Misdiagnosed: The Search for Dr. House

By Nika C. Beamon

4 stars

IR Verdict: Anyone interested in a medical mystery with a real-life heroine will appreciate MISDIAGNOSED’s story and Beamon’s long fight to achieve good health.

Book Reviews, eBooks, IR Approved, Memoir, Nonfiction • Sep 13, 2014

IR Approved Sticker

MISDIAGNOSED: THE SEARCH FOR DR. HOUSE is author Nika C. Beamon’s fascinating description of her 17-year long battle to get to the root of a myriad of health problems. Beamon spends much of her memoir illustrating the difficulties of dealing with mysterious ailments that often left her doctors at a loss for how to treat her. Beamon writes about struggling with hospital stays and unsuccessful treatments, while still trying to maintain romantic relationships and a busy career. Her humor and survival instinct helps one feel like they’re in the doctor’s office waiting room along with Beamon, cheering her on for the right diagnosis that will finally cure her.

Beamon’s memoir definitely draws people in, because of her straight-forward depictions of her illnesses and insightful dealings with the medical community. It’s easy to relate to her descriptions of cold doctors and brisk nurses who often leave a very sick Beamon waiting in a cold exam room. Although some may be turned off with some of her graphic sexual descriptions, Beamon does reach a successful pacing with the flow of her story. The countless trials she goes through (including hemorrhages, debilitating headaches, vomiting blood, and losing her vision) only helps to better understand the exact physical distress the author was enduring throughout most of her adulthood.

There are a few times when MISDIGANOSED gets off track. Beamon describes some of her romantic relationships and work-related accounts, which don’t really fit with the rest of the story. However, when she goes back to recounting her health struggles, it’s easy to get involved in the action again. Her usage of details to illustrate her physical troubles also aids in making the story feel realistic and captivating. Beamon does a great job including enough medical jargon to educate, without adding in too much to make things confusing.

Anyone interested in a medical mystery with a real-life heroine will appreciate MISDIAGNOSED’s story and Beamon’s long fight to achieve good health.

Reviewed by Erin Konrad for IndieReader.

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