Week 8 Assignment 4

Run, Don't Walk by Adele Levine






Run, Don't Walk is a memoir written by Adele Levine that chronicles her six years working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She and her associates worked with amputee soldiers and helped them adjust to their "new lives" missing one or more limbs. The first idea is that this must be very depressing and sad, but against all odds, Levine has turned something so depressing as loss of limbs and mental illness, to something with a sort of dark humor and triumph that people who are into those sort of books might enjoy. She introduces us to many characters, how the staff interacts with them while preparing them for life outside Walter Reed, and the funny quirks and pranks that are done to keep the spirits of the soldiers uplifted. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading books about overcoming adversity or even those who are interested in soldiers because they will see a part of the military that is ignored because it is often deemed "depressing". This book might also be a good starting point for those who like to read medical fiction because it gives them a first-hand look at not only the physical work that needs to go into rehabilitating soldiers, but also the mental and emotional work that goes into getting them prepared to return to civilian life.








Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy


When people talk about cancer, they tend to think of the person being diagnosed, having to go through treatment, and their cancer either goes into remission or they unfortunately succumbs to the disease. What isn't thought about are the after-effects of cancers. What are the physical, mental, and emotional affects that a person must endure. In the narrative non-fiction book Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy takes us on her journey as a nine-year-old girl being diagnosed with Ewing's Carcoma, a deadly cancer, and having to have a portion of her right jaw removed. Grealy speaks about having to return to school disfigured and dealing with rejection from her peers because she no longer looks like everyone else. The reader sees into the life of Grealy as she attempts to seek perfection even though she looks nothing like anyone else. I would recommend this to those who enjoy books about overcoming adversity because through wit and charm, Grealy is able to find that she has to find happiness in herself.