Brain Storms: My Life with a Brain Tumour—A Family Doctor's Memoir

A poignant, darkly funny, and hopeful memoir of the psychological impact of illness from a retired New Brunswick doctor.

Sharon McCutcheon was a busy family doctor in Sussex, New Brunswick, when she learned she had a brain tumour. Growing up with a chronically ill father and a severely depressed mother had led her to become a caregiver, a healer—a doctor. But while striving to provide the best care for her patients, she had ignored her own health. Her life was already chaotic and, at times, overwhelmingly stressful. The mother of three was burnt out, sleepless, and terrified that the life she had built was suddenly crumbling.

This is not just the story of a doctor with a brain tumour, or how a brain tumour and seizures led to the end of her career. It's also about beginnings—how our childhood determines our coping skills during life-changing events. It's about mothers and daughters passing traumatic experiences down through the generations—creating strength and resilience despite family dysfunction. Ultimately, it's about recognizing that people are complex and that every illness has a psychological impact.

It's also a story of how humour can heal, or at least make a bad situation more bearable. Can living with a brain tumour be funny? Turns out it can be. With dry wit and frank honesty, McCutcheon pieces together her compelling story through personal journals, medical records, and e-mails, and through conversations with doctors, nurses, family, and friends. Rounded out with black and white photos taken by the author, Brain Storms paints a vivid picture of what it's like to lose control of your own brain.