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How One Writer Overcame a Brain Injury and Wrote an Award-Winning Memoir
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How One Writer Overcame a Brain Injury and Wrote an Award-Winning Memoir

Narratively contributor Andrea J. Buchanan on memoir, recovery, and the future.

Julia Metraux's avatar
Julia Metraux
Sep 17, 2019
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How One Writer Overcame a Brain Injury and Wrote an Award-Winning Memoir
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In July, New York Times bestselling author Andrea J. Buchanan published the article “The Maid Who Mapped the Heavens” at Narratively, which tells the story of Williminia Paton Flemming, a maid who became a groundbreaking astronomer.

This was not Buchanan’s first foray into literary science writing. Her memoir The Beginning of Everything: How I Lost My Mind and Found Myself  is a 2019 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award finalist. Like Flemming, Buchanan had to overcome obstacles, in her case while recovering from a brain injury. We chatted with Buchanan about her recovery, her approach to memoir writing, and what’s in store for her in the future. 

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