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Nothing Was the Same: A Memoir Audiobook
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(3.05) - 583 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Perhaps no one but Kay Redfield Jamison—who combines the acute perceptions of a psychologist with writerly elegance and passion—could bring such a delicate touch to the subject of losing a spouse to cancer. In spare and at times strikingly lyrical prose, Jamison looks back at her relationship with her husband, Richard Wyatt, a renowned scientist who battled severe dyslexia to become one of the foremost experts on schizophrenia. And with characteristic honesty, she describes his slow surrender to cancer, her own struggle with overpowering grief, and her efforts to distinguish grief from depression.
Jamison also recalls the joy that Richard brought her during the nearly twenty years they had together. Wryly humorous anecdotes mingle with bittersweet memories of a relationship that was passionate and loving—if troubled on occasion by her manic depression—as Jamison reveals the ways in which Richard taught her to live fully through his courage and grace.
A penetrating study of grief viewed from deep inside the experience itself, Nothing Was the Same is also a deeply moving memoir by a superb writer.
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"Beautifully sad. I've read two of Jamison's other books (very honest accounts of her struggle with bipolar illness, and a look at suicide); this is her account of her husband's fatal cancer. I read a review where it was compared to Joan Didion's "Year of Magical Thinking." There are certainly similar elements, but they are still very different. You know from the start how it will end, but it's a journey to take nonetheless."
— Maureen (5 out of 5 stars)
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“The great gift Jamison offers here, beyond her honesty and the beauty of her writing, is perspective: a cleared-eyed view of illness and death, sanity and insanity, love and grief…To write the truth with such passion and grace is remarkable enough. To do this in loving memory of a partner is tribute indeed.”
— Washington Post -
Raudman's narration is full of wistfulness as she delivers Jamison's memoir recounting the illness and death of her husband.
— AudioFile -
“A unique account, filled with exquisitely wrought nuances of emotion, of her husband’s death…In her brilliant explication distinguishing between madness and grief, her battle to remain sane is as stirring as his to beat cancer.”
— Booklist (starred review)
Awards
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A 2009 Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year
Nothing Was the Same Listener Reviews
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" I read her earlier memoirs about her illness and found them compelling- this one was sad but (sorry) not so interesting to a person who wasn't in love with her husband. Skimmed most of the end... "
— Elizabeth, 2/19/2014 -
" A touching memoir of Jamison's marriage, the subsequent death of her husband, and her journey through grief. An expert on bipolar illness, Jamison "came out" as a sufferer, a decision that was widely supported by her peers. I found her assertion that grief is less debilitating than depression astonishingly comforting. "
— Michale, 2/14/2014 -
" A thoughtful exploration of love and grief--particularly the differences between grief and depression. A powerful view that deepened my understanding. "
— James, 2/13/2014 -
" The famous psychiatric author (and patient) writes about her life with her husband, his illness, and life after his death. Not as engaging as I'd thought it would be after reading the reviews. "
— Diana, 2/11/2014 -
" Beautiful, hauntingly eloquent with a bit of poetry, academics, psychology, medicine and nature thrown in for good measure. engrossing, inspiring, fascinating read. "
— Maryjo, 2/7/2014 -
" A powerful memoir of a woman's journey of grief in the dying process and after the death of her husband who has lung cancer. What a beautiful story, assisting those who grieve for loves ones. "
— Trudy, 1/21/2014 -
" I suppose I find myself attracted to memoirs of grief because I haven't really experienced it firsthand in my own life and I know that some day it will be my turn. No one gets out of this life without experiencing loss and grief. Perhaps reading these memoirs allows me to experience it somewhat vicariously, adding to the delusion that I can prepare for it. That said, this book is well written and kept my interest thoughout. "
— Barb, 1/14/2014 -
" A lyrical and elegant expression of love, loss, grief, and resilience. "
