Over and Over
A Review of Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion by Amy Wilensky
You are reading my review of this book, and as you read, you
read every word, because that’s the only way to fully understand what this
review is about. However, Amy Wilensky could only read every sixth word in
this paper, six times. This compulsion, and the many others that she had
developed, affected every aspect of her everyday life. Passing for Normal
is a memoir of the author’s experience with OCD and Tourette’s. At a young
age Amy realized that the compulsions and twitches she did wasn’t her
fault. She says, “I know more than ever how unconnected the ritual is with
anything at all, let alone my personal safety or happiness or success”
(Wilensky 91). When she figured this out, she understood that nothing was
wrong with her; rather, something was affecting her. Even though it takes
her many years to find out she has OCD and Tourette’s, this quote
foreshadows Amy’s drive to find out what’s wrong with her. For a long time,
Wilensky’s ‘tics’ proved to be a catharsis and helped to placate her when
she felt stressed or angry. Her friends thought these ‘tics’ added to her
panache, thinking she was just a quirky little girl. She finally learns
that she has these diseases as a young adult, she receives treatment and
feels liberated enough to really live her life.
Just as Wilensky moved on in her life, one of my goals is to move on
in mine. Her success, in getting treatment gave her happiness and a feeling
of security. My goal- of getting a job- will also give me happiness and a
feeling of security. Some obstacles I know I will face are my age, and
school, which will only allow me to work for the summer. From the book, I
know that I can overcome these simple obstacles, if I also find a friend my
age who has a job, or is looking, can help me with my goal. In the book,
Wilensky meets Bryant in college; he also has OCD and Tourette’s. They
become congenial friends, and help eachother with getting treatment for
their diseases. Getting a job makes me a little trepid, but another section
of this book inspires me not to be afraid, when Amy goes to her first TSA
meeting. She thought it would be full of crazy people, until she recognized
a movie producer at the meeting, she said, “I was surprised and secretly
comforted to find Lowell mingling with the like of us” (Wilensky 28). This
sighting of a successful person helps Wilensky understand that OCD and
Tourette’s doesn’t have to completely hinder her life.
This book was very interesting; the structure was in chronological
order, the chapters’ dividing up different events of Wilensky’s life until
she received treatment for her diseases. The beginning and end of the book
connects in that they compare with eachother. You can see from the
beginning how bad Wilensky’s compulsions were, and at the end, how she got
treatment for hers, and even her father, I laud the book for its vivid
descriptions, it was also a very cogent book; it used a lot of large words.
However, there were some weaknesses, it was verbose, and many ideas were
restated.
I also like the facts that were included in this book, one of which
stated that the British Medical Journal believed that Mozart may have had
Tourette’s, he was often seen leaping, twirling, and he loved nonsense
words. Howard Hughes, a famous Hollywood producer, who produced Scarface
and Hell’s Angels, was afraid of germs for most of his life, and wouldn’t
touch anything.
In conclusion, this book was very inspiring. People should care
because a person with OCD and Tourette’s was able to sit down and write a
book. This really inspires me, considering how crippling these diseases can
be. I would recommend this book to some of my friends, because I know it
would inspire them too. In lieu to the first sentence of my review, I’m
sure that Wilensky would be able to read every word of this essay, and
she’d be proud.
A Review of Passing for Normal: A Memoir of Compulsion by Amy Wilensky
You are reading my review of this book, and as you read, you
read every word, because that’s the only way to fully understand what this
review is about. However, Amy Wilensky could only read every sixth word in
this paper, six times. This compulsion, and the many others that she had
developed, affected every aspect of her everyday life. Passing for Normal
is a memoir of the author’s experience with OCD and Tourette’s. At a young
age Amy realized that the compulsions and twitches she did wasn’t her
fault. She says, “I know more than ever how unconnected the ritual is with
anything at all, let alone my personal safety or happiness or success”
(Wilensky 91). When she figured this out, she understood that nothing was
wrong with her; rather, something was affecting her. Even though it takes
her many years to find out she has OCD and Tourette’s, this quote
foreshadows Amy’s drive to find out what’s wrong with her. For a long time,
Wilensky’s ‘tics’ proved to be a catharsis and helped to placate her when
she felt stressed or angry. Her friends thought these ‘tics’ added to her
panache, thinking she was just a quirky little girl. She finally learns
that she has these diseases as a young adult, she receives treatment and
feels liberated enough to really live her life.
Just as Wilensky moved on in her life, one of my goals is to move on
in mine. Her success, in getting treatment gave her happiness and a feeling
of security. My goal- of getting a job- will also give me happiness and a
feeling of security. Some obstacles I know I will face are my age, and
school, which will only allow me to work for the summer. From the book, I
know that I can overcome these simple obstacles, if I also find a friend my
age who has a job, or is looking, can help me with my goal. In the book,
Wilensky meets Bryant in college; he also has OCD and Tourette’s. They
become congenial friends, and help eachother with getting treatment for
their diseases. Getting a job makes me a little trepid, but another section
of this book inspires me not to be afraid, when Amy goes to her first TSA
meeting. She thought it would be full of crazy people, until she recognized
a movie producer at the meeting, she said, “I was surprised and secretly
comforted to find Lowell mingling with the like of us” (Wilensky 28). This
sighting of a successful person helps Wilensky understand that OCD and
Tourette’s doesn’t have to completely hinder her life.
This book was very interesting; the structure was in chronological
order, the chapters’ dividing up different events of Wilensky’s life until
she received treatment for her diseases. The beginning and end of the book
connects in that they compare with eachother. You can see from the
beginning how bad Wilensky’s compulsions were, and at the end, how she got
treatment for hers, and even her father, I laud the book for its vivid
descriptions, it was also a very cogent book; it used a lot of large words.
However, there were some weaknesses, it was verbose, and many ideas were
restated.
I also like the facts that were included in this book, one of which
stated that the British Medical Journal believed that Mozart may have had
Tourette’s, he was often seen leaping, twirling, and he loved nonsense
words. Howard Hughes, a famous Hollywood producer, who produced Scarface
and Hell’s Angels, was afraid of germs for most of his life, and wouldn’t
touch anything.
In conclusion, this book was very inspiring. People should care
because a person with OCD and Tourette’s was able to sit down and write a
book. This really inspires me, considering how crippling these diseases can
be. I would recommend this book to some of my friends, because I know it
would inspire them too. In lieu to the first sentence of my review, I’m
sure that Wilensky would be able to read every word of this essay, and
she’d be proud.
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