All in My Head: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Patient Power

Morris recounts how her life changed after being diagnosed with cancer in her affecting posthumous memoir. After having a seizure in 2016, Morris, who was in her early 50s, underwent an MRI that revealed she had glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer. Instead of succumbing to despair, Morris writes, she channeled her energy into getting better: she named her tumor TEF (“The Evil Fucker”) and thought of herself as a matador who was playing “a psychological game of engagement and warfare.” She details undergoing radiation, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy treatments; starting a blog to share her experience (“I was surprised how liberating it was writing in my voice”); and developing an app called OurBrainBank, which offers resources and support for those with glioblastoma. (Morris died at home in June 2021.) The author is frank as she confronts the “lonely horror” of having a terminal illness and how she had to fight “to be free from my own flesh and blood,” and her account is steeped in conviction: “I hope I’ve been able to show that while my brain is under attack, enough of it is still there to make its mark.” Readers will be moved by this portrait of a fighter. Agent: Zoë Pagnamenta, Zoë Pagnamenta Agency. (Jan.)