“For two weeks I existed outside of the universe. And it was lovely.”

This was my first book by Drew Magary and I imagine it won't be my last. It was incredibly well-written and had me laughing through hard moments while painting a vulnerable picture of how long and arduous his recovery from his collapse and brain bleed was.

“Death and life are not in opposition. So when someone tells you to live every day like it’s your last, kindly tell them to fuck off. They’re wrong. You should live every day like it’s your first. Live it like it’s your last and you’ll just run around like the house is on fire. I don’t want a bucket list. I don’t wanna live like I’m dying. I wanna live like I’m living. And I want there to be more possibilities left when I die, not NONE. Why rush to tick off all of those boxes? You don’t get a fucking gold star from God for that. I know now that I will spend the rest of my life incomplete. But life was designed to be incomplete. It’s not a worksheet you fill out. It’s an open platform. You do some things, but you also leave behind infinite possibilities for those in your wake. That’s the freedom.”

I loved the book's first half, including the perspective of his friends and family for the two weeks he was brain-dead. The different voices of the people who saw him helped fill in the gap between our narrator being comatose and how scared everyone was for his life during a time when he couldn't put the story together for the reader. As his story progressed, he painted such a good story of making it home and how he started his recovery.

“To live on, you have to make the good happen. A different life need not be a worse one. You have to decide if you’re the lucky one or not. Why live on otherwise?”

Drew admits his mood and anger were a big problem - this is where the book was hard to read for me. While I appreciate he was honest, it was hard as a reader to hear him saying he had yelling fits and knowing he refused to go to therapy... The parts of his story where it was a problem and he refused to talk about it or see a therapist were incredibly hard to read. Everyone wants to read about someone who went through a hard time and made a miracle recovery AND has an amazing attitude, but this book isn't that. It's about wanting to get back to the person before the accident and the struggle to accept who he is AFTER.

“You spend all your life grappling with the idea of finality. When you do, you adapt and embrace your limitations fully, and that makes you freer. That’s how you get your identity back, even if that identity is altered from the person you once were. The man I had been died that night in the karaoke bar. Back down here, this was the only man I could be. I was growing more adept at being him. You can defy your mind when you’re young and have it pay off. That wasn’t the case for me any longer. I had to accept this new mind and learn to live with it.”

I think overall, I enjoyed the read and I respect how honest Drew was about his journey and the struggles along the way. I just STRUGGLED through the last 75+ pages of this book, trying to piece together why he was telling me some stories.

I read a physical copy from my local library and while it was a good read, I wish I had just done the audiobook because it's narrated by the author. I do not see myself recommending this to any friends and I most likely will not reread it.

Who is it for?
People who love medical stories. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to hear a story of recovery, the good and the bad, especially related to brain injury.

"It's those inexplicable facets of love that give it an eternal sheen. The people who saved me? They had always been saving me, and they're still saving me to this day. I'm still processing this — in ways both conscious and unconscious — and I suppose I always will. But that processing is more of a gift than a burden. It's a reminder of what I have, and a reminder to preserve my family's memory of me as my own. We are each other's memories. We are each other's brains. We are, forever, rewiring one another."

The Hike is one of my favorite books so I kept looking for more to read from this author. I came across this book which unlike The Hike is nonfiction and about the author's life experiences. While totally not like The Hike, it's definitely a good read. Oddly this book is funnier than The Hike. The humor helps this be a less daunting read than it could have been. Kudos to Mr Magary and his family having such strength and determination.

Drew Magary can write. Upfront, I'm not a fan of memoirs and read this because I love Magarys other writing. It was a little slow sometimes but I find that with most memoirs so I doubt it will deter those readers, and his usual humor and levity in difficult or dark situations is ever present and makes this an enjoyable read.

A wonderful memoir about bouncing back after a catastrophic fall that leaves the author with permanent brain damage and disability. His writing is fluid and witty and I found myself relating with him

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for a review. I'm a big fan of Magary's work on Defector and this memoir is incredibly strong.

