Title: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Author: Stephen King Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Biographies, Memoirs, Writing Pace: Slow Format: Novel Year: 2000
Stephen King fascinates me. And terrifies me. I mean, that is a twisty man who writes the kinds of stories he writes. Which all leads me to be fascinated by the idea of his take on writing and his own writing history. Who wouldn’t be? He’s one of the most famous writers…
I really enjoyed how this book was set out. It starts with a more autobiographical account if King’s life. And then heads towards tales and information on how he actually goes about the writing process. It males a complete logical sense and still provides insights to the man behind the writing.
Personally, although I enjoyed all of the writing on HOW to write. It was the autobiographical aspect of this novel that I loved. And it’s this first half that I would read again.
Title: My Caesarean: Twenty-One Mothers on the C-Section Experience and After Author: Amanda Fields Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Essays, Memoirs, Pregnancy Pace: Slow Format: Anthology Year: 2019
Surprisingly, considering one third of Australians have a caesarean, after being blindsided by mine, I realised I had ZERO CLOSE FRIENDS who’d been through this. In the weeks after my daughter was born, this fact left me feeling surprisingly disconnected from my fellow mums. In a moment when I thought I’d feel even more connected by shared experiences. So I decided to do what I always do… find a book that could help me with this. And this was the perfect book to do that.
Every birth story is different. Including caesareans. Like everything, our stories run the gambit from seriously enjoyable to downright terrifying. My own sits somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards the positives. I love that this collection includes the different emotions and experiences. It’s not trying to paint caesareans in any light other than what they are… a modern medical intervention that has let countless mothers and children live. But one that is contentious and can leave people feeling like they somehow “failed”.
Although many of these stories take place many years ago (quite a few before I was was born), they still have that relatability. Even if the technology and process has continued to drastically alter and evolve, the process is still the same. This gave me so many moments of empathy and points that I could just smile and relate to. For someone that doesn’t have anyone in their personal life that can do this… it was incredibly cathartic. In some instances, this was a laughing moment or a secret smile. In others, I cried a few tears as I finished processing my own birth story.
Even if you haven’t or never will have a caesarean. If you don’t know anyone who has, or are just plain curious. This is well worth a read. It gives insight into the feelings and experiences of women who are unafraid to share their experiences and feelings. The good, the bad, the ugly and the out and out joyful.
We may have made leaps and bounds in our understanding, but mental health is still a pretty hard topic to broach. There is so much stigma remaining and it can be hard to convey what its like to live with a mental health issue to someone who has never had one. Which is why whenever I see a book that talks about it openly and honestly, I’m pretty quick to jump on it. The fact that I’ve JUST read another book by Kristy Chambers that I thoroughly enjoyed made me dive into this with much more excitement and impatience than I normally would.
Combining travel narratives with mental health just helped to draw me in further and further. I’ll be the first to admit that I am a pretty major home body. So I do love to live vicariously through other people’s travel adventures. I loved doing this with Chambers. She is so damn honest and sassy that you got the ugly alongside the good. Which is what travel is all about.
Throughout every chapter and adventure, Chambers draws back to her mental health and numerous breakdowns. Yet, where this could feel quite serious and negative, she talks about it in such an open and honest manner that you end up laughing. It takes a special someone to talk about their mental health. It takes someone even more special to joke about it with such abandon. Definitely my kind of woman.
I loved, loved, loved this book. It was that perfect blend of travel adventure and realistic recountings of the trials that this entails. Mental health and depression are unabashedly talked about and often joked about. And there’s even a beautiful happy ending that makes you want to read MORE about Chambers’ life, but content if you can’t do so.
Title: Get Well Soon! My (un)Brilliant Career as a Nurse Author: Kristy Chambers Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Australian authors, Humour, Medical, Memoirs, Nursing Pace: Fast Format: Novel Year: 2012
Nursing is a career path and life choice that holds a lot of fascination for me. It’s such a powerful thing to do, but I honestly can’t imagine dealing with people’s shit (both literally and figuratively) like that. I also have a couple of girlfriends who are nurses I’m different fields, so understanding their day to say lives is also enthralling.
Chambers manages to write about a pretty hectic and serious career with an amazing amount of sass and humour. I particularly like when she points out that ultimately her decision between teaching and nursing came down to who do I hate less, teenagers or sick people… and teenagers are assholes. It’s a sentiment that had me laughing out loud.
Alongside all of the wit and humour throughout this, there are some pretty powerful emotional moments. It’s a start reminder of the intensity of this kind of career. But, also a brilliant way to highlight how some people are able to deal with the horrors of a fairly intense career path.
