Understanding my obsession with memoirs and psychological disorders, my dear old friend recommended Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig. She was so right on with this one. It's like a whole season of the A & E show Obsessed rolled into 242 pages.
Traig recounts her childhood and adolescence with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Her OCD takes on many different forms including scrupulosity, trichotillomania, rumination, hypochondria, anorexia, fear of contamination and more. While this sounds like a pretty heavy read, Traig writes with such witty sarcasm and lightheartedness that you're laughing when she turns orange from her self-restricted diet of carrots and cantaloupe. I was honestly fascinated to know that someone with OCD can exhibit so many different forms of the disorder. Her symptoms run the gamut from one extreme to the next. It makes sense, but I just wasn't aware since Obsessed typically highlights only one form per person in each episode! I know I should be an expert in OCD given my undergrad degree in psychology and my Netflix addiction to Obsessed, but I'm not as perfect as I'd like to be.
Another thing I really, really like about this book is Traig's writing. Her writing is so fluid. Her sentence structure and use of punctuation is awe inspiring. I'm not a perfect writer by any means. Even though I misplace commas, have run on sentences, and various other grammatical errors, I can recognize a good writer when I see one. As I was reading Devil in the Details I found myself excited by her use of well placed commas. "Now that's how you use a comma," I would think. It's not just a matter of having a good editor, either. What I see in Traig can't be strictly attributed to an editor. This chick just has some mad talent, yo.
Can I also say that I can identify with Traig on a couple of different levels? Mostly, her experiences driving as a person with OCD struck a nerve. She talks about how if she sees someone on the sidewalk and drives by them, she fears she has run them over and circles back to make sure that she didn't. There's an episode of Obsessed where this guy does the same thing whenever he drives over speed bumps. He's afraid that it isn't really a speed bump, but rather a person. So he circles the parking lot to make sure. I've done this, and I'm hoping someone will chime in and admit to doing it too. Someone else besides me, Traig, and the guy on Obsessed have done this, right? Even though logically you know that you didn't run anyone over, you must pull over or go back to the scene of the crime to make sure. Right? Right?!
Especially if it is night time and you can't actually see the bump! One of mine is making sure the door is locked when I leave, I often go back to check it again. I'm gonna have to read this book too!
ReplyDeleteThe part that made me laugh the most was the misguided obsession with Judaism. Wearing a yarmulke, worrying about mowing the edge of the lawn... so funny. I think that stuck with me because I, too, find the Jewish tradition totally fascinating.
ReplyDeleteMom - For me it's more about potholes than speed bumps. Also, we have so many kids on our street (that play in the street), and I'm afraid that I'm dragging a child underneath my car (even though I know I did'n hit one). I have a thing with locks too. Even if I can see the door is locked, I still have to walk up to it and jiggle the handle.
ReplyDeleteSheri, yes, like when she was praying without a yarmulke she'd have to put a tissue or paper towel on her head! Sometimes she'd just use one of her hands, too. Seriously, the way she writes makes it all so hilarious :)