In June 2021, a typical 30-year-old self-proclaimed car and coffee enthusiast's life was suddenly derailed.
The humor-laced and nostalgia-infused debut memoir follows A. H. Nazzareno in his attempt to make sense of a rare diagnosis. Written in a hospital bed and in the immediate weeks following major surgery, courtesy of Dr. Summeroff, an uncertain yet hopeful future emerges from a villain-riddled past.*
I have struggled with chronic illnesses for my entire life. I was diagnosed with psoriasis when I was five years old, and since then it’s been a whirlwind of doctor’s visits, misdiagnoses, and suffering in silence. When I opened this book I was expecting to find a kindred spirit, someone who echoes my own inner voice, as I scream in silence at my pain and utter frustration. Sadly, this was not the case.
First off, the author’s writing style is just not my cup of tea. A lot of his references or descriptions are archaic and difficult to decipher. Though cussing doesn’t normally bother me, I felt like there was quite a bit of language that I found unnecessary, and I did not care for all the jumping around, going back and forth between the present and the past in a very hodgepodged sort of way. Random stories, like burning cookies in a crappy apartment, and “the search for a simple mattress” are interwoven between the story of his surgery in 2021. I understand this is a memoir, but honestly I could care less, and do not see how a lot of these topics are relevant to his medical issues. I understand documenting moments that brought you to the place you currently are, but how does listing off automobiles you’ve owned correlate with this narrative? It didn’t help that the overall writing style that the author chose to use, and the things that were meant to be humorous fell flat for me.
I truly wanted to like this novel, and hate that the author had to go through what he went through, but sadly I just couldn’t get into his mind and heart. I see this being one of those reads that you either love or hate, and while I don’t regret reading it, nor did I hate it, I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I commend the author’s courage for chronicling such a rough time in his life, but I feel like his story could’ve been told in a better way.
A.H. Nazzareno was supposed to be a pilot but the funds ran out. He settled for a bachelor's degree, eventually landing a dream job employed by the US government, writing classified reports no one will ever get to read. However, he ultimately decided to chase love over a reliable career. The author of a candid and witty debut memoir, A.H. is a tumor survivor who mustered up the courage to finally write a book. The first draft of "The Villains Who Snapped My Spine" was furiously penned in a matter of weeks, thanks to the encouragement from a few supportive fans. Today, A.H. Nazzareno continues to write as if every day is his last.
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