Neuology and Illness

I was at the library on Friday because our modem was broken, so I didn't have Internet at home (oh horror!), and I picked up a few neuroscience books on a whim. Dewey Decimal section 616. So far, I've read two of them. One about Schizophrenia, the other about Alzheimer's.

Recovered, Not Cured: A Journey through Schizophrenia by Richard McLean was really interesting. McLean told the story of his own struggle with the illness, how he deteriorated, and how he finally got help. I've known a handful of people with schizophrenia, but I haven't known any of them well. McLean interspersed his own drawings with the text to illustrate some of the things he saw/thought of/etc. while he was ill. My main complaint about the book was that it seemed as if McLean assumed that the reader already knew him at the beginning. Sometimes, there just wasn't enough detail to fully understand a situation that he was describing. Overall, 7.5/10. It was just plain cool to read about.

In Sickness and in Health: Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's by William M. Grubbs (aged 94) was not quite as good. It didn't really teach me anything that I didn't already know about Alzheimer's. Grubbs wrote about taking care of his wife as she deteriorated. Honestly, I got a little bored at parts. Still, it was an interesting perspective. I've always had a fear of being a burden in old age: I don't want to have kids who have to drag their children to come visit me, or deal with putting me through a nursing home. That being said, it's pretty much inevitable unless I die young.
6.5/10

As anyone reading this can probably tell, I'm not in the mood to write right now. Thus the brevity and vagueness of these blurbs.

Total Books: 18
Total Nonfic: 9 (50% Woot!)