— Martha, 1/8/2014 -
" good book .... definitely will be reading An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness about her bi-polar sometime soon. "
— ♡, 1/4/2014 -
" Not my favourite book by Kay, but good none the less. "
— Awakeanddreaming, 12/27/2013 -
" A beautiful memoir of a marriage, but Jamison only partly delivers on her promise to compare grief (after her husband dies) with depression (which she did not suffer, after a lifetime battling bipolar disorder). "
— Melissa, 12/1/2013 -
" Very moving...had me crying during work! "
— Aubrey, 12/1/2013 -
" appreciated this book on grief... "
— Vivian, 6/15/2013 -
" An Unquiet Mind is one of the books that has stayed with me professionally for years since I read it. She is an incredible writer, and her memoir was absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend this book, but after reading An Unquiet Mind. "
— Shana, 5/28/2013 -
" It is as provocative to speculate about the existence of this book as to actually read it (and don't take that for faint praise, since the book itself is certainly quite well done). "
— G, 1/30/2013 -
" I am on pg 160 in this book.. I have to read it in snippets. She writes very well, but she writes about the how much she misses her husband, who died from cancer... her words are wonderful, beautiful, and bring back memories for me. So, I read it in small bits and remember, as well. "
— MP, 8/4/2012 -
" I know the phrase 'achingly beautiful' is such a cliche when describing a book, but it really fits this one. Books rarely make me cry, but this one did. Jamison's description of her relationship with her husband, and the depth of her loss at his death, is amazingly done. "
— Jessie, 4/7/2012 -
" Like her previous book "An Unquiet Mind", this meditation of grief and resilience is destined to become a classic. "
— Ruth, 1/17/2012 -
" Really liked this but you have to be in the right state of mind (that is not to be depressed by the depressing) to read it. Intriguing as always though. "
— Kyra, 10/26/2011 -
" While perhaps not as chronologically or coherently presented as it could be, this book is a beautiful tribute to Jamison's late husband. Definitely a memoir to read after an Unquiet Mind; as always, Jamison shows a great deal of courage and love. "
— Celeste, 9/29/2011 -
" I always enjoy her work, but this got a bit tiresome. It was similar to Joan Didion's book about the death of her husband, but that seemed more literature and less a personal story. "
— Jana, 7/6/2011 -
" heartfelt, honest, touching. Makes me long for a love like this.... "
— Gina, 5/13/2011 -
" includes the best two love letters ever. and KRJ is just as good as it gets. "
— Jessica, 2/14/2011 -
" I found this book profoundly moving. "
— Bonnie, 2/6/2011 -
" Veri interesting take on illness, love, marriage , death and manic-depression. Not a how to book but a good memoir that shows how someone else handled it. "
— Pam, 1/16/2011 -
" Very moving. Primarily a love story about dealing with a dying spouse though also gets into aftermath of writing about her illness in "A Unquiet Mind" "
— Marcela, 12/25/2010 -
" Like her previous book "An Unquiet Mind", this meditation of grief and resilience is destined to become a classic. "
— Ruth, 11/1/2010 -
" Very powerful memoir written by a psychiatrist about grieving the loss of her husband to cancer. "
— Andrea, 7/7/2010 -
" Quote: "Grief is not a disease; it is necessary." A memoir of losing one's soulmate and grappling with the difference between grief and mental illness. Read like it was very healing for Dr. Jamison to write it all down. "
— Chrissy, 6/5/2010
About Kay Redfield Jamison
Kay Redfield Jamison is the Dalio Family Professor in Mood Disorders and a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as well as an honorary professor of English at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She is the author of the national best sellers An Unquiet Mind, Night Falls Fast, and Touched with Fire and is coauthor of the standard medical text on manic-depressive illness, Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression. Besides being a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for Robert Lowell, Setting the River on Fire, she is a recipient of the Lewis Thomas Prize, the Rhoda and Barnard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the National Academy of Medicine, and a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship.
About Renée Raudman
Renée Raudman is an actor and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. She has performed on film, television, radio, and on stage and can also be heard in several video games and hundreds of television and radio voice-overs.