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I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?: An Illustrated Memoir
For years Suzy Becker, author of the New York Times bestseller All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat (1.7 million copies in print), literally lived by her wits. Then brain surgery left her temporarily unable to speak, read, or write. I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse? is a story that grapples with the question “What makes me me?” By turns philosophical and whimsical, rivetingly dramatic and unexpectedly light, it is illustrated with drawings, charts, pseudoserious graphs, real EEGs. The result is a book filled with insights into creativity, identity, love, relationships, family, and that intangible something that gives each of us our spark.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2003
9 people are currently reading
498 people want to read
About the author
Suzy Becker
20 books33 followersAn author, artist, educator, and entrepreneur, Suzy Becker began her career as an award-winning advertising copywriter, and then founded the Widget Factory, a greeting card company. She entered the world of books with what would become the internationally bestselling All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat, now in the Double-Platinum Collector's Edition All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat And Then Some. Suzy has since written and illustrated My Dog's the World's Best Dog, I Had Brain Surgery What's Your Excuse, Manny's Cows Books Are for Reading, Kids Make It Better A Write-in Draw-in Journal, One Good Egg and Kate the Great Except When She's Not. Her books, greeting cards and work in print and TV advertising have earned her numerous design and writing awards.
Yankee Magazine named Suzy Becker one of four 2010-11 "Angels Among Us" for her community service initiatives, including the Ride For AIDS Resources (Ride FAR), the country's first HIV/AIDS bike-a-thon, which has raised over $1,000,000 for HIV/AIDS service organizations. Suzy has also received the Anti-Defamation League's "A World of Difference" Award for her "I Don't Put Up with Put Downs" anti-bullying/prejudice awareness education project.
In 1992, Suzy was named New England Women Business Owners' youngest ever Woman of the Year. She was a 1993-1994 White House Fellow, a 1999-2000 Bunting Fellow, and she is a perennial finalist in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. Suzy was also the founding arts teacher at the Parker Charter School in Ayer, MA.
She lives with her family, a dog and a formerly feral cat in central Massachusetts.
Yankee Magazine named Suzy Becker one of four 2010-11 "Angels Among Us" for her community service initiatives, including the Ride For AIDS Resources (Ride FAR), the country's first HIV/AIDS bike-a-thon, which has raised over $1,000,000 for HIV/AIDS service organizations. Suzy has also received the Anti-Defamation League's "A World of Difference" Award for her "I Don't Put Up with Put Downs" anti-bullying/prejudice awareness education project.
In 1992, Suzy was named New England Women Business Owners' youngest ever Woman of the Year. She was a 1993-1994 White House Fellow, a 1999-2000 Bunting Fellow, and she is a perennial finalist in the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. Suzy was also the founding arts teacher at the Parker Charter School in Ayer, MA.
She lives with her family, a dog and a formerly feral cat in central Massachusetts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
November 29, 2008
Okay, perhaps to truly love this book, you might want to be amidst that lucky crowd of people who are facing or have had brain surgery - or to know and love someone in that situation. A good friend of mine gave me this book a week or two before I went under the knife for a five-hour brain surgery, so I found it *very* relevant. What made it even better than just reading someone else's story, from diagnosis to post-surgery fallout, was that the author is a humorist, so it's a *funny* book, as well as actually containing a helpful perspective on something that perhaps no one you know to talk to has actually gone through. Highly recommended to those facing the sort of adventure that involves other people wanting to cut open your head for your own good.
January 17, 2016
Let me preface this by saying I am a survivor of brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. I bought the book because of the glib title. I could not relate to the first half of this book. I think the author and I were just too different in how we handle health concerns. I didn't hide from, mine. I wanted to know why my body and brain were failing me. I did not have seizures prior to the one that sent me in an ambulance from my place of employment to receive the bad news.
However I did have many small health issues that looking back on it, were clues to something bigger. I had some balance issues a year prior and I went to my doctor and told him I was no longer able to do yoga poses that I had conquered months prior. He did an evaluation and some physical therapy followed and I did get a bit better, but not 100%.
Next I found I was having memory issues. I did not see these until a radio commercial was advertising a Pistons game, and I turned to my spouse and said, we should go see the Pistons. We've never done that. He looked at me and said, yes we have we went last year. An argument ensued in which I was insisting we went to see the Spartans play in the same venue as the Pistons use, but we did not see the Pistons. He started looking concerned and said, I'm sorry but you're wrong. your daughter and her friend went with us so call her if you don't believe me. Naturally, I wanted to prove I was right so I picked up my cell and called my daughter who told me yes we had been to a Pistons game. To this day I still don't recall this. But I do recall making an immediate call to my doctor after ending the phone call to my child.
