uncomfortably numb’s now an audiobook: get 50% off!

Uncomfortably Numb — my medical memoir about the life-altering impact of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis — has been transformed into an audiobook.

I can’t tell you how odd it is to have this intensely personal story about my health and ultimate MS diagnosis, which occurred months after my 65-year-old mother died from a fast-moving cancer, read aloud by somebody else.

When I was first approached about having the memoir professionally narrated, I was excited but also concerned. How could anyone possibly use the emphasis I intended, the specific tone of voice that was in my head when I wrote those words, I wondered.

Well, in the trusted hands of narrator Erin deWard, I fret no longer.

While the audiobook is available on Amazon, it is also on sale for half price at Audiobooks.com until the end of January.

I’m thrilled to have Uncomfortably Numb now available to those who prefer audible formats. Let me know what you think!

Image credit: Audiobooks.com.

what did YOU read in 2021?

I consume news in the form of two daily, hard copy newspapers (I know, I’m ancient), the Boston Globe and the New York Times. I also read online subscriptions of the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, as well as devour magazines, the New Yorker and New York Magazine (yes, in hard copy), and the online version of The Atlantic.

When I’m not busy reading all of that journalistic and literary goodness (I just added the literary magazine Creative Nonfiction to my subscription list), I’m reading books. Funny books. Serious books. Fiction. Nonfiction. New England-centric. Politically-oriented. My tastes run wide.

Halfway through the year I published a list on Instagram of the books I’d read starting in January 2021 through early June 2021:

Then, as 2021 drew to an ignominious close with lines for COVID-19 tests wrapping city blocks, I shared the second half of my 2021 reading list:

What did YOU read in 2021? Give the authors a shout-out. They’d appreciate some social media love.

got readers on your holiday list? give ’em signed books from an indie bookstore

Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough, MA has signed copies of three of my books (a memoir, a novel and a work of nonfiction) for sale, just in time for the readers on your holiday lists. Given that COVID has severely affected small businesses like independent bookstores, I’m sure they’d appreciate your support.

Signed books include:

Uncomfortably Numb: a memoir about the life-altering diagnosis of multiple sclerosis Kindle Edition

Uncomfortably Numb: a memoir. My medical memoir about the life-altering impact of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. It chronicles the two years it took to get an MS diagnosis and confirmation that the symptoms I was experiencing weren’t simply in my imagination (as one physician suggested), as well as the uneasy piece I reached an uneasy peace with my post-MS life.

Mr. Clark's Big Band: A Year of Laughter, Tears, and Jazz in a Middle School Band Room Kindle Edition

Mr. Clark’s Big Band: A Year of Laughter, Tears and Jazz in a Middle School Band Room. A book about the 2012-2013 school year I shadowed the Southborough, MA middle school jazz band as they were recovering from mourning the sudden death of one of their own, a 12-year-old trumpet player named Eric Green. This award-winning book would be great for any educators on your list.

Mortified: a book about oversharing by [Meredith O'Brien]

Mortified: a novel about oversharing. Set in 2004 at the height of mommy blogging, this darkly humorous work of contemporary fiction follows a thirtysomething mom of two who started venting about her frustration with modern parenting through her blog. When her family discovers the unkind things she’s been writing about them online, well, all hell breaks loose.

Invite me to your book group!

talking hope, healing & loss w/new york writers workshop

Screenshot 2020-06-15 12.45.59 Christina Chiu — working with the New York Writers Workshop and 2040Books — organized a virtual author event where she invited three writers to discuss our recent books which all touch on the subjects of “Hope, Healing and Loss.” Chiu’s recent novel is Beauty.

I was thrilled to discuss my medical MS memoir, Uncomfortably Numb, alongside memoirist Maya Lang who wrote What We Carry about her mother’s Alzheimer’s, and novelist Jacqueline Friedman whose That’s Not a Thing features a character who develops ALS.

The hour-long discussion was lively and varied, as we touched on topics from approaches to writing and research, to how the medical industry treats female patients differently than male ones.

