The Night the Lights Went Out: A Memoir of Life After Brain Damage
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- Create Date：2021-05-08 21:31:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Drew Magary
- ISBN：B08SJQSWYM
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Summary
A fascinating， darkly funny comeback story of learning to live with a broken mind after a near-fatal traumatic brain injury--from the acclaimed author of The Hike。
Drew Magary， fan-favorite Defector and former Deadspin columnist， is known for his acerbic takes and his surprisingly nuanced chronicling of his own life。 But in The Night the Lights Went Out， he finds himself far out of his depths。 On the night of the 2018 Deadspin Awards， he suffered a mysterious fall that caused him to smash his head so hard on a cement floor that he cracked his skull in three places and suffered a catastrophic brain hemorrhage。 For two weeks， he remained in a coma。 The world was gone to him， and him to it。
In his long recovery from his injury， including understanding what his family and friends went through as he lay there dying， coming to terms with his now permanent disabilities， and trying to find some lesson in this cosmic accident， he leaned on the one sure thing that he knows and that didn't leave him--his writing。
Drew takes a deep dive into what it meant to be a bystander to his own death and figuring out who this new Drew is: a Drew that doesn't walk as well， doesn't taste or smell or see or hear as well， and a Drew that is often failing as a husband and a father as he bounces between grumpiness， irritability， and existential fury。 But what's a good comeback story without heartbreak？ Eager to get back what he lost， Drew experiences an awakening of a whole other kind in this incredibly funny， medically illuminating， and heartfelt memoir。
Drew Magary， fan-favorite Defector and former Deadspin columnist， is known for his acerbic takes and his surprisingly nuanced chronicling of his own life。 But in The Night the Lights Went Out， he finds himself far out of his depths。 On the night of the 2018 Deadspin Awards， he suffered a mysterious fall that caused him to smash his head so hard on a cement floor that he cracked his skull in three places and suffered a catastrophic brain hemorrhage。 For two weeks， he remained in a coma。 The world was gone to him， and him to it。
In his long recovery from his injury， including understanding what his family and friends went through as he lay there dying， coming to terms with his now permanent disabilities， and trying to find some lesson in this cosmic accident， he leaned on the one sure thing that he knows and that didn't leave him--his writing。
Drew takes a deep dive into what it meant to be a bystander to his own death and figuring out who this new Drew is: a Drew that doesn't walk as well， doesn't taste or smell or see or hear as well， and a Drew that is often failing as a husband and a father as he bounces between grumpiness， irritability， and existential fury。 But what's a good comeback story without heartbreak？ Eager to get back what he lost， Drew experiences an awakening of a whole other kind in this incredibly funny， medically illuminating， and heartfelt memoir。
Reviews
Diane
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The lights went out for Drew Magary on December 5th， 2018 in a karaoke bar in Manhattan。 They nearly never came back on。 But I am so grateful that they did。 On that night， Drew collapsed onto a cement floor and was left with a subdural hematoma that was going to take on his brain like Godzilla took on Tokyo。 Did the fall cause the hemorrhage or did the hemorrhage cause the fall？ No one will ever know。 The only thing that was certain was that Drew was at the precipice of death when the surgeons a The lights went out for Drew Magary on December 5th， 2018 in a karaoke bar in Manhattan。 They nearly never came back on。 But I am so grateful that they did。 On that night， Drew collapsed onto a cement floor and was left with a subdural hematoma that was going to take on his brain like Godzilla took on Tokyo。 Did the fall cause the hemorrhage or did the hemorrhage cause the fall？ No one will ever know。 The only thing that was certain was that Drew was at the precipice of death when the surgeons at Mt。 Sinai Hospital were able to stop his free fall with just his toes gripping the cliff's edge。 Put into a medically induced coma， his friends， co-workers and his extraordinary wife， Sonia tell the story of what happened as he laid in the coma for two weeks。This is not a Rocky script with Drew yelling "Hey ， Sonia！" as everyone cheers。 This is a raw， honest telling of the rebuilding of a human - first the body， then the mind， finally the soul。 