Once in the office he asks me, so what other memory issues are you having?
I laughed and said how am I suppose to know what I have forgotten? But this seems pretty significant. So blood work ordered and a large vitamin D and iron deficiency diagnosed and began treatment and things seemed better.
Then came the seizure at work which left me unconscious. I woke up in the hospital surrounded by family and medical staff asking me if I knew where I was. Knew I was in a hospital for sure but not which one. Knew it had to be serious because my brother, who rarely went to the hospital during my father's major health issues, was there. I asked am I going to die? The doctors wanted to know why had I jumped to that conclusion and I said because he's here. I was told I had what may be 3 tumors and they were sending me for further testing. Luckily it turned out to be only one, the other two were bleeds that had occurred during my fall.
All along the way I wanted to know every detail. I even called my family doctor to see if I could get switched to another surgeon because the one they had assigned me was giving me the proverbial pat on the head and telling me not to worry, I didn't need to know what he was going to do only that he was an expert and I would be just fine. I told him, excuse me but if you are going to cut into my head and need my permission you will tell me step by step every part of this procedure. He said, I will leave you with scheduling and we'll talk later. I did not stop at scheduling I went home to look for another surgeon.
So when Suzy kept putting her head in the sand and ignoring seizures from the onset it really irked me. I ended up staying at the hospital I was at because my oncologist was considered one of the best in the world according to my family doctor. I had been lucky to have been admitted when he was the only neuro-oncologists on staff, as he did not usually take cases like mine. My good fortune became apparent when I was often sharing a waiting room with wealthy people from all over the world who had come to see him.
I know I was fortunate that I did not lose as much of myself as Suzy did, but I shared her frustration with people who wanted to offer her psychotherapy when what she wanted was practical advice on how to get better. I too keep that mental list of me before vs. me after. I have friends who say I am nicer now. My mother says I am more short tempered now. I told her I think the not putting up with garbage is a part of being 50 and not a brain tumor thing. But it could also be a function of surviving. I just see life as fragile and refuse to waste any of it on drama or idiots.
Things I notice: I have to make lists and check things off. I had to stop my baking side business because too often I forget an ingredient. Bad enough when you serve a pumpkin pie without sugar to your family. Not acceptable for a paying customer. I can not swing dance as well as I once could, it makes me dizzy, and I tire more easily. I take longer to retrieve memories and information, so my dreams of being a jeopardy contestant are shattered.
I kept reading all of these reviews saying how funny this book was. I did not find it funny. Not once did I laugh out loud.
However I did have many small health issues that looking back on it, were clues to something bigger. I had some balance issues a year prior and I went to my doctor and told him I was no longer able to do yoga poses that I had conquered months prior. He did an evaluation and some physical therapy followed and I did get a bit better, but not 100%.
Next I found I was having memory issues. I did not see these until a radio commercial was advertising a Pistons game, and I turned to my spouse and said, we should go see the Pistons. We've never done that. He looked at me and said, yes we have we went last year. An argument ensued in which I was insisting we went to see the Spartans play in the same venue as the Pistons use, but we did not see the Pistons. He started looking concerned and said, I'm sorry but you're wrong. your daughter and her friend went with us so call her if you don't believe me. Naturally, I wanted to prove I was right so I picked up my cell and called my daughter who told me yes we had been to a Pistons game. To this day I still don't recall this. But I do recall making an immediate call to my doctor after ending the phone call to my child.
Once in the office he asks me, so what other memory issues are you having?
I laughed and said how am I suppose to know what I have forgotten? But this seems pretty significant. So blood work ordered and a large vitamin D and iron deficiency diagnosed and began treatment and things seemed better.
Then came the seizure at work which left me unconscious. I woke up in the hospital surrounded by family and medical staff asking me if I knew where I was. Knew I was in a hospital for sure but not which one. Knew it had to be serious because my brother, who rarely went to the hospital during my father's major health issues, was there. I asked am I going to die? The doctors wanted to know why had I jumped to that conclusion and I said because he's here. I was told I had what may be 3 tumors and they were sending me for further testing. Luckily it turned out to be only one, the other two were bleeds that had occurred during my fall.