I had to fend off Tedy, who kept trying to climb up on my chair and eventually succeeded. Then there was Max, who was snorting and moaning loudly on the floor. My husband decided it was the perfect time to make dinner so there were ambient cooking noises as well. Ah … the joys of the coronavirus quanantine and working from home!

You can watch the video of our discussion here.

talking ‘uncomfortably numb’ at the les bleus lit salon & with podcaster zibby owens

Two seriously enthusiastic shout-outs to Paige McGreevy and Zibby Owens for affording me opportunities to chat with them about my memoir Uncomfortably Numb.

These two women have been incredibly generous in helping writers, whose work is being published during a pandemic, connect with book lovers.

McGreevy, who started the New York City-based Les Bleus Literary Salon, has been hosting writers via Zoom as they read from the new books for an audience of literary enthusiasts. (Several of my fellow authors from Lockdown Literature, pictured on the right, have read from their books in recent weeks, so I was in illustrious company.) Screenshot 2020-05-04 13.34.30

Meanwhile, Owens, a well-respected book podcaster who created Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books, recently spoke with me for her Instagram Live author interview series.

You can watch the interview as it happened below. (Luckily, Tedy, my hyper-yappy dog, did NOT burst through my office door — which never quite clicks closed — and start barking. PLUS my three, college-aged kids — who are all finishing up their spring semesters virtually — did not slow down the internet enough to boot me offline.)

Here’s the link to the video.

View this post on Instagram

@meredithobrien – author of "Uncomfortably Numb"

A post shared by Zibby Owens (@zibbyowens) on May 4, 2020 at 9:51am PDT

Thank you Paige and Zibby! You are truly doing public service, at least to writers and readers!

virtual book tour for ‘uncomfortably numb’ continues: book giveaways & an instagram takeover

As I’ve seen events to promote my medical memoir Uncomfortably Numb canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been so grateful for the work of many people who are stepping in to fill the void.

Several woman have been extremely generous in helping me spread the word about my medical memoir through their online book groups.

Ashley Spivey’s book club: Instagram takeover

Self-proclaimed book nerd Ashley Spivey allowed me to take over her book club’s Instagram account this past week to promote Uncomfortably Numb.

I’m new to the world of Instagram stories, so it took me a little bit of time to figure out how to layer words atop the images and then throw music into the mix, like combining UB40’s “Red Red Wine” with a snapshot of my mother (whose death is featured in the memoir) sucking down a glass of red wine.

I had to create visual ways of conveying the experience of writing and researching my memoir, including shooting quasi-awkward videos of myself explaining my process. In addition to a photo of my mom –who was given the nickname The Wine Mother by a local radio DJ, I posted a pic of the bathroom where my biggest MS attack took place, a photo of my family on vacation in Los Angeles just before two MS attacks, and an illustration that I first saw on actress & MS patient Selma Blair’s Instagram account (created by artist Erica Root) depicting MS symptoms.

You can see highlights from my Uncomfortably Numb Instagram takeover here.

Readers Coffeehouse Facebook book group: Book giveaway

Prolific author Kimberly Belle — one of the founders of the Facebook book group Readers Coffeehouse — has been instrumental in the “authors helping authors” movement, assisting those whose book events were canceled in the wake of the coronavirus spread.

After she shared my book with her club members, I engaged in lively online discussion with them before giving away two signed copies.

Annie Horsky McDonnell, of The Write Review: Gives kudos to the memoir

After our recent flash-interview on The Write Review, Horsky McDonnell wrote a short review of Uncomfortably Numb.

“Wow! This book should be read by anyone with Multiple Sclerosis, or other autoimmune disease,” Horsky McDonnell wrote. “… It is a book that is going to help so many people needing a voice to hear when they get their diagnosis with MS, or even a loved one does. It will certainly bring comfort to know they are not alone! After my interview with her, I trust she will be a huge voice for Multiple Sclerosis. I cannot get her out of my head, and I’m sharing her book with my doctors!!”

