I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse?

Tragic, comic and beautifully written, I will recommend this book to my patients anticipating surgery.

This book surprised me in so many ways. Knowing the author's other works, I expected it to be witty and thoughtful, but I was surprised by the emotion I felt reading it, and by its amazing complexity. There is considerable humor in the book, but there is so much more. While I know this book will be of interest and inspiration to anyone who has had brain surgery or any kind of life-threatening illness or harrowing medical experience, I also believe that the story is so universal and accessible, as it charts the author's dealings with her doctors, her family, and her own physical and mental limits, that it will appeal to anyone who picks it up and starts to read it. I was sad when it was over, because I wanted it to go on and on. And then there is the incredible design of the book, composed of cartoons, charts, quotes, and various other types of illustration, all woven in smoothly with the text. It's a truly original artistic and literary work.

When I was first browsing this book in the shop, I wondered how she could have written this whole book on just one surgery. I myself am a frequent neurosurgery patient, and have had 11 surgeries in the past 14 months. As I started to read, however, I recalled how the first of my surgeries was the scariest because it was all new to me.Suzy Becker does a fantastic job of explaining her story with wit that makes me find humour in my own situation. It is important to keep a good perspective about something so crazy, and Suzy obviously does a great job in doing that.

The story of Ms. Becker's brain surgery - from first symptoms through recovery, and so much in between - pulled me right in with her 'fly on the wall' perspective. And that she could find humor while living through this ordeal is simply amazing. This book is so well written, and the cartoons, journal entries, and other illustrations help bring the story to life in a truly unique way. I was sad to see that I only had a few pages to go at the end -- I just didn't want this book, and this story, to end.

I cried quietly. I laughed aloud. My head hurt. My heart ached. And I've had trouble putting down this nuanced and splendidly illustrated memoir chronicling Suzy Becker's recognition that her seizure-like "stress episodes" were caused by a tumor that required brain surgery, and her journey through preparation, surgery and recovery. An award-winning best selling author-illustrator, Becker was staggered to discover that her language skills had been "stolen" by the surgery. This innovative narrative of her quest for recovery is enriched with her cartoons, graphics and commentary revealing a complex array of responses. Her humor lets the reader look at her ordeal with some of the empathy she craved during the recovery; and her honesty lets us see the pain and courage of her fight to regain her self. I admire the boldness and beauty of this reflection, the penning of which she characterizes as her recovery.