From Goodreads,"A brave teen recounts her debilitating struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder—and brings readers through every painful step as she finds her way to the other side—in this powerful and inspiring memoir.
Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.
But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.
It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.
Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.
Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths."
Goodreads - Obsessed
I've mentioned before that I tend to find myself drawn to certain topics and genres in books. Cancer books and books about suicide are just a couple that I tend to read a lot. Usually, suicide books have a tie in with a mental illness, but the mental illness is never the main focus. This book was centered around OCD and the impact it had on one girl. This book was outside my wheelhouse, and honestly, it made me feel a little crazy and uncomfortable.
This book is the memoir of Allison Britz. The book starts with her as a sophomore in high school just trying to survive the workload and the schedule of cross country. But a terrifying dream leads her to believe that she has brain cancer and that she must try to save herself. The book chronicles her spiral and fall until she is finally diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD.
This book was so very educational. I am beyond guilty of saying "I'm kind of OCD about things." I've heard other people say it. We are all guilty. And after reading this book I can honestly say that, no the large majority of us are not OCD. When we like things to be a certain way we are often particular, not OCD. I feel like everyone thinks that OCD is just wanting things to be a certain way or washing your hands a lot. OCD is often having to do something so that someone you love doesn't die. Allison believed that stepping on cracks would cause her to have brain cancer. From there it spiraled into the number of steps she took or bargaining food so that she wouldn't get cancer. One thing led to another and it became a huge thing that caused her to basically stop functioning as a human. I know that while reading I was thinking that Allison was crazy. But once she got help and self-diagnosed using a pamphlet I realized that OCD is not what we think it is. OCD is a fear. It is thinking that your mom is going to die if you don't turn the light switch on and off 6 times or that your dad is going to have a heart attack because you stepped on a crack. This book really opened my eyes to what OCD is and how it presents itself.
The book was extremely informational and I got a lot out of it, but it was really slow at the beginning. The book starts just a hair before her nightmare of a dream. So, it really progresses with her developing the triggers and obsessions. But it was so slow. I know the first probably third of the book was a struggle for me to read and I thought about stopping a couple times, but ended up powering through it.
This book was packed with information on obsessive-compulsive disorder. I definitely feel like this is an adult book. It does have triggers and while reading it, I felt a tad crazy. I give this 4 stars and recommend it to anyone who needs a good book about a specific mental illness.
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