All along the way I wanted to know every detail. I even called my family doctor to see if I could get switched to another surgeon because the one they had assigned me was giving me the proverbial pat on the head and telling me not to worry, I didn't need to know what he was going to do only that he was an expert and I would be just fine. I told him, excuse me but if you are going to cut into my head and need my permission you will tell me step by step every part of this procedure. He said, I will leave you with scheduling and we'll talk later. I did not stop at scheduling I went home to look for another surgeon.
So when Suzy kept putting her head in the sand and ignoring seizures from the onset it really irked me. I ended up staying at the hospital I was at because my oncologist was considered one of the best in the world according to my family doctor. I had been lucky to have been admitted when he was the only neuro-oncologists on staff, as he did not usually take cases like mine. My good fortune became apparent when I was often sharing a waiting room with wealthy people from all over the world who had come to see him.
I know I was fortunate that I did not lose as much of myself as Suzy did, but I shared her frustration with people who wanted to offer her psychotherapy when what she wanted was practical advice on how to get better. I too keep that mental list of me before vs. me after. I have friends who say I am nicer now. My mother says I am more short tempered now. I told her I think the not putting up with garbage is a part of being 50 and not a brain tumor thing. But it could also be a function of surviving. I just see life as fragile and refuse to waste any of it on drama or idiots.
Things I notice: I have to make lists and check things off. I had to stop my baking side business because too often I forget an ingredient. Bad enough when you serve a pumpkin pie without sugar to your family. Not acceptable for a paying customer. I can not swing dance as well as I once could, it makes me dizzy, and I tire more easily. I take longer to retrieve memories and information, so my dreams of being a jeopardy contestant are shattered.
I kept reading all of these reviews saying how funny this book was. I did not find it funny. Not once did I laugh out loud.
May 5, 2017
I don't trust my memory enough to say that this is the first book that made me cry, but I'm pretty sure it's the first that made me cry 7 times (and this without any use of sentimentality at all) because, yes, I did have my brain tumor removed last year, and this is the first memoir I read on the subject – my first communication with another person who doesn't try to understand what I've been going through. As a person who uses irreverent humor to deal with things and who makes his living by creating things, I felt very close to the author and the book was very close to what I would have written about my own experience, even though the positions and the consequences of our tumors are different. Plus, it's a great reading experience with the comics, graphs, lists and other elements within a nice editorial design.
Okay, if you push me I'll say one bad thing about it: The cover of the edition I have is one of the worst book covers I've ever seen. The layout, the typography, the colors... God. Only a brain-injured person would approve this.
Okay, if you push me I'll say one bad thing about it: The cover of the edition I have is one of the worst book covers I've ever seen. The layout, the typography, the colors... God. Only a brain-injured person would approve this.
July 17, 2012
This is a fascinating book. If you liked My Stroke of Insight, you will appreciate this book. It is just amazing to me how the brain works. I'll be looking for more on this subject.
August 7, 2020
Interesting book from the author who actually had brain surgery. The surgery was a success but you just never know how it will effect your relationships and what side effects you may be left with. The author had interesting cartoon type drawings to go along with the story.
In full disclosure I did hear her speak at the local cancer hospital . I did know most of the story from that presentation but still learned a lot from reading the book..
In full disclosure I did hear her speak at the local cancer hospital . I did know most of the story from that presentation but still learned a lot from reading the book..
December 1, 2015
I'm tossed in the big ocean waves on this book. I related to the "freaking out" "whiny" stuff as I also had a brain tumor and hence surgery. The recovery is so very HARD to explain to others. You lose yourself as Suzy said and have to find who you are again. Everyone has a different recovery some lose whole parts of themselves others not as much. For me, I was like this author and loss "communication" as well as other things. If you have never had to truly rediscover yourself, I can see how some would see this as "whiny." My husband thought ....okay it's out, it's been a couple of months...now, what's for dinner? It would bring me to tears cause something that before was so simple and easy for me to do was now like a HUGGGGE mountain. Recovery from any serious illness is not easy but when your brain is what is recovering it is a lot more than just resting and taking it easy for awhile. It's finding the parts of you that are left and making new parts that are gone and may never come back. This is what the author was trying to convey. And coming from someone who has been there she did an excellent job.
Okay now that wave crashes and then another rises. Some of the book was just boring and dry not the content but the way it was laid out. It wasn't enough for me to be turned away just left me wishing that in some parts, she would have given me more. It felt rushed at times where I felt it should have slowed down and gotten more in-depth and where I would have wanted it to speed up it dragged.
