Three-plus years. That’s how long I went without watching a single TV show or movie. I read plenty of books during those years. But I managed no sustained screen movement. Book reading was certainly a priority (as I explained in my post If You Could Recommend One TV Show or Movie . . .). But it was also more difficult...
If you could recommend to me one TV show or movie, released in the past 3 or 4 years, what would it be? At long last, I am gaining the ability to watch movement on a screen, which was impaired by the concussion I got in September 2019. It’s not that I could not have gained the ability to watch...
Bet you thought I forgot about the annual Christmas rant tradition. Or was too laid up to get ’er done. But no, think again! Here, henceforth, I bless you with . . . . . . the 4th Annual Christmas Rant!!!! First of all, (ah-hem, I say into the microphone, silver gown glittering) I would like to thank all of...
HOW . . . DEE . . . DOO . . . DAH . . . and welcome your Santa pants to the . . . . . . 3rd Annual Christmas Rant!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it’s been two years since the inaugural Christmas Rant, which was a hoot an’ a half?! Can you believe it’s been a whole year...
For years, I have been hearing stories about people who have gained health benefits—even miraculous, lifesaving ones—from going gluten free. I am now one of those people. As I explained in a previous post, my neurologist told me that I have a rare medical condition causing post-concussion syndrome, including the occurrence of severe setbacks that were making it impossible for...
After almost two years of suffering, I finally have a diagnosis and a treatment protocol! My neurologist did an extensive review of my medical history. He determined that I have a rare medical condition that doesn’t have a name (other than the catchall term of post-concussion syndrome) and is poorly understood. Here is my attempt at describing his diagnosis of...
Things are frustrating on the concussion front. It’s been almost two years since the original injury, but my progress has been like the stock market . . . when it’s plunging. I have made gains in my ability to understand myself and what my triggers are. That’s helpful at least. But it’s complicated stuff, monitoring everything I do, trying to...
Hi, blog readers. For real, I have lost the ability to talk. There has been some confusion among some of you over the past couple weeks. I’ll try to dispel it; but, honestly, it’s hard to explain. And I’m afraid some of you might not believe me. But it’s the truth. The brain is a strange place. Two-and-a-half weeks ago,...
I want to share some facts and myths about concussions and post-concussion syndrome, just in case this information helps someone out there. From personal experience, I know that searching on the Internet for answers to concussion and post-concussion syndrome issues is a bit of a paradox. When I’m experiencing symptoms, I don’t feel well enough to search for such information...
I have read the masterpiece Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, twice in my life. The two experiences were quite different. This was in large part due to the fact that I read two very different translations of the book. Don Quixote Reading #1: Bargain-Bin Translation The first time, I was in my early 30s. I had picked up the...
I am digging in and hunkering down. Armed with a new lease on life, as they say, I’m pulling my blanket over my head and staying inside its delicate warmth. Yes, I am able to drive again. One year and two months after the incident, I can get around the local terrain fairly well on four wheels. And I’m not...
It wasn’t until 7 p.m. last Friday that I remembered it was the one-year anniversary of my concussion. This is creepy, because my concussion occurred at 7 p.m. I was very much aware, all last Friday, that it was the anniversary of the infamous terrorist attack on the U.S. By now, 19 years later, we are all used to seeing...
As a person who suffers from anxiety, I understand the feeling of pressure. It hovers in the background of my days and dreams. Sometimes I’m aware of its presence; often I’m not. Often it’s just this invisible thing propelling me forward, or rather, away from the agony of the pressure, which doesn’t necessarily lead to anyplace that can be called...
I don’t know what to say, . . . other than that didn’t go well. It’s been over two months since I last posted on this blog. Since then, I have been caught up in my by-now too-familiar anti-trifecta of concussion symptoms, arm issues, and mental health crises. I don’t want this blog to be primarily about my health woes....
Happy Memorial Day! Hope you are having a wonderful day, despite the challenges of gathering together with other people during this time. Hope you are making it work somehow, celebrating somehow, honoring our military and our country, somehow. If you live in the U.S., that is. I had planned to share with you my big and exciting news today, but...
Big things are happening over here! Concussion or no concussion! Mental health struggles or no mental health struggles! Arm issues or no arm issues! Don’t care—I’m making it happen. Look at your favorite timepiece, of ancient or modern technological style. Mine says it’s Wednesday, May 20, 2020, around 8ish a.m., Eastern Time, in the Common Era. And then wait around,...
I can’t catch a break. What is going on? Every few days or so, I get myself tangled up in another incident. I used to think one of my brothers was accident prone. Now I know: I must’ve inherited the same family trait. Two days ago, I was trimming bushes in my yard. I was being VERY careful as regards...
Oren Jay Sofer, an expert in mindful communication, tells the following story in his book Say What You Mean. It’s a true story about a friend of his who displayed mindful perseverance in connecting with a stranger: “One afternoon in Boston, he met an attractive young woman while waiting at a crosswalk. They had a short but warm connection, and...
If you’re a book lover like me, you’re probably constantly on the hunt for new books to read. But you don’t want to read just any book. You’re wondering which books out there—and there are a lot of them to choose from!—are getting a lot of buzz, or are highly acclaimed, or are pertinent to your interests. You may also...
It’s March 29, 2021, and I want to add a disclaimer to this post. I am no longer convinced that recovery is exponential. Doctors tell me it is linear. I have also experienced linear recovery. This is a subject that I am continuing to explore. So, disclaimer: I’m not sure whether recovery is exponential or linear. I welcome any input...
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Books previewed
Unwinding Anxiety Judson Brewer
The Confidence Men Margalit Fox
Liberation Day George Saunders
Pandora’s Jar Natalie Haynes
Night of the Living Rez Morgan Talty
The Journalist and the Murderer Janet Malcolm
Mislaid Nell Zink
Exercised Daniel E. Lieberman
Lapvona Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe
Furious Hours Casey Cep
First Person Singular Haruki Murakami
Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro
Dead Souls Sam Riviere
The Pale King David Foster Wallace
Lightning Flowers Katherine E. Standefer
Beautiful World, Where Are You / Normal People / Conversations With Friends Sally Rooney
Swan Dive Georgina Pazcoguin
A Passage North Anuk Arudpragasam
Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
Projections Karl Deisseroth
The Indian Lawyer James Welch
Atomic Habits James Clear
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias Esmé Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
Eugénie Grandet Honoré de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf
The Confidence Men Margalit Fox
Liberation Day George Saunders
Pandora’s Jar Natalie Haynes
Night of the Living Rez Morgan Talty
The Journalist and the Murderer Janet Malcolm
Mislaid Nell Zink
Exercised Daniel E. Lieberman
Lapvona Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe
Furious Hours Casey Cep
First Person Singular Haruki Murakami
Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro
Dead Souls Sam Riviere
The Pale King David Foster Wallace
Lightning Flowers Katherine E. Standefer
Beautiful World, Where Are You / Normal People / Conversations With Friends Sally Rooney
Swan Dive Georgina Pazcoguin
A Passage North Anuk Arudpragasam
Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
Projections Karl Deisseroth
The Indian Lawyer James Welch
Atomic Habits James Clear
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias Esmé Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
Eugénie Grandet Honoré de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf
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