I’ve long loved Drew Magary’s writing for the internet and remember full well when reports that he’d had some sort of medical episode from which he might not recover hit Twitter. He did, happily, recover, and wrote this book about his experience of having and recovering from (to the extent possible) a massive brain hemorrhage. It gets a little repetitive by the end but he’s a very talented writer and it’s quite good.

I received an ARC from Rodale, Inc - Harmony through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is not your mother's memoir nor your typical memoir which made me show a newfound appreciation for this book and for the gifts and abilities I already have. Drew Magary experience a life tragic accident and was unconscious for a substantial period of time. We all go to sleep and are unconscious for a shorter period of time but, none of us have experienced being completely unconscious where we can discover what is really on our minds and be transported into a medium we never imagined. Drew's story reminded me of the concept of death practice. In Drew Magary's case, it gave him a whole new perspective on life. There were some parts that were so somber that I almost bursted into tears, and then there were some cruel irony that to some might be offensive, but I found them super hysterical. Nearly experiencing every emotion that exists, this book while exhausting was a fun read and I am sure those readers with open minds will appreciate the message of this memoir that it'll be powerful enough to spread along to others.

An inspiring, unique, and powerful life story that will leave readers breathless. This book deserves 5 stars.

Not my favorite book, couldn't get into it. Although I highly respect the author's journey, the writing style was just not my cup of tea.

This was definitely my kind of book. This memoir was the perfect mix of raw emotion, hope and humor. After reading about Drew's journey back from a terrible accident. I wasn't familiar with his work from before but after reading this I definitely dove into his past body of work. Thank you to NetGalley for the prerelease copy - all opinions are my own.

Drew Magary is a very talented writer, and you can see that in this memoir. It was crazy that he could come back from a near fatal brain injury, and still find humor in things, and all this went on during Covid. I couldn't even imagine how I would be, with everything going on.

This is a medical memoir about brain damage, so there are details some will find informative, some will find tedious; I fall into the first group, especially when the author gets into the smell, taste, and hearing evaluations and treatments. He learns a lot about himself throughout the personal journey he shared in this book, which is good, because he was not always likeable. The author has a sense of humor, which I think helps the delivery of such a tragic near-death event and how he lived and recovered with the support of his family and friends and many professionals.

Drew was out with some friends in NYC when he collapsed and hit his head on a concrete wall sustaining a traumatic brain injury. His skull fractured in three places and he had a subdural hematoma. They don't know if the fall caused the bleed or the bleed caused the fall but the end result was him being put in a medically induced coma for two weeks after extensive surgery to stabilize him. The first part of the book was a bit tedious as multiple people chimed in with what they saw and what they did until he woke up. I found the accounting of his recovery fascinating as he learned to walk again. Because the skull fracture damaged his right ear he was totally deaf on that side and ultimately needed a cochlear implant. I found that whole process especially interesting, not thinking that okay you just can't hear out of one ear. As a result he also lost his sense of smell and taste. It was a remarkable recovery and written with humor. I'm so glad he was able to share his story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rodale Inc for providing me with a copy.

Although the story details an incredible journey after brain injury, this book just wasn’t for me. There were times when I giggled out loud and other times when I cringed at some of the use of humour. I struggled with some of the language usage.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was so taken by the author's account of suffering a traumatic brain injury that I read THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT in one sitting. Especially clever is the way the story is told from different POVs when he was in a coma. It's a sobering tale of how unsuspected bleeds can injure the brain, written with a deft and humorous touch. Highly recommended for lovers of memoirs and hilarity.

Thanks to the author, Rodale, Inc., Harmony, and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

#thenightthelightswentout #drewmagary #rodale #memoirs #brainbleeds #bookstagramcommunity

I had no idea who this man was before reading the book. I don't really follow men in media very closely but I knew someone with a similar injury and was interested in the book. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. I get that he can't remember the incident or the aftermath that well but he presents so many people to tell the story for him I couldn't keep it straight. I felt like I needed a chart. Surely he could have condensed this a little bit? The part about his childhood seemed a little unnecessarily long. It really didn't have much to do with the book and does he have fans that would be interested? I don't think he's that famous or known. Which is fine but I would have rather more effort went into the rest of the book and making that pleasant and interesting to read.

