An interesting book, humorously written, but I expect with a lot of pain hidden within its pages. A very good snapshot of the ups and downs of someone who has suffered major brain damage, and the importance of family, friends and life after recovery.

. . . . .

I can so sympathize. My mother suffered from a similar ordeal at age 48. While I don't know everything she experienced, she seldom spoke of it, it was interesting reading Ms. Hayes account of her experience. It scared me to watch my mother go her experience, I can't begin to imagine how frightening it is for the person going through it. Thank you for writing the story, Ms. Hayes. Good luck to you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Animal Media Group for a digital advanced readers copy of this book.

Partial Goodreads Synopsis: Hayes’ memoir shares the true story of a sudden brain hemorrhage at the age of twenty-two – and the heartache and strength that it took to overcome it. At first Hayes uses a blanket of comedy to cloak herself from her new reality—after all, sending out funny tweets is far easier than admitting to the world that she’s lost basic motor functions like walking and talking. Humbled by the pain, she must admit to herself that that she is no longer the carefree, 20-something planning to marry her high school sweetheart.

This book took a while to get through but it was totally worth it. This memoir is a wonderfully frank description of the unpredictability and ridiculousness of our short, human lives. Through her own experiences, the author manages to show us a mirror and bring us face to face with the realities we try so hard to avoid. Every day we wake up to our mundane lives and try our best to make life all peaches and rainbows. But when life finally catches up to us, to fix what we think only we can, we resist it for the longest time possible, falling into our old habits before it finally knocks some sense in us. I'm making this book sound really serious, which it is, but it's also insanely funny and detailed. Mimi Hayes shares her uncensored opinions about our fairy-tale expectations, awful exes, even more awful brain injuries, Bruce Willis's immortality and the miracle of poop. I'm not kidding, and neither is she, even though she manages to express all of this with the utmost empathy and hilarity.

This is definitely an awesome feel-good-yet-will-give-you-all-the-feels memoir to have on your bookshelf for the days you need another person's voice telling you it's okay to not always be okay.

3.5/5 stars

Funny is not the first word that should come to mind to describe a book about a serious brain surgery and the recovery process, but its one of the best words I can come up with to describe this excellent, moving and almost brutally honest book by Mimi Hayes.
I'll Be OK, It's Just a Hole in My Head is the story of one young woman's courage and determination during an incredibly tough time. At the age of 22 Mimi Hayes was a happy young student teacher, about to embark on the final stage of her training, with a steady boyfriend she was thinking about marrying, A former ice hockey player, good enough to compete at college level, she was fit, hearty and happy , but in the course of a few months her world came crashing down around her. When her boyfriend dumped her unceremoniously, she cried, dusted herself off and focused on being her best in the classroom. However after a few short days she had to take medical leave because of a series of mysterious and inexplicable symptoms. Several hospital visits and scans later she learned that a small hole in her brain was allowing blood to accumulate and the increased pressure was causing her brain to malfunction. When medicines and time did not work and the symptoms began to worsen, surgery was the only viable option , resulting in a heartbreaking rehab and recovery.
Honest, funny and without self pity, this book chronicles a very difficult time in this incredible woman's life, without sugar coating or melodramatics. The stark simplicity of how she chronicles her illness and recovery is to be admired, but what really makes this book something special is how much of the author's personality leaps from the page, by the end of the book I felt like I knew her, and like she would be an awesome friend and a real character. The humor is never grating, a balancing act which can be difficult to manage, and it never obscures or takes away from the real emotion that lies at the heart of this excellent book.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

The start of the book was a bit slow, but did quickly pick up. This memoir was a great read and funny at times. It did have sad pieces where you read of Mimi's struggles before her diagnosis and after her surgery.

Well-written and made of the stuff of daily life, you have to appreciate the honesty and vulnerability that it takes to write an account of your own life.

I would gladly use this as an example text for a memoir writing class, or just enjoy it as a reader.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunately, I had to shelve it. While we started the beginning in the heart of the action, we didn’t stay there and ended up moving around to unnecessary subjects too much. I found it distracting.

This book takes readers through the journey of a brain injury that the author endured just as she was beginning her student teaching semester. The story starts off when Mimi is okay, but in a relationship that has gone on far too long than it should have. Then you get to see how this relationship really affected her, both emotionally and physically. When she receives news that she has a brain hemorrhage, her life is turned upside down in an instant.

This book is written with plenty of humor, so you'll find yourself laughing more than anything else. There are also very little queasy medical issues or procedures described in detail, which helps for those who are a little sensitive to that. It's more than a book about a brain injury and the recovery because throughout the process, Mimi realizes that she has a huge support system that she can rely on for just about anything--not something that everyone gets to experience in times of crisis.

