My favorite brain tumor, cancer and traumatic brain injury memoirs

There is something about having a brain tumor that leads to interesting, provocative and brutally honest tales of brain tumors and injuries.

Here’s my top six. I’ve read every book on this list with the exception of Curveball, which I just got in the mail yesterday.  I like them all and, somewhat surprisingly, like them for different reasons.

Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto brings unexpected glam and style to the genre. I found the graphic novel format powerful and emotionally involving. After finishing this book I wanted to have a beer with her husband who, for all his restaurant fame and fortune, seems like a really likeable guy. All the same time, it’s a bit “New Yorky”.

Curveball: When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor, by Liz Holzemer, is something I’m looking forward to reading. Her blog - http://wwwascrewloose.blogspot.com/ - is completely different from the usual brain tumor rant. I’m also a fan of her personal commitment to “give back” through her 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization, Meningioma Mommas - http://www.meningiomamommas.com/donations

Gabby’s book, Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope by Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly and Jeffrey Zaslow - is at one and the same time horrifying and inspiring. You just gotta love her and her husband.

I also loved Suzy Becker’s book - I Had Brain Surgery, What's Your Excuse? - and her unrepentant honesty about her disease, her emotional roller coaster ride, her tenacity and her drawings. (I also have a soft spot in my heart for bikers and those who give back – and Suzy is both) She blends her writing and drawings into a complete story that words alone just couldn’t tell.

My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte-Taylor is, for me, the seminal work in the arena which combines personal journey with incredible scientific insights. I also want to start a fan club for her unbelievable mother.

Ms. Wisenberg’s blog and resulting book seems to have been on the vanguard of cancer blogs and, as you would expect given her literary background, creatively written. If you have a chance to listen to her speak in person, grab it. The time I saw her she brought the little statue/avatar her publisher made for her which, by itself, was worth the price of admission.

What have I missed?  What should I read next?  I’m interested in everybody’s comments, suggestions and recommendations.

Cancer Vixen Book Review

I just read Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto.  Why? Because…

1.    The idea of a graphic novel about cancer seemed intriguing, e.g. would the “cartoony” format trivialize the situation?

2.    I wanted to know if it would seem similar or derivative of Suzy Becker’s wonderful “I Had Brain Surgery, What’s Your Excuse?”

3.    I wondered how would cancer change somebody who has a “vixen” self-image?

So what’s the Cancer Vixen all about?  The book tells the multilayer story of Ms. Marchetto, a nationally known cartoonist (New Yorker, Modern Bride, etc.) and avowed fashionista, who learns that she has breast cancer. The ensuing treatments, including chemo and radiation, are debilitating and, financial insult to cancer injury, she doesn’t have medical insurance.  If that wasn’t enough, her heavy cancer story is unfolding at the same time as a serious romance is budding.

So, what did I like about the book?

-The cartoons were terrific!  They were not only great story-telling devices; they helped express the depth of her emotions – from terror to rage to self-pity and beyond (and they didn’t remind me of Suzy Becker’s work).

-Her self-reflection, which resulted in her writing that “how can I love myself when I’ve been a narcissistic fashionista who put her priorities in all the wrong things?”

-She draws the scary chemo equipment including needles, mediports and chemo bay.

What didn’t I like about it?  Small things – the name dropping…I can’t think of anything else.

I am also impressed that she started the Cancer Vixen fund for uninsured victims of breast cancer.  Here’s a link to the YouTube video  about it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8XjRWNjh64  - and the website for the fund - http://marisamarchetto.com/blog/?page_id=13