You know what they say about the best laid plans? In the case of A. H. Nazzareno, his plans and efforts to share a contented life with his soul mate are upended with an inauspicious diagnosis. But a life-threatening medical condition isn’t the only snag on his way to domestic bliss. A lively memoir with a grounded vibe, The Villains Who Snapped My Spine is a story about rolling with the punches, even when they feel like knock-out blows. The narrative account spans more than a decade and several locations across the US, although readers will likely share the author’s affinity for the breathtaking Arizona landscapes. Nazzareno’s wife, Michelle, serves as an anchor in turbulent seas, and their tender relationship is explored from its humble beginnings. A swelling love for caffeine, a few decades of memorable pop-culture references, and a sober look at what genuine fear feels like will attach readers to the author as they experience the highs and lows alongside him. And although you have a sense of what is to come from the punchy title, Nazzareno manages to shock audiences when the dreadful reveal finally arrives.
Melodramatic narration of intimate moments, both insignificant and life-altering, keeps readers deeply aware of the author’s undulating mindset and moods as the tides of his health and happiness ebb and flow. Nazzareno is undeniably witty, maintaining a wry humor throughout the book, adding necessary equilibrium to a life story that holds almost too much weight to bear. Readers are in for an acerbic and unidealistic take on the human experience. “This time my fear-filled bladder wasn’t full of soda, but since the catheter took care of the inevitable outcome, I couldn’t even piss my pants. Not that I was wearing any anyway.” It is this unsentimental view of his own circumstances that will have readers chuckling while nodding in agreement. If you are no stranger to dimly lit hospital corridors ringing with the incessant beeping of machines and monitors, this earnest memoir will help remind you that there’s more to life than formless hospital gowns and tasteless, prescribed meals. Filled with determination, an honest sense of mortality and enviable vitality, A. H. Nazzareno and his memoir The Villains Who Snapped My Spine set the benchmark for how to cope with a life-changing diagnosis.
