The Center of the Universe A Memoir

The story is so improbable, it can only be true: A brilliant woman with a long history of mental illness-who once proclaimed herself to be "the center of the universe" - is miraculously cured by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning aboard the family boat. Nancy Bachrach warns readers, "Donrs"t try this at home" in her darkly humorous memoir about "the second coming" of her mother - the indomitable Lola, whose buried family secrets had been driving her crazy. Aching and tender, unflinching and wry,The Center of the Universeis a multigenerational mother-daughter story-a splendid, funny, lyrical memoir about family, truth, and the resilience of love.

Nancy Bachrach worked in advertising in New York and Paris, spinning hot air like cotton candy.  Before that, she was a teaching assistant in the philosophy department at Brandeis University,  where she was one chapter ahead of her class.  She lives in New York City.