A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder-and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side-in this powerful and inspiring memoir.
Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.
But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.
It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.
Unable to act "normal," the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.
Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison's descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.
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['I don't think the pigs smell me. I think they see me,' Ms Griffin says, re-enacting last night's assigned reading from Lord of the Flies]***
(Simon Pulse, 19 September 2017, hardback, 368 pages, Around The Year In 52 Books 2019, 2 books related to the same topic, genre or theme #1, OCD, bought from @AmazonUK)
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My other half has a touch of OCD. Until I read this memoir and got punched right in the heart I didn't realise how mild her obsessions are. They're nothing compared to the author's. I feel I understand my partner a bit better now. This is not an easy book to read. I was in tears a lot while reading the first half before the author's diagnosis and her obsessions and anxiety's becoming increasingly worse. I can only imagine the hell she must have gone through at school. I remember school and it was shit at times. It must have been hell trying to mask her illness. The memoir gets even better when the author is diagnosed. She gradually gets her OCD under control and picks up the shreds her illness made of her life. I cried like a big baby several times.
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