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Reviewed by Keyla Damaer for Readers' Favorite
Robyn Branick's 19 is a very short story about a girl in college. One day, out of the blue, she wakes up in the hospital to find out she has had a seizure. The discovery of the struggles she has to go through every day -- the memory loss, the shame of the illness, the look on people's faces when they see and talk to her -- changes her life. It feels like the protagonist is slowly going down the drain. As a student and an athlete she has to find a new way to live her daily life and perform her daily chores. That leads the girl to excessive drinking, becoming isolated from her friends, and taking a different path from the one she had wished to take before the life-changing accident.
I found this story moving and interesting. Robyn Branick does a good job in describing a mind-blowing event, something completely out of people's control: our own health. We can try to be healthy by following the doctor's prescriptions and having periodic check-ups; we can do everything possible to keep ourselves healthy but no matter how hard we try, life goes on its own path and some illnesses change us deeply. Branick's 19 explains very well how things may go the wrong way. As the author specifies, there is an extensive use of explicit language, but it is not excessive to the point of being disturbing during reading. This is a thought-provoking story recommended to those who might have similar health issues. If you are looking for a short story about real-life events concerning epilepsy, then you have found the right one for you.
