num_pages: 260
description: Raucous family memoir meets medical adventure in this heartfelt hilarious book exploring the public and private theaters of illness. After a tumor bursts in Mike Scalises brain leaving him with a hole in the head and malfunctioning hormones he must navigate a new alien world of illness maintenance. His mother who has a chronic heart condition and a flair for drama becomes a complicated model as she competes with him for the status of best sick person. The Brand New Catastrophe is a moving funny exploration of how we define ourselves by the stories we choose to tell.
language: English
title: The Brand New Catastrophe
publisher: Sarabande Books