This is one if those memoirs that I will read again and again. It has my preferred level of dry, witty humour; plenty of sass; and a subject matter that ceaselessly fascinates me. I may have read this through my kobo plus account, but its going on my wish list for a physical copy too…
Title: Confessions of a School Nurse Author: Michael Alexander Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Medical, Memoirs, Nursing Pace: Medium Format: Novel Year: 2015
After reading through Confessions of a Male Nurse, I knew that I needed to get Confessions of a School Nurse. I did start reading a book on Thredbo (Survival) before I actually put this onto my Kobo. But then I couldn’t stop myself from also picking up this book. And, because it is such a great and easy read, I managed to read this before I’d even finished the first chapter of the other books that I had started… I mean, there is something kind of humorous about the fixes that people find themselves in in the medical world. And there is just a sweetness about Alexander that I can’t get enough of.
Having never been to boarding school, or come from the kind of money that Alexander talks about in this novel, I was transported into a whole new world. One that I’ve only imagined from some of the more ridiculous movies that I’ve watched. This might have taken me a little step closer to such an unfathomable world. But, honestly, that’s as close as I ever want to get. It was most definitely an interesting world to step into for a few hours, but one that I found a little terrifying. Although, I suppose that those who Alexander sees and writes about are the extremes – there’s no point in writing about the boring, everyday occurrences now, is there?
Not only did this memoir give me an insight into what it is like being a school nurse and treating children in a boarding school, it also gave me insight into the school system and realities for some people in Europe. Actually, a lot of the different students and people that are discussed in this novel are from the Northern Hemisphere. A totally different life to immerse myself in, one that I enjoyed doing so. I mean, a lot of my memoirs lately are based around some pretty horrific moments in modern history, so it was nice to read about something that was a little lighter and fluffier.
As with Confessions of a Male Nurse, I absolutely adored this novel. It was fun and engaging. A little lighter than the other memoirs I have on the go at the moment and just, generally fun. Definitely the kind of memoir that I will be buying a physical copy of. And one that I look forward to sharing and recommending to others.
Title: Confessions of a Male Nurse Author: Michael Alexander Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Medical, Memoirs, Nursing Pace: Medium Format: Novel Year: 2012
I’ve definitely been on a bit of a medical memoir kick lately. Maybe because I recently had major surgery and have a whole new appreciation for what it’s like to be a patient. And a whole lot of love for the staff that made a potentially traumatic moment into something that was good and I can think of fondly. Regardless of why, as soon as I saw this title in my Kobo Plus section, I knew it was a book I wanted to read.
Any nurse memoirs is going to be interesting – they do tend to have a whole lot more patient interaction than doctors when it comes to hospitals. But I was intrigued to read about interactions that involved a male nurse. After all, a different gender is going to have different experiences. Add in the fact that the man’s a Kiwi and I was sold.
I love how Alexander separated each of the sections if this memoir into the different areas if nursing he’s worked in. It gives a common theme to each section that creates a more cohesive narrative from some very disjointed stories. It was also interesting that alcohol related issues are so predominant within his work life that he created a whole section just on alcohol abuse. It’s a good reminder to imbibe responsibly.
After reading Get Well Soon and thoroughly enjoying it, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy another nursing memoir so thoroughly. It was a pretty tough act to follow. But, luckily for me, I most definitely did. This wasn’t quite as sassy, but wonderfully open and honest. With just the right amount of dry, what the hell humour thrown in.
Title: Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget Author: Sarah Hepola Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Alcohol, Biographies, Memoirs, Mental health Pace: Medium Format: Novel Year: 2015
As someone who has had a few years of drinking too heavily and experiencing blackouts… this hit a bit too close to home. But in a good way. Because rather than being judgemental and harsh, Hepola talks about her journey with acceptance, honesty and a good dose of humour. Brutally honest and wonderfully open, this book was definitely well worth the read.
Not only does this memoir delve into issues with alcohol, but also talks about what its like to be a woman. We’re in a world where being a drinker as a woman is impressive in your late teens and early twenties. But by the time you start edging towards the thirties? Expectations change. Its a hard reality to walk and Hepola did such justice to highlighting how difficult it is to navigate.
One of the many aspects of this memoir that I loved is that Hepola doesn’t blame her insecurities and reliance on alcohol on anyone or anything. In fact, she mentions friends having concerns about their kids following the same route she did and pointing out that there’s nothing that can be done. There is no blame or fault throughout this, and its… a refreshing way to talk about an issue that affects a lot of people.
Once I opened the first one of Blackout, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There is something intense and honest about this. And a little too relatable. It’s definitely a journey that I look forward to taking again and again. I reminder of the line that we all need to draw, and how some people have more difficulties with that than others.
I’ve been hanging to read this for about 6 months now. But, considering my other half actually works in an underground mine that is very similar to Beaconsfield (albeit much bigger), I decided to wait until he had a huge chunk of time off… I didn’t really need to be imagining him in this position in the long week that he’s away…
There are always moments of local or global history that will stick in our minds. Todd and Brant walking out of the mine on national news is one of them for me (Steve Irwin dying is another one). Which made not only visiting Beaconsfield, but reading this incredibly surreal. I mean, I was in high school when this happened. And I remember it being plastered all over the news. But to my teenage self… it was so removed from reality. Not anymore and I’m incredibly glad I got a chance to read about this rescue and tragedy.
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book so much. Mostly because I thought it would just be a recount of Todd and Brant’s experiences. Instead, it focused a lot more on everyone else who was impacted. Larry Knight’s family gets a lot of attention (as they should). The crew supervisor and the rescue team. The families who were topside waiting for news. It’s a great reminder that tragedy doesn’t just strike one person, but rather impacts everyone I our little vortexes of life.
Most of the time I read memoirs, biographies, and true stories because they’re easy to put down and walk away from. Perfect for when life is busy, and I don’t have heaps of time to read. That’s not the case with this. I was constantly itching to pick it back up and bury my nose between the pages. I don’t know if it’s because this is so much closer to home than most booms in this genre, or if it was just brilliantly done… but regardless, definitely at the top of my recommendations list.
Title: The Answer to the Riddle is Me: A Tale of Amnesia Author: David Stuart MacLean Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Medical, Memoirs, Mental health Pace: Slow Format: Novel Year: 2014
Finishing this, my first thought was… WOW. Followed closely by holy crap. And finally by just a fleeting feeling of fear. I mean, we’re talking about a medication with known side effects that changed this man’s life forever. Completely. Totally. And maybe not tragically now, 10 years later, but most definitely at the time. And with our current global climate? Yeah, that is guaranteed to give you a little fear if you’re sane.
At first I, admittedly, struggled a little to get into this. Partly because what was happening just felt so ridiculously outlandish. I mean, I just can’t even fathom the confusion and mental gymnastics that such a rude awakening would leave you with. I have enough trouble dealing with my OWN reality (but don’t we all?) let alone being given realities that aren’t even true. It definitely makes your heart squeeze painfully.
Then, I found the first part difficult because of the jumpiness of the writing. It was incredibly important – without this style and confusion I don’t think MacLean would have been able to impart the horrors and confusion of those first moments in India. But it was incredibly hard to read. Maybe because I work with people who have similar realities at times, and it was honestly confronting and difficult to read.
Yet, I also found this book impossible to put down. For all the moments that made me uncomfortable, I also felt more and more intrigued. After all, if we don’t push our boundaries, particularly in our reading, how are we going to grow? The Answer to the Riddle is Me not only told a pretty damn intense story of hospitalisation, amnesia and mental health. It also bought up issues of identity and self. It highlighted how important our past is to the present and how easy it can be to lose this.
Title: When Breath Becomes Air Author: Paul Kalanithi Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Death, Medical, Memoirs Dates read: 2nd – 13th October 2021 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Vintage Books Year: 2016 5th sentence, 74th page: The surgeon got to work, passed a small endoscope through Matthew’s nose, and drilled off the floor of his skull.
What do you do when life is catastrophically interrupted? What does it mean to have a child as your own life fades away? 8 What makes life worth living in the face of death
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student in search of what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and new father.
I knew that I was probably going to shed at least a few tears at the end of this book. I mean, it’s a book written by a man who is terminally ill. It’s going to make you cry. I didn’t quite expect how much I cried though. Partly because I didn’t think that it would be the epilogue written by Kalanithi’s wife that would really set me off… maybe not the best book to read when you’re pregnant and hormonal.
When Breath Becomes Air is incredibly humbling. It is filled with reminders that your world can change in a moment and everything you worked towards can just be ripped away. Yet, even though Paul was writing this in his final months and knew what was coming for him, he writes in such a way that you feel… at peace with his fate. Having been around numerous people with a terminal illness, reading about someone who faced their diagnosis head on like this… as I said, humbling.
The first part of this memoir focuses on Kalanithi’s decision to become a neuroscientist. About his constant battle to find a meaning in life where he isn’t entirely sure there is one. I love that he talks about his love for both literature and science. And how instead of being independent of each other (an assumption I’ve often come up against), they build upon one another. You can feel the passion for both fields streaming off the page as you read about Kalanithi’s numerous experiences and a life well lived.
This is one of those amazing memoirs that makes you feel… well, everything. It definitely left me feeling a little bit raw. But, mostly it just made me feel humble and aware of all of my own faults. But not in a bad way. I know that I couldn’t go through a terminal diagnosis like Kalanithi with the kind of calm and grace that he shows. And it’s kind of nice to read the words of someone who actually was capable of doing so.
Earth and Skye 