Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains by Helen Thomson

Author : Helen Thomson 

Title : Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains
Published : 2019
Publisher : John Murray
Pages : 304
Genre : Non Fiction






     Imagine... getting lost in a one-room flat; seeing auras; never forgetting a moment; a permanent orchestra in your head; turning into a tiger; life as an out-of-body experience; feeling other people's pain; being convinced you are dead; becoming a different person overnight. Our brains are far stranger than we think. We take it for granted that we can remember, feel emotion, navigate, empathize and understand the world around us, but how would our lives change if these abilities were dramatically enhanced - or disappeared overnight?

     We all like to think that we know how our brains work and for the most part we might just about cope from day to day. But what happens when your brain takes a walk on the wild side. What happens when the way we believe things to take a right turn somewhere. This is what Thomson has decided to look into. How we know so very little about how our minds truly work and that they are capable of so much more than we could ever believe.

     With each chapter of the book, she looks into a different phenomenon of the mind. I find it truly fascinating how the mind can still function so brilliantly even when it chose to perceive the data it receives in a different way. Be it seeing colors related to certain people or emotions or those who believe they take on an animal form. The brain is such a strange thing, the author does her best to navigate us as the read through all these people and show that they should not be feared. But we need to have a better understanding of them. The brain has so many connections that we rely on to live day to day. But when these jumps are not made we start to see an alternative view of things. For some of these people, they are still able to live a normal life, it simply adds a new element to your everyday life.

     What's nice in this book is that she gives a human face to these conditions. we get to empathize with these people as she delves deep into each of them. She has highlighted some more well-known afflictions and some not so well known.  To me, it was so interesting to gain a better understanding of the subjects she deals with. Now while no one case goes to a real in-depth look, I feel it gives you a great jumping off point to look closer into each of them. I love books like this that make you think and give you so many questions that my brain wants to delve deeper into. I think in part this is down to her relaxed style. she becomes part of the book as she interviews these people and I like that it feels we are in the room with them quietly listening in to the conversations. She also talks to us in a manner that means we don't have to have a great understanding of the topics. the way she talks is something I feel we can all understand, and at the end of the day, I think that is what her goal with this book is. To give a great audience to the subject matter and allow us to be able to talk about this with others.

     As you can imagine I cannot recommend this book enough, it allows us a glimpse behind a curtain that I feel a lot of people have never thought to look. Even if you have the most passing interest in the subject I would suggest you grab a copy. If like me it will set something a light in your brain and make you want to look closer.