Dyscalculia

A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation

By: Camonghne Felix

Narrated by: Camonghne Felix

“Powerful . . . a poetic meditation on how love or attempts at loving can drive us to madness.”—The Boston Globe

“We learn about the cracks in Felix’s upbringing, the hurt from the breakup itself, and a pain that spans a lifetime, all through a sharp millennial voice.”—Time

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, Chicago Public Library, Electric Lit

When Camonghne Felix goes through a monumental breakup, culminating in a hospital stay, everything—from her early childhood trauma and mental health to her relationship with mathematics—shows up in the tapestry of her healing. In this exquisite and raw reflection, Felix repossesses herself through the exploration of history she’d left behind, using her childhood “dyscalculia”—a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math—as a metaphor for the consequences of her miscalculations in love. Through reckoning with this breakup and other adult gambles in intimacy, Felix asks the question: Who gets to assert their right to pain?

Dyscalculia negotiates the misalignments of perception and reality, love and harm, and the politics of heartbreak, both romantic and familial.

Masterpiece

Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation by Camonghe Felix is poignant. Her testimony gave me goosebumps. I feel hesitant to comment because Felix lets us readers know our judgment is for ourselves as she’s reconciled and sorted through the murkiness of her life. I am often amazed at how much weight people carry. It made me wonder about how many folks I know who walk around “passing for well” in moments when wellness feels like cuts against their skin.

Honestly, I had to check to see if I was reading a memoir or a well-written fictional account of a character’s life. I loved the poetry. I enjoyed the storytelling, and I got a kick out of needing to refer to a dictionary to understand words I hadn’t yet encountered. This love story felt like a beautiful collection of mathematical concepts as expressions to describe a journey of self-discovery.

I admire Felix and thank her for unmasking a world I find hard to comprehend but desperately want to empathize with in nurturing and supportive ways. Although I cannot relate to much of her experiences, I can see how disconcerting it was to live in an unknown place and try to function. I think about individuals I’ve known who might have faced similar disassociations with parts of themselves as a survival tactic. And who might have encountered life-threatening behaviors to cope?

I send them love.

Dyscalculia is something only God has had a hand in creating. I wish Felix nothing but joy. I definitely recommend you read it. Thank you, This Browne Girl Reads, for another excellent book recommendation.

Shonda Moore

Misconception, this was a bad chick

This story leaves you with real life situations through someone else's eyes. Wow, the thoughts and feelings that a person has when suffering with mental illness and how they have to go through life trying to figure it out especially at a young age where there is not a lot of help for children.

Stunning

This book was stunning. It’s an honest exploration of trauma, a learning disability, and mental illness. Hard to read at times, but hopeful too
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Mind blowing

Just ordered the hardcover because I need to see these sentences over and over. This is a master class in memoir writing and in living.

Brief, beautiful memoir from a brilliant poet

Camonghne is a writer’s writer, and her attention to breath, image, and the poetic line in this experiment is wonderful. Often heartbreaking, always striving to be as honest as the page allows, this is a memoir I’ll be thinking about for a while.