I really enjoyed the way that this book was written Mimi managed to take a serious topic like a brain hemorrhage and managed to still make this book humorous. When Mimi gets her brain hemorrhage at age twenty-two life should stop for her however, that is not the kind of person she is. She tells of all her struggles in the diagnoses as well as in her recovery, but tells them with a sense of humor. I liked all of the little stories that she threw in the middle it gives what could be a serious and dry subject a lot of life and gives you a laugh where you aren't expecting it. This book reminded me of Jenny Lawson's book "Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir" in the humor and the way it was written. I think that my favourite part had to be the way that she talks to the reader directly then continues on with her story, that doesn't happen to often. Great read you really got the terror that her family was faced with in her struggles as well as the confusion that she was dealing with. I think that this book took what could have been a very dry and complex story and made it accessible to the reader. Really good read and I'm glad I got the chance to check it out.

Wow! For someone to write about their life is super brave and heartwarming. I felt that I was pulled in and want to get more information and how to prevent hemorrhages. I was deeply impressed with the warmth, courage and humor that the author put into her words and I cannot say enough about this book. If I could give ten stars I would,.

An very interesting topic for a book and it was very enjoyable to read how Mimi recovered her life after having a brain injury.

#IllBeOkItsJustAholeInMyHead #NetGalley

Mimi can inject humor around a cold hospital room. Her story is funny and sarcastic with a dose of hope,

Reading Mimi Hayes' book is less like reading a memoir and more like settling in with a hot chocolate and hearing the interesting and wild story of a charming new friend that you'd like to know better. Opening with romantic rejection and ending with self-love, she makes an excruciating life experience (a brain hemorrhage that derails her life plans and causes her to have to relearn how to see, walk, think, and speak) accessible. Yes it's written in a casual style, yes it has jokes about a safe word, but it will also make you think deeply about the privilege of good health, which we take for granted. By the end, whether the writing style is for you or not, you'll find yourself cheering for this writer, and be inspired to be kinder to yourself!

The beginning was a little slow and I'm not sure it had anything to do with what happened in her brain. It was a good read, funny in parts, sad to read of her struggles before her diagnosis and after her surgery.

3.5 stars rounded up.

‘I’ll be OK...’ are the memoirs of Mimi Hayes, focusing on the initial diagnosis and her subsequent recovery after a brain haemorrhage caused by a cavernous hemangioma (which she calls an angioma). It covers the difficulties she faces getting her initial diagnosis and the rocky road to resuming a normal life after surgery.

I have a personal history with regards to brain injuries like this, and I work everyday within a busy Neuroradiology department. As such, I feel a certain affinity towards stories involving anything neurological and was initially drawn to these memoirs because of this. The author is endearing as she takes us through her story, and I instantly warmed to her as she recounts her ‘back story’ of sorts in the build up to her haemorrhage. Her story is easy to follow, and I found the writing style matched well with the author’s obvious quirky personality - although I admit that at times I found the endless movie references a little grating. It felt almost as though she was using humour, along with the movie references that often ended up going off on a tangent, to deflect from digging deeper into her emotional state at the time. This often took away from the more serious points that she was trying to get across.

I would perhaps have liked some explanations in terms of how the American health care system works in comparison to my own beloved NHS. Beyond knowing that you need health insurance, I have no idea how Americans access healthcare, and I think a small paragraph outlining how this system works may have allowed me a greater degree of understanding with regards to the difficulties Mimi encounters when initially trying to gain a diagnosis from her doctor. Perhaps a more detailed outline of what a cerebral hemangioma is also would be helpful to readers who perhaps don’t know what they are (and their tendency to bleed).

I liked the photos that we’re scattered throughout. They added a more personal touch that allowed me to connect with Mimi and put faces to names. I also loved the interactions between Mimi’s family, especially with regards to the Halloween costume ‘incident’. They were written about with an obvious amount of love that just jumped off the page and was wonderful to read about.

Granted this isn’tThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly, but I enjoyed this, and with a bit of tighter editing to decrease the amount of times this went a bit off topic, it would make a good account of one individual’s recovery following brain injury.

I’LL BE OK, IT’S JUST A HOLE IN MY HEAD is the riveting and often very funny memoir of Mimi Hayes, who had a‪ ‬sudden brain hemorrhag‪e at the age of 22. She recounts with a comic’s ‬touch the arduous and often heartbreaking effort to recover, and has incorporated parts of her story on stage as a ‪stand up comedian and improvisor. She has performed at Denver Comedy Works and Broadway Comedy Club, among other venues, and is also a frequent player in MTV's Sean Lynch's Lovecraft Comedy Cult monthly showcase. Inspirational and highly recommended!‬

Pub Date 28 Sep 2018

Thanks to Animal Media Group and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#IllBeOkItsJustAholeInMyHead #NetGalley