A Brain Wider Than the Sky: A Migraine Diary

As a migraine sufferer for over 17 years, I have read much on this topic and find few books or articles that surprise me....until this book. When a friend recommended this after seeing an article about the book, she said, "Im not sure if you are having headaches every day the next thing you feel like doing is reading more about headaches, but here is a new book." The book is the perfect balance of personal diary, medical explanation of the mechanism of migraine, and history of the disease. Through this journey of a rather depressing topic, I am never once depressed. Levy gives beautiful insight into the world of migraine and how he as the sufferer feels and how it affects the loved ones around him. The historical detail is not dry or boring but inspiring as Levy recounts famous migraineurs such as Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Pope and Virginia Woolf and shows the parallels of infamous migraine productions such as Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland. I recommend this to any sufferer who needs a little understanding and inspiration and to any friend or family member of a sufferer looking to better understand the life and mind of the one they love.

Andrew Levy eloquently conveys the inner world of a migraine sufferer. It was interesting to read about the many historical figures who suffered migraines, but as one who has read just about every "headache" book, it was his personal story that reached me the most. As migraine sufferers we can find guides to what medications might help, what foods to maybe avoid, etc, but never have I come across such a gripping, relatable account of what it's REALLY like to live with migraine. In reading his memoir I found comfort. I also was surprised at how he would say something in words that I had felt so many times during a severe attack. I think my favorite quote is near the end of the book where he says: "The only person who loves sunlight more than someone who loves sunlight is someone who must ration it." You see, that quote would only make sense at first read to a migraine sufferer. I hope this book finds it's way into many a migraineur's hands...and hearts, like it did mine.

Part memoir, part history, part medical journal, part literary criticism. Andy Levy weaves all of this into a book that is as entertaining as it is informational, and for those who have silently suffered migraines for years, I think that the book could provide a sort of validation that their suffering is real. In order to combat his own severe migraines, Levy dives into the subject, reading as much as his headaches will allow him, and then parses that knowledge out to us as if telling his story could be the cure. He provides stories about historical figures whose migraines affected (positively and negatively) their contribution to society, including the possibility that St. Paul's conversion might have been the result of severe migraine, or that Alice in Wonderland was Lewis Carroll's attempt to describe the a migraine experience. At the heart of this book, though, is the personal account of Levy's own battle. And it is here, that the book is most poignant. It is here that Levy, the migraineur, lets down the guard and invites the reader into his world. It is here where fellow migraine sufferers can take heart and believe that their own pain is valid. Levy points out that 12% of the U.S. population suffers from migraines. So, if you don't suffer them, you know someone who does, and this book will help you understand their daily struggle to cope with the disease.

I really liked how Andrew Levy uses his book to capture the struggles of living with migraine along with a historical journey of migraine treatments of the past. He also writes about artists and personalities throughout history who also had migraine such Virginia Wolf, Van Gogh, Freud, and even Elvis. Living with chronic daily migraine, I was interested to learn about how migraine has influenced literature, music and even religion. I had no idea how migraine had permeated the realm of artists like Van Gogh and writers like Emily Dickinson, nor was I aware that the book "Alice in Wonderland" was about migraine symptoms experienced by the Louis Carroll. On a personal note, Levy explores the effects migraines have on relationships, exposing the range of emotions one has to go through in trying to maintain a relationship with a loved one when you are in chronic pain. This book really expanded my knowledge of migraines impact on the world, and it made me feel not so alone with living with this illness. It also gave me hope that there can be life and positive creativity even when you have migraines.