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An Epic Quest to Cure an Unrelenting, Totally Unreasonable, and Only Slightly Enlightening Headache
by Paula Kamen
Book Reviewed by:Full of self-deprecating humor, and razor sharp reporting, All in My Head is the remarkable story of perseverance, acceptance, and patience in the face of terrifying pain.
At the age of twenty-four, journalist Paula Kamen's life changed in an
instant. While putting in her contact lenses, the left lens set off a chain
reaction, igniting a constellation of nerves that radiated backwards from behind
the surface of her eye. The pain was more piercing than with any other headache
she had experienced. More than a decade later, she still has a headache--the
exact same headache.
From surgery to a battery of Botox injections to a dousing
of Lithuanian holy water, from a mountain of pharmaceutical products to
aromatherapy and even a vibrating hat, All in My Head chronicles the
sometimes frightening, usually absurd, and always ineffective remedies she--and
so many like her--was willing to try to relieve her pain. Beleaguered and
frustrated by doctors who, frustrated themselves, periodically declared her pain
psychosomatic, Kamen came to understand the plight of the millions who suffer
chronic pain in its many forms.
Full of self-deprecating humor, and razor sharp
reporting, All in My Head is the remarkable story of perseverance,
acceptance, and patience in the face of terrifying pain.
Full Review
(385 words)
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Facts and Stats
(more
at BookBrowse)
At least 28 million Americans battle chronic headaches.
About 18% of women and 6% of men experience migraine.
Up to one-third of women between the ages of 25 and 55 have migraine.
4-5% of the population get Chronic Daily Headache (CDH) - defined as a
headache at least 15 days/month lasting at least 4 hours per episode.
0.5% suffer from constant CDH, mainly women.
Chronic pain causes more disability than cancer and heart disease
combined.
Chronic pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States.
About the author:
Paula Kamen is the author of Her Way: Young Women Remake the Sexual...
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If you liked All In My Head, try these:
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If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Barbara Seaman, author The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed
Not since Norman Cousins' Anatomy of an Illness
has there been a medical memoir of such depth and compelling fascination. The detail, the beautiful writing, the triumph of this young author's will over paralyzing pain will make you cry for her and adore her on the selfsame page.