He is courageous as he tells of his bad behavior， his self absorption and his depression。 There is also great honesty as he learns to allow himself to be vulnerable with his family。 The book covers the meat grinder of feelings that those who love him are put through。 Setback after setback。 Struggle after struggle。 But also the victories and triumphs both small and large as he fights his way not so much back， but to the new place and new person he has become。 I always say that birth is messy - rebirth， maybe more so， But this is Drew Magary， the man who won Chop't！ He will just take all the same ingredients and make a new dish。 And Sonia， I only hope that I can show the courage that she did in keeping her children safe and secure while fighting insurance companies and doctors if I am ever tested in this way， This is an incredible gut wrenching book。 It is 'It's a Wonderful Life" as directed by Tarantino。 You won't finish this book and look at life the same。 So dive in and do a little soul remodeling，My very big thanks to NetGalley and Harmony for the ARC of The Night The Lights Went Out"。 。。。more
Sharen
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Right from the author's note at the start of this book you know that Magary will be finding humour in a tough topic。 This is a very in-depth look at the ramifications of a near death brain injury。 Magary does not sugar coat the trauma， nor soften his actions。 It is raw and honest， and at times very funny。 The author starts us off with first hand comments from friends， family and medical staff after a trauma leaves him almost dead， and then takes us through the different steps to his recovery。 Th Right from the author's note at the start of this book you know that Magary will be finding humour in a tough topic。 This is a very in-depth look at the ramifications of a near death brain injury。 Magary does not sugar coat the trauma， nor soften his actions。 It is raw and honest， and at times very funny。 The author starts us off with first hand comments from friends， family and medical staff after a trauma leaves him almost dead， and then takes us through the different steps to his recovery。 Throughout the story you learn a lot about side effects and complications。 You learn of the interconnectedness of our senses and the fragility of the entire system。 Brain injuries are so difficult and recovery so varying; this book gives a good glimpse into some things that can happen for anyone loving someone going through a similar experience or experiencing this first hand。 Hopefully the insights and laughs will help with a difficult situation。 '。。。but stair lifts cost a fortune and I refused to be stair-lift years old。''No recovery has ever happened in a straight line。"'I couldn't fucking smell。 Not even asparagus pee registered。''There was no need to sort out which parts of me had been affected by brain damage and which parts of me were， frankly， just always annoying。''I had a duty to these people to be a man worth saving， and I was derelict in that duty。 I had forgotten to be grateful for what I had and to love what I loved。'Thank you to Harmony Books， Penguin Random House LLC， New York as well as NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Allison Palmer
，
Author Drew Magary is a delight。 I requested an ARC of his latest book because both his Twitter feed and his work for SFGate regularly make me laugh out loud。 I wasn't disappointed。I'd describe his style as similar to Lindy West's - acerbic， conversational， and sprinkled with ALL CAPS for emphasis。 This could have made for a glib， off-putting memoir about traumatic brain injury （TBI） but Magary strikes a great balance here。 He's honest about the toll his near-death experience took on his family， Author Drew Magary is a delight。 I requested an ARC of his latest book because both his Twitter feed and his work for SFGate regularly make me laugh out loud。 I wasn't disappointed。I'd describe his style as similar to Lindy West's - acerbic， conversational， and sprinkled with ALL CAPS for emphasis。 This could have made for a glib， off-putting memoir about traumatic brain injury （TBI） but Magary strikes a great balance here。 He's honest about the toll his near-death experience took on his family， the long-lasting effects of TBI， how the resulting mood swings were a major challenge， the nightmare of trying to recover while battling medical insurance providers。 Magary relishes the grim absurdity of it all and delivers some LOLs along the way。 I'd compare it to the movie "The Big Sick。"This was a fast， absorbing read。 Recommended。 。。。more
Cari
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