Specify Books During Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive
| Original Title: | Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive |
| ISBN: | 0671024388 (ISBN13: 9780671024383) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Be Specific About About Books Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive
| Title | : | Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive |
| Author | : | Emily Colas |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 165 pages |
| Published | : | June 1st 1999 by Washington Square Press |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Psychology. Health. Mental Health. Mental Illness |
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We all worry. We all have moments of unfounded dread (Is someone behind that door?), or little phobias (roaches) or superstitions (step on a crack) that we indulge. Just Checking is an autobiographical account of what it is like to live with a full-blown case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which, at its height, finds author Emily Colas nervous that she will contract a disease from blood that she sees on television. In the course of the book, what at first appear to her husband and friends to be Colas's idiosyncratic notions accumulate until she is frozen by the astounding psychological binds of OCD. Using precise (of course), connect-the-dots scenes, Colas draws a life that is at first highly monitored and ultimately unraveled by her disorder.One imagines that from afar, Colas's behavior at the height of her illness would look incomprehensible and just plain weird: She has to check the dishwasher multiple times before using it to make sure the cat is safe; the packaging of every new toothbrush has to meet rigorous sanitary standards; the landlord can't attempt to find new tenants for her apartment — she won't let them in the house. But readers are not at a distance here. Instead, we become privy to Colas's somewhat apologetic but firm explanations of what her logic was, and what it felt like to be afraid. She is so honest and witty that one can't help liking her, rooting for her, and wishing help would come.
In a typical vignette, when the family tries to go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ("definitely a mistake"), Colas is terrified that shewillstep on blood:
When I was a kid in New York, all we had to eat on the street were pretzels and hot dogs. Food that was readily identifiable. Now, vendors sell the fanciest things with cherries, berries, jelly, and other crap that's way too close to the color of blood. We finally made it to where we had to go, but not before I had inspected the bottom of my shoes. There was a mushy red object there. Maybe a cherry, possibly a finger. The kids watched the parade on TV and I had a nice new worry. My kids don't even remember that lovely November day, but, lucky for me, I do.
This event is sad and resonant, but it also manages to be viscerally entertaining. The result is that instead of inspiring schadenfreude, this book reminds us that psychological disorders are often exaggerations of the ordinary and familiar. We all, on a continuum, wish to survive, to avoid disease, to impose order on our lives. We sympathize with Colas's desperate attempts to find safety and with her seemingly loving husband's gradual loss of tolerance. Even the not-so-funny poems that are occasionally interspersed among the perfectly crafted chapterettes find their place. Strange as it may be to find charm in a memoir of illness, Colas is utterly winning.
Hilary Liftin is a writer living in New York City. Her first book, coauthored with Kate Montgomery, is scheduled for publication by Vintage next year. She is the editorial development manager at BookWire (www.bookwire.com).
Rating About Books Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive
Ratings: 3.55 From 1228 Users | 155 ReviewsCritique About Books Just Checking: Scenes From the Life of an Obsessive-Compulsive
I remember having to sit and process some of the material while reading it, but now that a few months have passed, I cant really remember much from it. Interesting read though!I chose to read this memoir for a paper I am writing for my college Abnormal Psychology class. Being a young woman with obsessive compulsive disorder, I was really eager to read this book and scope out some similarities and coping mechanizes she dealt with. I read cover to cover in about 8 hours. I was very letdown because I did not get what I was looking for in her story. I was able to write the paper but I was looking to gain more from it. I found myself skimming and drifting off because I did
Generally I love books on OCD because I find a commonality and warmth in knowing that I am not alone. I really wanted to like this book by Emily Colas because I have read some of her tweets and find her generally entertaining. Maybe it was just an off day, but I couldn't find myself connecting to the story. The book ended up in the free library offered by one of my neighbors. Hopefully it will be of interest to someone else.
Just Checking by Emily Colas is a great book about a mother and wife living with OCD and how much it affects her life. There were things that I liked that the author did and things that I wasnt exactly in favor with. To start off with the positives, I really loved the details of her life and how she has trust issues because of her husband and how she found out about her OCD. Another thing I really loved was the writing style because it has heading and a small paragraph about a scene of her life
I remember having to sit and process some of the material while reading it, but now that a few months have passed, I cant really remember much from it. Interesting read though!
I was really excited to read this book, and even enjoyed the first half or so, but I started to get really frustrated with Colas at that point. Her life was filled with enablers and I wish her husband would have stood up to her rather than allow her to get as bad as she did. I understand OCD can be unmanageable, but it didn't seem like her husband even cared that she had a problem until it got to be extreme. I wanted to punch her husband in the face for almost the entire book. Thank god I've
It was sort of sad.
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