By Cathy Crimmins
727 pages; Vintage

This is a memoir about a traumatic brain injury—and about what happens to Crimmins and her marriage when her husband is run over by a speedboat. She writes beautifully about the sometimes baffling information she must absorb. At one point, she explains: "Although the evidence is strictly anecdotal, doctors and therapists have told me that smart, well-educated people often do better after a brain injury. Why? No one knows, exactly, why it's good to be smart if you get hit on the head." Crimmins tries to keep it all going without getting angry, though you can understand her frustrations: There he is, physically capable of getting some milk, but when she says, "Honey, go buy milk," he doesn't come back for two hours.

— Julianna Marguiles