When you read as many books as most book bloggers do, it is a real pleasure when one exceeds expectations and knocks your socks off....
I just finished Heather Sellers' book YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE ANYONE I KNOW: A True Story of Family, Face Blindness and Forgiveness (Riverhead Books/Penguin) and I am sockless. My expectation going in was that it would be a nice, informational memoir that would explain face blindness in a little more detail. What I got was an amazingly personal, honest and unforgettable story of a woman who has endured a lifetime of uncertainty.
Can you imagine not being able to recognize anyone by their face? Not even your own parents, husband or best friends? Heather Sellers has a rare neurological condition called prosopagnosia, or face blindness. Not even her doctors believed her at first when she claimed the affliction.
(Note to memoirists: If you want to know how to connect with your readers and move along a story with great pace and fullness, read this book.)
No fiction author could have made this story believable. If you think your family is strange, then you need to meet Heather Sellers' family. I do not want to ruin one page of this book for you by divulging any details about what transpires between the covers; suffice to say that I am amazed at what a sweet and amazing woman resulted from this turmoil. The real victory of this book is that you are pulling for Heather all through it, even when she misbehaves.
I haven't been moved by a book like this in a long time. If you enjoy memoirs, you are cheating yourself if you don't give this one a spin.
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