All in all, IF you are going through this, are soon to, know someone who has or will... READ IT. It gives a perspective that will help you understand especially to those that aren't the ones going through it, but a loved one is. Just remember it's not really a rainy-day novel read it's a, this is what it's like blunt to the point read.
Okay now that wave crashes and then another rises. Some of the book was just boring and dry not the content but the way it was laid out. It wasn't enough for me to be turned away just left me wishing that in some parts, she would have given me more. It felt rushed at times where I felt it should have slowed down and gotten more in-depth and where I would have wanted it to speed up it dragged.
All in all, IF you are going through this, are soon to, know someone who has or will... READ IT. It gives a perspective that will help you understand especially to those that aren't the ones going through it, but a loved one is. Just remember it's not really a rainy-day novel read it's a, this is what it's like blunt to the point read.
January 15, 2008
Anyone facing treatment for a brain tumor should read this charming memoir. Ms. Becker, a comedy writer/illustrator best known for "All I Need To Know I Learned From My Cat," holds back no detail of her ordeal with a "mass" in her brain (it took a while for her doctor to use the word "tumor.") She not only shares the fear and confusion she felt, but the varied reactions of her friends, parents, doctors, and her life partner.
The memoir is illustrated with great humor by the author, which makes what could have been a frightening medical story into a universal human story of fear and change, of the importance of friendship, love, and perserverence.
I am so grateful that this book came out shortly after my own brain surgery. Reading it helped me feel like I wasn't the only one facing the scary changes that come with brain surgery. I hope every brain tumor patient, brain damage sufferer, and neurosurgeon reads this entertaining and informative book. They will be glad they did.
The memoir is illustrated with great humor by the author, which makes what could have been a frightening medical story into a universal human story of fear and change, of the importance of friendship, love, and perserverence.
I am so grateful that this book came out shortly after my own brain surgery. Reading it helped me feel like I wasn't the only one facing the scary changes that come with brain surgery. I hope every brain tumor patient, brain damage sufferer, and neurosurgeon reads this entertaining and informative book. They will be glad they did.
January 2, 2008
I had brain surgery -- so of course I had to read this book! Becker does a great job of breaking down a long illness, discussing how it changes your life in ways you never expected, and showing the "lighter side" of life.
August 9, 2014
Suzy Becker, a humorist and author of the bestseller "All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat," writes about her own experience in this book. While the writing is engaging and the drawings are clever, the subject matter - brain surgery to prevent more seizures - isn't really funny material. When a writer and humorist loses her speech and her ability to read after brain surgery, it's a tragedy that leaves the author panicked. She becomes frustrated, depressed, and often mean-spirited to everyone around her, including her family members and her partner, Karen.
The book details her recovery, and it's painfully honest as far as presenting her own thoughts at each stage, but the very last section of the book throws the whole experience into a different light:
You must feel good now that it's done. (Imaginary interviewer question)
Really good. Except the part of me that thinks it would have been better, written better, if I had never had brain surgery.
So there's a bitterness that lingers at the end of this book, even with the clever drawings and the author's personal successes after suffering a TBI. And that's very sad.
The cover quote from Booklist is "Hilarious, hell-raising, and frequently heart wrenching." I go along with heart-wrenching, but not hilarious.
The book details her recovery, and it's painfully honest as far as presenting her own thoughts at each stage, but the very last section of the book throws the whole experience into a different light:
You must feel good now that it's done. (Imaginary interviewer question)
Really good. Except the part of me that thinks it would have been better, written better, if I had never had brain surgery.
So there's a bitterness that lingers at the end of this book, even with the clever drawings and the author's personal successes after suffering a TBI. And that's very sad.
The cover quote from Booklist is "Hilarious, hell-raising, and frequently heart wrenching." I go along with heart-wrenching, but not hilarious.
December 1, 2008
Another funny brain injury book. Could that be its own category?
May 8, 2017
Eye opener!
August 12, 2021
Loved this book! Who knew that a book about brain surgery could have a humorous side. This is a lighter look at brain surgery but it does not take away from the fact that it was still scary, serious and a true re-evaluation of life. How can you not be changed after such a huge event? One thing I did learn was that at least 12 months to recuperate from this type of surgery is completely normal. Suzy Becker’s frustration and daily irritation at having to take things so slowly was completely understandable, but once she realized it was necessary (though her bike riding did not seem careful or restful to me and I was amazed at how much she rode) she did slow down. What a huge accomplishment this book was. Bad enough to have to actually live through the surgery and long recuperation, but then to write about it, review the story and edit it numerous times - the emotion that must have come from this I am sure was hard, but also cathartic.
