In our recent readings and discussions of the many cases of Neurodiverse people, we have not yet seen a case such as this one. When we read about the different cases in Sack’s book, none of those patients were aware they had a sort of mental illness. In this case our narrator, interestingly enough, is fully aware she a new found illness which she did not have before. She takes her issue into her own hands and tries to study on the different types of neurodiversity and mental illnesses. She studies the various drugs and prescriptions as well as looking closely at the DSM book.
She describes the shaking as being different from herself, as if she is two different people. On page 7, she says, “The shaking woman felt like me and not like me at the same time. From the chin up, I was my familiar self. From the neck down, I was a shuddering stranger. Whatever had happened to me, whatever name would be assigned to my affliction, my strange seizure must have had an emotional component that was somehow connected to my father”. It is not a bizarre idea to think that emotional loss can lead to a neurodiverse disorder. Alot of mental illness comes from deep emotional wounds. She was not entirely off track. It is very interesting to see this side of a patient. Normal we have been seeing the doctors point of view, but now we are seeing her side of the story about the journey she had to overcome and really make sense of. I cannot image how scary it must be to one day not have control over your body. This is the first memoir we have seen where we hear from the patient about her journey going from Neurotypical to Neurodivergent. She writes books about her fathers death and this memoir on her journey through this process. To me, the form of writing seems therapeutic to her, and I can image many others who suffer from any disorders.Writing her story perhaps in a way helps her cope with this disorder which she will never be rid of. At the very end she accepts that this is the new life she will lead and this title she has given herself of “The Shaking Woman” will be a new form of her identity.
I agree with what you’re saying about her writing being therapeutic about her condition, I also think it is a way for her to express her journey through the discovery of her disease. I think being able to write out every step of the way, how you coped and reacted and being able to reflect on what exactly happened to you physically the way Hustvedt has done is extremely beneficial. Although there doesn’t seem to be a cure or even clear diagnosis for her case, she seems to be accepting and optimistic about her condition all throughout her writing, which keeps her reader as hopeful as she seems to be.
I can see how the simple act of writing would be a therapeutic form of coping with her shaking. I think what you’re getting at here – the therapy, the coping, the self-discovery – also ties in with Professor Tougaw’s assessment that the memoir is also a quest-narrative. You used the word journey several times to describe it, and it seems appropriate to say that Hustvedt is indeed on a “quest” to find something – either her cure or self-acceptance of her condition. I’m really interested to see how the book will end, especially since she already said she found a temporary cure for her shakes by taking medication prior to her public appearances.
Discussing in class about what form this book is written in is always shown on each page. Her narrative and memoir aspect turns her journey or quest into a case study and in this way she is able to figure out herself and what she is going through. I agree that this form of writing for her is therapeutic, being able to express what you are feeling when you are feeling it and looking back on it can help one better understand what is going on in their life. I think by writing this way the patient’s side is more sympathetic but is also causes distrust of her narration because her condition is so rare. As opposed to the doctor’s perspective where everything would be medical and written something like the “patient showed symptoms of x or the patient has a new symptom.” Reading that is more boring and not what we want to hear. I prefer reading “this is what I was feeling and I am telling you what happened to me” because it is more real and personal as opposed to reading a medical diary/ case study. I think the aspect of the case study does add that element but not too much to the point where the narrative is lost. I think the blend of voice adds something extra to this book.
I like that you describe her journey as a way of finding out about something new about herself as though it may have been there all along just not consciously. It could be because of the way she describes it or how we are interpreting her work, but the idea that she goes from being NeuroTypical to being Neurodivergent I would have to say is risky that would be having to say there is such a thing as someone being NeuroTypical and if so what makes them that way? Who is considered? and Why? all these questions that seem that with in all the texts we have read have become more complicated. I respectfully disagree I would say yes, she is Neurodivergent, but because we only get her perspective at the time in which she is experiencing the shaking we can not say for sure that had been Neurotypical prior.
I really enjoy reading The Shaking Women, In this book, the patient is narrating us throughout her journey. We are hearing and seeing her words/voices not a neurologist or a psychologist. She is aware of her condition. I find it to be amazing how she can still carry on her speech while her body is shaking. She is a strong individual she is used to public speaking, and I don’t think she found the urge to stop speaking while her body was shaking because she didn’t want to fail her audience. I don’t think she would stop speaking even if a tornado was passing by. I have taken a speech class and did many presentations but I still cannot master public speaking. Last semester I did a presentation and I completely froze, I kept on mumbling the same sentence repeatedly. My body temperature suddenly rises, I started coughing, mixed up my cards, and I kept slurring my words. My presentation went horrible but lucky for me I had an amazing professor who saw what I was experiencing.
I feel like her obsession resembles what most humans do when they find something “wrong” with them. I know from my experience, when I first experienced anxiety (general and social) I immediately started taking psych courses, googling every thing i could think of that related to anxiety. This is why I appreciated her narrative more than I thought I would. It’s different than Sack’s cases because we are now getting the actual thoughts of the patient being studied rather than Sack’s dialogue and outside perspective and assumptions.
I do agree with you on the part where you mention about the situation where she exactly knows what she is going through. I think she is very brave about the situation that she knows what happens to her and how people react to it differently. But still she has a lot of patience’s about the situation and she wants to solve it by herself instead of taking any help from the specialist. I feel like she has two kinds of identity one is when she is normal and the other is when she is shaking. But she is aware of it and want to control it through her practice in front of the audiences.