The Beginning of Everything
Andrea J. Buchanan
(Author)
Description
A PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award Finalist A real-life neurological mystery and captivating story of reinvention by the New York Times bestselling author of The Daring Book for Girls. Andrea Buchanan lost her mind while crossing the street one day. Suffering from a horrible cough, she inhaled the cold March air, and choked. She was choking on a lot that day. A sick son. A pending divorce. The guilt of failing, as a partner, as a mother. Relieved when the coughing abated, she thought it was over. She could not have been more wrong. When Andrea coughed that day, a small tear was ripped in her dura mater, the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord. But she didn't know that yet. Instead, she went on with her day, unaware that her cerebrospinal fluid was already beginning to leak out of that tiny tear. What followed was nine months of pain and confusion as her brain--no longer cushioned by a healthy waterbed of fluid--sank to the bottom of her skull. There was brain fog and cognitive impairment to the point where she could not even make sense of the most basic concepts. At a time when she needed to be as clear-thinking as possible, she was trapped by her brain. The mind-brain connection is one of the greatest mysteries of the human condition. In some folklore, the fluid around the brain is where consciousness begins. Here, in the pages of The Beginning of Everything, Andrea seeks to understand: Where was "I" when I wasn't there?Product Details
Price
$25.95
$24.13
Publisher
Pegasus Books
Publish Date
April 03, 2018
Pages
304
Dimensions
5.9 X 8.9 X 1.5 inches | 1.1 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781681776729
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About the Author
Andrea J. Buchanan is a New York Times bestselling author whose latest book is the multimedia young adult novel Gift. Her other work includes the bestselling The Daring Book for Girls, Mother Shock, and six other books. Before becoming a writer, Andrea trained as a pianist, at the Boston Conservatory of Music and received her master's from the San Francisco Conservatory. Her last recital was at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.
Reviews
Potently honest. Buchanan's capacity for self-reflection paves the path for all mothers to explore the complex feelings.
Buchanan chronicles a year of physical and mental anguish in this disturbing memoir of an enigmatic illness. Buchanan is uncannily adept at describing pain and charting the snail's pace of recovery; a former classical pianist, she takes up playing again, her practice becoming a brain-training method. Readers will be fascinated by this introspective medical journey and heartened by the simultaneous healing of a family.
Buchanan documents the anxiety and thrill of new motherhood in a way that's as entertaining as it is brave.
Buchanan writes in a graceful, down-to-earth style.
Buchanan chronicles a year of physical and mental anguish in this disturbing memoir of an enigmatic illness. Buchanan is uncannily adept at describing pain and charting the snail's pace of recovery; a former classical pianist, she takes up playing again, her practice becoming a brain-training method. Readers will be fascinated by this introspective medical journey and heartened by the simultaneous healing of a family.
Buchanan documents the anxiety and thrill of new motherhood in a way that's as entertaining as it is brave.
Buchanan writes in a graceful, down-to-earth style.