May 19, 2021
A memoir of her brain surgery and her struggle to recover. Told with humor and cartoons, it made every word I couldn't recall quickly, every stumble, seem like a symptom of brain damage. Somehow it was fun and funny and made her seem like someone I would want for a friend.
August 5, 2017
Only a humorist/cartoonist could have made this story come alive and Suzy did it! The drawings really portrayed more of the story than the words; I wish I hadn't waited so long to read it.
January 24, 2020
Real insight into what it must be like to have brain damage. I applaud the author's accomplishment in telling her story. However, I did not find much humor in the book or the illustrations.
June 14, 2021
Witty memoir about the frustrating and baffling path of recovery from brain surgery.
(Don't remember when I read this, but it was in hardback, before I got a Kindle. 2005 or so.)
(Don't remember when I read this, but it was in hardback, before I got a Kindle. 2005 or so.)
April 17, 2022
Amusing tale. Just one question...In the book she is with Karen but in the acknowlegements she mentions Lorene. What happened?
June 20, 2023
Probably only people with brain surgery would enjoy this book.
July 8, 2023
very funny book and i loved how relatable it can be
January 28, 2024
One of my all-time favorites. Ms. Becker writes with humor and honesty about her experience of having a brain tumor.
September 28, 2024
Such a great book! I will miss reading it! Suzy’s creative and honest way of sharing her story is captivating.
July 3, 2017
I was curious to read this because Suzy and I were friends in junior high school. We didn't keep in touch after I moved away. So what's the next best way to learn about a friend's life? Read her published autobiography! What makes this book so unique is the drawings, cartoons, handwritten notes, graphs, and other clever items that embellish each page. All are witty--some are laugh-out-loud funny. Suzy is well-known for her cartoons and I actually think this book would make a great graphic novel (or autobiography). She could really put her artistic talents to good use in that medium. There are many more facets to this book than just the brain surgery suggested in the title. Suzy also deals with self-doubt, career doubts, the start of a new relationship, and her family coming to terms with the fact that she's gay. That's a lot on anyone's plate under normal circumstances but just overwhelming when your brain isn't functioning properly. Imagine your entire livelihood tied up in writing, reading, and drawing, then losing much of those abilities after brain surgery. Very frightening. Suzy's samples of her writing and drawing right after the surgery are particularly telling of the fear she must have felt at the loss of her talent. I often had trouble following the progression of the book. She assumes, at times, that we know more about her life than most of us probably do. Many of the activities and organizations she's involved with are not explained and had little meaning for me. In the beginning of the book, Suzy struggles to describe herself as a writer or artist. I would say artist...and a very good one. At the end of the book she says she thinks she could probably have written a better book if she hadn't had brain surgery. That's quite possible. The human brain is often unpredictable and mysterious!
November 7, 2012
Meh - interesting premise but I found the author a little off-putting.
Becker starts having seizures and is eventually diagnosed with what's essentially a cyst on her brain. She has it removed and then has issues with her speech. Her handwriting and drawing skills also take a nosedive (temporarily). She'd written several other books pre-brain surgery and this particular memoir is illustrated with doodles throughout. Becker also won a fellowship at Harvard that she decides not to postpone. Naturally, she's frustrated with her diminished skills (especially in a Harvard setting), but it turns out to temporary and works through them through speech therapy and a therapist.
On the one hand, I get her frustration - not being able to say the words you want to say and having difficulty dialing a phone number or telling time is just unimagineable to me. On the other hand, I felt like she was really immature at times and wallowed a bit too much. Which, I would probably have my days like that, too, to be honest. But I found it annoying overall since it wasn't well-balanced, in my opinion.
The only thing I really liked it about it was hearing first a person POV how she felt before and after brain surgery and also the surgery itself. You just don't hear that often. Overall, though, just meh for me (though I was totaling rooting for her at her presentation at Harvard).
Becker starts having seizures and is eventually diagnosed with what's essentially a cyst on her brain. She has it removed and then has issues with her speech. Her handwriting and drawing skills also take a nosedive (temporarily). She'd written several other books pre-brain surgery and this particular memoir is illustrated with doodles throughout. Becker also won a fellowship at Harvard that she decides not to postpone. Naturally, she's frustrated with her diminished skills (especially in a Harvard setting), but it turns out to temporary and works through them through speech therapy and a therapist.
