{"product_id":"the-answer-to-the-riddle-is-me-a-memoir-of-amnesia-isbn-9780544227705","title":"The Answer To The Riddle Is Me: A Memoir of Amnesia","description":"“A mesmerizing, unsettling memoir about the ever-echoing nature of identity—written in vivid, blooming detail.” —Gillian Flynn, best-selling author of \u003cem\u003eGone Girl\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e On October 17, 2002, David MacLean “woke up” on a train platform in India with no idea who he was or why he was there. No money. No passport. No identity.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Taken to a mental hospital by the police, MacLean then started to hallucinate so severely he had to be tied down. He could remember song lyrics, but not his family, his friends, or the woman he was told he loved. His illness, it turned out, was the result of the commonly prescribed antimalarial medication he had been taking. Upon his return to the United States, he struggled to piece together the fragments of his former life in a harrowing, absurd, and unforgettable journey back to himself.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “[MacLean] is an exceedingly entertaining psychotic . . . [A] raw, honest and beautiful memoir.”—\u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “A deeply moving account of amnesia that explores the quandary of the self . . . MacLean has written a memoir that combines the evocative power of William Styron’s \u003cem\u003eDarkness Visible,\u003c\/em\u003e the lyric subtlety of Michael Ondaatje’s \u003cem\u003eRunning in the Family\u003c\/em\u003e and the narrative immediacy of a Hollywood action film. He reminds us how we are all always trying to find a version of ourselves that we can live with.”—\u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e DAVID STUART MACLEAN is a PEN\/American Award–winning writer. His work has appeared in the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e, Ploughshares,\u003c\/em\u003e and on the radio program \u003cem\u003eThis American Life\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e He has a PhD from the University of Houston and is a cofounder of the Poison Pen Reading Series. | \u003cp\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Answer to the Riddle is Me\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A gripping medical mystery, a heartwarming personal journey, and a chilling indictment of the commonly prescribed drug that upended MacLean's life—but left his superb literary skills intact.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Rebecca Skloot, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A mesmerizing, unsettling memoir about the ever-echoing nature of identity—written in vivid, blooming detail.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Gillian Flynn, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eGone Girl\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"MacLean fearlessly explores his journey to the edge of madness and his subsequent return to sanity in an unsettling, sometimes riotous, memoir.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \"A deeply moving account of amnesia that explores the quandary of the self . . . MacLean has written a memoir that combines the evocative power of William Styron's ‘Darkness Visible,’ the lyric subtlety of Michael Ondaatje's ‘Running in the Family’ and the narrative immediacy of a Hollywood action film. He reminds us how we are all always trying to find a version of ourselves that we can live with.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"incandescent...MacLean’s account is raw and unsparing, and will surely take you out of your comfort zone — the reader is immersed in the writer’s oblivion and his vertiginous journey of recovery — but the reward for sticking with it is the privilege of reading MacLean’s profound and finely nuanced meditation on memory and identity.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Seattle Times \u003c\/i\u003e  \"What does it mean to be the person you are? How much can be stripped away before you are no longer you? This is a fascinating book that resides in the mind as if you lived it yourself. \" \u003cbr\u003e—Robert Boswell, author of \u003ci\u003eTumbledown\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Thoughtful, terribly honest, often funny, and utterly un-self-indulgent, this is a riveting work of narrative art.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Tony Hoagland, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Narcissism Means to Me\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A compelling personal account and a frightful caution to physicians and travelers who continue to place their faith in a very dangerous drug.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Dr. Remington L. Nevin, MPH, Mefloquine expert \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Brilliant and painful and hilarious.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Antonya Nelson, author \u003ci\u003eSome Fun\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"David Stuart MacLean is a writer who can break your heart, terrify you, and make you laugh all on the same page. \u003ci\u003eThe Answer to The Riddle is Me\u003c\/i\u003e is a masterful exploration of the funhouse of identity.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Mat Johnson, author of \u003ci\u003ePym\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"While MacLean's experience is unlucky indeed, the luck becomes ours as he takes us with him on his harrowing journey, which is rendered with exactitude, humor, and lyricism.\" \u003cbr\u003e—Maggie Nelson, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890016481509,"sku":"NP9780544227705","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780544227705.jpg?v=1730232378","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-answer-to-the-riddle-is-me-a-memoir-of-amnesia-isbn-9780544227705","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}