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Summary
Summary
The author reflects on his battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder, describing its impact on his life and the lives of other sufferers.
Author Notes
Marc Summers is the former host of Nickelodeon's popular Double Dare game show, ABC's Home Show, Lifetime's Our Home, and PAX TV's Great Day America. As a national spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, he has appeared on Oprah, Today, Dateline, and The Howard Stern Show, and been profiled in People and USA Today. Summers lives in Los Angeles.
Eric Hollander, M.D., is professor of psychiatry, director of clinical psychopharmacology, director of the Compulsive, Impulsive and Anxiety Disorders Program, and clinical director of the Seaver Autism Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Marc's collaborators on this book, Kenneth Wapner and Jennifer Wolfson, run Peekamoose Productions in Woodstock, New York, a company involved in developing, writing, and editing books.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Although for many people obsessive compulsive disorder is a debilitating condition, Summers, the host of PAX-TV's Great Day America and the former host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare, found ways to channel his OCD into a high-powered career. In this upbeat memoir-cum-guide, he describes how he discovered that his "all or nothing" approach to life and his obsession with order (e.g., straightening the fringe on his oriental rug to make each strand exactly parallel) could be more than just an idiosyncrasy. He "outed" himself on national television when Dr. Hollander, an OCD expert, was a guest on Summers's talk show, and became active in educating the public about a neurological disorder that affects some six million Americans. Summers believes his considerable career success is tied to his OCD, since it was "a way for me to channel an aspect of my disease: my need to win, to be perfect, to be the best." He also emphasizes the fear and shame he felt about his compulsions, the toll they took on his family and the need for treatment (Hollander cites "startlingly high" success rates with a combination of medication and behavior therapy). Unfortunately, Summers brings little insight or analytical depth to this material. But he provides a good deal of useful self-help information and communicates a positive attitude that will encourage many who live with OCD to seek help for their condition. Agent, Mark Reiter, IMG Literary; 7-city tour. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
There are other books on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but Summers' familiarity as a TV game show host will draw more readers to his first. If they make it through Summers' long lead-in about appearing on Jay Leno's show, they will find out what it is like to grow up with OCD. Summers had no inkling, however, that he had OCD until 1994, when Eric Hollander, an authority on it, was a guest on a talk show Summers cohosted. During his youth and adolescence, Summers was deciding whether to become a rabbi or a showbiz personality. Taking an intermediate step, he became a magician; because of OCD, he had to become the best magician in the business. Later, at a low point in his career, he went to Hollander and, with drug and behavior therapies, learned how to live with OCD. Now he is a national spokesman for the OCD Foundation, disseminating information and encouraging sufferers to seek help--for instance, with this book. William Beatty
Library Journal Review
Only in the past 15 years has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) been medically recognized as something from which 6 million Americans suffer, which may explain the publishing explosion on the subject. Summers, former host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare and ABC's Home Show, is an OCD sufferer and spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. Here he explains his illness, beginning at the age of six, when he constantly straightened and cleaned his room. A combination of OCD and perfectionism drove him to become a performer, first as a magician; the ritual of doing tricks over and over was comforting. Summers's simple yet eloquent descriptions of the disease and the types of treatments available, as well as the stories of others afflicted, will give readers a clearer understanding of life as an OCD person. The reading level makes this an ideal source of information on OCD for middle or high school students as well.ÄLisa S. Wise, Broome Cty. P.L., Binghamton, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Foreword | p. xiii |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| 1 The public face and the private torment | p. 7 |
| 2 Sunday, day of rest | p. 29 |
| 3 Nurture and nature | p. 47 |
| 4 Adolescent ambition, adolescent angst | p. 71 |
| 5 Waiting at the altar | p. 89 |
| 6 Carthquake | p. 111 |
| 7 The moment of truth | p. 129 |
| 8 Rock bottom | p. 147 |
| 9 Taking charge | p. 167 |
| 10 Waging war and winning | p. 191 |
| Resource guide | p. 211 |
