book to read because you are confronted with the fact that a brain injury can happen so unexpectedly to anyone. In saying that I'm so happy I read this book as it was amazing to hear about the hard work of the staff at Headway and the bravery of all the survivors.
July 10, 2018
Review to come
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews