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A review by nssutton
Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things) by Abby Sher
4.0
My brother has OCD and I don't understand it. I mean, I understand it the way someone who was a psychology minor in undergrad understands it, but to see someone you love so much suffering so greatly makes it harder to find any comfort in that clinical understanding. I want so badly to know the right thing to say, to have the answers for him, or at least for myself. My brother's ability to describe the nuances of his own struggle are brave and incredible, but I still feel like at such a loss.
So I sought comfort in my own compulsive reading. Spending time with Shear's story was both helpful and hurtful, seeing things that mirror his life and things that don't. They both developed these behaviors after an unexpected loss, although there were signs before that. They are both incredibly creative individuals who want so badly to protect others. There are things they cannot say, cannot do, because of the way they believe the world works. But her path led her to physical self-abuse, where my brother is in a constant battle with his mind. She chose cognitive behavioral therapy and he has not.
I appreciated the candor with which she told her story, even when it wasn't easy. I felt frustration with her at times, but mostly because I recognized the situation in which she was in, or put others in, and that opened the gate for feelings I have about my own family situation to present themselves.
This was a read that I needed.
So I sought comfort in my own compulsive reading. Spending time with Shear's story was both helpful and hurtful, seeing things that mirror his life and things that don't. They both developed these behaviors after an unexpected loss, although there were signs before that. They are both incredibly creative individuals who want so badly to protect others. There are things they cannot say, cannot do, because of the way they believe the world works. But her path led her to physical self-abuse, where my brother is in a constant battle with his mind. She chose cognitive behavioral therapy and he has not.
I appreciated the candor with which she told her story, even when it wasn't easy. I felt frustration with her at times, but mostly because I recognized the situation in which she was in, or put others in, and that opened the gate for feelings I have about my own family situation to present themselves.
This was a read that I needed.