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A review by mschlat
Places I've Taken My Body: Essays by Molly McCully Brown
4.0
A wonderfully written collection of essays in which Brown discusses the impact her cerebral palsy has had on her life, with particular emphasis on memory and self-image. As one whose body has changed dramatically (both due to the disease and the treatments) over the years, Brown describes in great detail what she remembers and forgets, and I was moved by how her memories failed to capture the times in her life when she was more able-bodied.
The prose is fantastic, and the work as a whole is a compelling view at the experience of being disabled, fiercely independent, and (at times) horribly unsure. I found the essays sometimes repetitive, and there's not a strong connective tissue between them. (There's a piece on Liberty University that feels more like journalism with a strong personal bent than the more introspective pieces around it.) But I would highly recommend reading at least a few pieces.
The prose is fantastic, and the work as a whole is a compelling view at the experience of being disabled, fiercely independent, and (at times) horribly unsure. I found the essays sometimes repetitive, and there's not a strong connective tissue between them. (There's a piece on Liberty University that feels more like journalism with a strong personal bent than the more introspective pieces around it.) But I would highly recommend reading at least a few pieces.