On the one hand, I get her frustration - not being able to say the words you want to say and having difficulty dialing a phone number or telling time is just unimagineable to me. On the other hand, I felt like she was really immature at times and wallowed a bit too much. Which, I would probably have my days like that, too, to be honest. But I found it annoying overall since it wasn't well-balanced, in my opinion.
The only thing I really liked it about it was hearing first a person POV how she felt before and after brain surgery and also the surgery itself. You just don't hear that often. Overall, though, just meh for me (though I was totaling rooting for her at her presentation at Harvard).
December 21, 2007
While the title alone was enough to grab my attention, I also read a review in A Common Reader's Spring 2004 catalog.
Suzy Becker, a cartoonist/writer living a busy life (organizing a bike-a-thon for AIDS research, receiving a Harvard fellowship) discovers that she has a "mass" in her brain that needs to be surgically removed. This book covers that discovery, the surgery itself, the support she received from her family and friends and the therapy she needed due to the speech and writing difficulties she experienced after the surgery.
This memoir is very open, as Suzy discusses her fears regarding the surgery & recovery, how her relationship with Karen (her partner) is affected and the struggles that she faced as her identity as a verbal, creative person was challenged during her recovery. The illustrations and sidebars keep the tone a bit lighter than just the straight text would have been - but the pain, anxiety and frustration, as well as the healing and triumph come through very clearly.
Recommended to anyone looking for a memoir with more ups than downs, told with an irreverent, yet sincere touch.
Suzy Becker, a cartoonist/writer living a busy life (organizing a bike-a-thon for AIDS research, receiving a Harvard fellowship) discovers that she has a "mass" in her brain that needs to be surgically removed. This book covers that discovery, the surgery itself, the support she received from her family and friends and the therapy she needed due to the speech and writing difficulties she experienced after the surgery.
This memoir is very open, as Suzy discusses her fears regarding the surgery & recovery, how her relationship with Karen (her partner) is affected and the struggles that she faced as her identity as a verbal, creative person was challenged during her recovery. The illustrations and sidebars keep the tone a bit lighter than just the straight text would have been - but the pain, anxiety and frustration, as well as the healing and triumph come through very clearly.
Recommended to anyone looking for a memoir with more ups than downs, told with an irreverent, yet sincere touch.
November 30, 2009
you know those happy books about surviving cancer you give people to cheer them up i.e. "cancer vixen" this ain't one of them. Suzy Becker writes about losing a piece of her mind and creativity to surgery, her dealings w/her parter and her family while she tries to figure out who she is now. and her new job starts a couple months after the surgery and she continues to organize a 500 mile charity bike ride.
i knoe i wouldn't give a copy of this to someone about to have brain surgery, i also know i feel guilt for NOT giving to them.
i knoe i wouldn't give a copy of this to someone about to have brain surgery, i also know i feel guilt for NOT giving to them.
July 8, 2012
#2 of my summer reading list about communication disorders. Just 2 pages into this book, I was wishing it was on the allowed books for my assignment. This book conveyed expressive aphasia so well, at times when I took a break from reading I thought I had expressive aphasia. Suzy does a great job of conveying the frustrations with speech/reading/writing after her brain surgery. I only wished she'd had a more positive experience with her SLP!
July 8, 2014
I've been amused by Suzy Becker for some time. This is a particularly good illness and recovery memoir, because A) Becker has a marvelous sense of humor and B) she's okay with making other people uncomfortable. She's not the model patient, which makes her a more realistic example of actual patients. Plus isn't that title brilliant?
May 21, 2008
4 1/2 stars for: originality and relevance to my life as I try to learn how best to support my sister who recently had brain surgery and has been dealing with language challenges ever since. Much respect to Becker for the humor she brings to this subject, and I especially liked her illustrations!
June 1, 2011
Good. One of those books you don't find hysterically funny, but if it were, you'd probably look around and see if anyone saw you laughing at it.
One thing I liked was the mix of drawings / cartoons and memoir material. Since Suzy's a cartoonist, it makes sense, and the cartoons compliment and add to the memoir. (That was in the reader's discussion guide, I hope you're happy.)
--Brian
One thing I liked was the mix of drawings / cartoons and memoir material. Since Suzy's a cartoonist, it makes sense, and the cartoons compliment and add to the memoir. (That was in the reader's discussion guide, I hope you're happy.)
--Brian
April 6, 2008
Suzy Becker is best known for her book, All I Need to Know I Learned from my Cat. Her humor continues in this memoir of her "episode" of a seizure which led to brain surgery. She writes with such honesty, wit, and self-effacing humor that it is a hard one to put down. A great read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews