Cole Cohen

This is a tough book to review. On the one hand, it's a fascinating memoir of someone with a very unique neurological condition (having a large hole in the parietal lobe of the brain), yet I found the author a bit disconnected, in a way. She was difficult to engage with, in that I felt as though I was witnessing an awkward movie with jumps in time and place as opposed to a story with a cohesive whole. Nevertheless, it was interesting work of nonfiction, and as Cohen herself says, "Everyone has a labyrinthine brain with a Minotaur at the center: a memory, an illness, a heartache, a deep frustration." Perhaps this serves as the basis of a reader-author connection.… (altro)

A fascinating memoir by a girl, whose brain isn't all there. Thought to have a myriad of disorders (ADD, anxiety, etc), it isn't until Cole is in her twenties that she gets tested and is told she is seriously neurologically impaired and has a hole in her brain the size of a lemon). Because of this Cole can't tell the difference between left and right, can't drive, can't follow directions, tell home much time has paced, and dozens of other things that make living independently very very hard. This memoir talks about the struggle of coming to terms with her diagnosis and trying to find new ways to complete some of the most basic of tasks with dignity and resolve. Inspiring and intriguing. This was a fascinating read.… (altro)