This was an incredible story of Drew Magary about his life before, during and after a major brain hemorrhage. He was just out with collègues ad suddenly falls flat. It is never exactly determined what happened. He may have had an Aneurysn or this was a result of the fall. He goes to the hospital and is very fortunate he has friends who insist he get an MRI. Initially, the hospital just thinks he drank too much and is ok to release. However, the MRI shows he has a massive brain bleed and he needs emergency surgery. At this
point, Drew is unconscious and later put into a medically induced coma.

His wife and family are finally in touch and are terribly worried. His wife, Sonia though realizes that she must be strong and advocate for her husband. My heart went out to her, having 3 children, and no guarantee about how much brain damage her husband will have. Her husband is in a medically induced coma, so at this point can not speak for himself. Many friends, colleagues, and family explain what was occurring. This is especially hard on them.

When Drew eventually starts recovery, it is not so easy. He has problems with speech, walking, and hearing. He can not remember anything except that he fell, yet of course his family does. It creates a gap that is hard to fill, yet ultimately he and his family work on it. It is miraculous he survived and it is life altering. A very good accounting of how a brain injury effects those who have it and those who are there to witness it.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to better understand people, someone who has experienced this or a person close to them, or in general interested in medical trauma. It did explain the fully the process of trauma and eventual recovery. My very best to Drew and his family.

Thank you NetGalley, Drew Magary, and Random House for an ARC of this book.

Thank you for sharing this book with me.
What a journey!!
I am grateful to have read about the recovery and inspired to live each day to the fullest.
Thank you !

I enjoyed the writing of this book but not the actual content. I felt much of it was repeated. Regardless, the author and his family are clearly very strong people and have been through so much. It was fascinating to hear how they went through it.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Yes, it had a lot of medical details and was not exactly a cheery subject! But I found the details riveting, and the author's style made it a very good read.

This tells what happened in the aftermath of the author's sudden collapse, with fairly ghastly resulting brain damage, apparently from hitting the concrete walls/floor in just the worst ways. Unless I missed it, it appears that nobody quite knows what actually caused the collapse - and while there are speculations and possibilities mentioned, the real story here is coming back - how did Magary manage to get a life back after the injury. Initially, it seemed questionable whether he would even survive, much less make a reasonable recovery.

His account appears to be an honest one, without glossing over how hard it was for his wife and kids. Coping with his various resulting disabilities was doubtless hard enough, but his anger was probably even worse. While anger at his circumstances was certainly a normal reaction to all this, it seems to have been frequently misdirected. Fortunately, he did decide that this was not something that could continue, but he honestly describes the difficult path forward.

One thing that seems to have bothered some reviewers was that much of the story, especially the earlier parts of the story, was told by other people who were there the night of the injury and during his hospital stay. To me, this added to the book - after all, they were describing events that the author could not describe firsthand. I thought these accounts added greatly to the story.

I learned a bit about brain function, brain damage, hearing loss, and so on - a lot of "wow, I didn't know that!" I'm certainly no expert now, but I think I have a bit more understanding of the science involved, in a layperson's way. And, the book was certainly enjoyable to read - the author has an easy, amusing style.

All in all, a book that's well worth reading!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy of this in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed Drew Magary's previous book, The Hike, so I was interested to see that he had written a new one. I used to work with people who have traumatic brain injuries so I was interested in the subject matter since the book is about Drew getting a TBI and ending up permanently affected by the injury.

This was an interesting read of the story of his injury, being in the hospital and dealing with the life changes after as he healed. I did skim through some of the beginning because I am squeamish and didn't want to read about injuries.

Overall a really interesting firsthand account of a brain injury and a story that may be helpful and educational for many people. You never know if you may be the one who has the life changing event tomorrow.