Yellow Brick Reads Facebook group: Book giveaway

Led by Jady Bernier Babin, members of the Yellow Brick Reads Facebook group vied for a chance to win signed copies of Uncomfortably Numb by sharing ways (other than reading, which, of course, we all adore) they are coping with being asked to shelter-in-place so as not to spread Covid-19.

I was honored to virtually converse with Yellow Brick Reads folks, as well as with the members of Readers Coffeehouse, The Write Review and Spivey’s book club.

Thank you Jady, Kimberly, Annie and Ashley for your support!

‘i couldn’t read it fast enough’ — reviewer says of ‘uncomfortably numb’

author-photo-madeline-dyer-300x300-1 U.K. author, book reviewer and creator of the Twitter-based #BookPartyChat, Madeline Dyer wrote a lovely review of my medical memoir Uncomfortably Numb.

As Dyer — author of several novels including the Untamed series — is working on her own memoir about her chronic illness, her words meant a great deal to me.

While saying she “couldn’t read it fast enough,” Dyer called Uncomfortably Numb “harrowing in places,” adding that it had “so many relatable moments.”

“The writing craft itself in this book is really good too,” Dyer continued. “Stylistically, Meredith’s writing flows and just demands to be read. I’ve read quite a few medical memoirs, but I have to say, I think this is one of the best, and I’ll be recommending it for years to come.”

You wouldn’t know, just by reading this post, but I’m blushing. Thank you Madeline!

You can read her full review here.

Image credit: Madeline Dyer.

advance praise for ‘uncomfortably numb’

51-iodcld0l._sx330_bo1204203200_ I’m deeply honored that several fellow writers have been kind enough to write blurbs for my forthcoming memoir, Uncomfortably Numb.

Take author Jessica Fechtor. When she was a 28-year-old graduate student, an aneurysm in her brain burst, leaving her with a long and difficult road to recovery. Fechtor deftly shared the story of her arduous journey in her bestselling memoir Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home. I greatly admired Stir, so it meant a lot to me to read what she had to say about my story:

Meredith O’Brien’s Uncomfortably Numb is a rare window into everyday life with multiple sclerosis, and how chronic illness can turn one’s very identity inside out. The illness is unpredictable: an initial diagnosis takes years to materialize, symptoms may or may not signal the progression of the disease, and treatments are imperfect. With candor, O’Brien bares her most vulnerable moments as she learns the new rules of working, parenting, and living in the present when the future is uncertain.

paperbackcover_small Then there’s Maya Dusenbery — author of Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick — who also did me a solid with this blurb:

Uncomfortably Numb tells a sadly all-too-common story: of a woman whose symptoms were initially dismissed by doctors before a life-changing diagnosis. Frank and relatable, it will speak to anyone who knows the uncertainty that chronic illness brings and the resiliency it demands.

Author Trevis Gleason, a fellow multiple sclerosis patient himself, chronicled the devastating impact the disease has had on his own life in Chef Interrupted: Discovering Life’s Second Course in Ireland with Multiple Sclerosis. He graciously offered this about Uncomfortably Numb:

41phsdlnmjl._sx311_bo1204203200_ A modern telling of the newly diagnosed story from a no-nonsense journalist, a gifted writer, a pragmatic New Englander. While uniquely her own — by definition — there will be few who have or know chronic illness who will not glimpse well-told aspects of their own experience in this memoir. Uncomfortably Numb is heart-breaking, it’s harrowing, and it’s heroic. What is is not is candy-coated. Refreshingly honest, unguarded, and reflective about what is, arguably the most difficult half decade in Meredith O’Brien’s colorful life.

Thank you so much Jessica, Maya, and Trevis.

Image credits: Amazon.

library journal says memoir ‘will resonate’

LJ_UN_meme

I was pleased to learn that the Library Journal this month released a review of my forthcoming memoir, Uncomfortably Numb saying it “will resonate with those living with the unpredictability of chronic conditions, along with their friends, family, and various support systems.”

Thank you to reviewer Marcia G. Welsh.

Image credit:Library Journal.

Meredith OBrien

writer, educator, Red Sox fan

Tag: Books