The Two Kinds of Decay: A Memoir by Sarah Manguso

 

THE TWO KINDS OF DECAY is about the author's experience with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), which was first misdiagnosed as Guillane-Barre syndrome. She was first hospitalized in 1994, and had her last flare-up in 1999, although until 2004, she was still suffering from emotional and psychological complications (depression) from the drugs she'd been on.

Medical gore is a trigger of mine so I was a little hesitant to read this, but the sample was fascinating and I felt like the blurb did a pretty good job setting the stage for the idea that this would be a graphic book. And indeed, much of this is lengthy descriptions of Manguso's medical treatments (some of which were experimental for the time), what it was like to go from being able-bodied to chronically ill, and the toll her illness took on her emotionally, socially, and physically.

The writing style was very beautiful and poetic (which is fitting because I think she is a poet). I didn't always understand the medical jargon and the end did start to feel a little repetitive after a while, but this was still a very interesting and fascinating read on a subject I knew nothing about. This also definitely feels like one of those memoirs that was written more for the benefit of the author than the reader, which I think helps knowing going in. Maybe this book could even save someone's life, if they recognize the symptoms in themselves.

Do NOT read this if medical descriptions or chronic illness are triggers for you. I could see this being a traumatizing read for someone who has experienced a recent loss or is in the process of/just finished receiving treatment. Some of the descriptions were a bit much for me, especially the needle insertion passages. (Blood and needles make me faint, sometimes even just reading about it is enough.)

3.5 out of 5 stars