What do you think?
Rate this book
Robert and the Erupting Brain: A Memoir
The ghosts of the West Texas plains don’t sit right with collegiate Robert Epperson, and his mind isn’t what it used to be.
Robert’s graduation to a new life, however, wouldn’t be complete without meeting the magical Jennifer Stewart. But times, they are ’a changin’.
As a New World Order rises to unprecedented power, Robert is on to the game. The 2008 bank bailout, the sudden tsunami of Obama’s Hope and Change—America will never be the same. And Robert, resurrected from the ashes, must save his family from certain apocalypse.
Honestly and unabashedly written, Robert and the Erupting Brain plays out the incredible footage of Robert’s awakening as he travels the tragic road of revolutionaries, venturing into the belly of the beast.
Will Robert save those closest to him—especially Jennifer—from the looming tyranny of the New World Order?
Robert and the Erupting Brain is an adventurous, coming-of-age memoir that delves inside the inner workings of a sudden-onset psychosis. This gripping true story is an easy-to-read page-turner that colorfully illustrates how the tragic and taboo ruin of a mentally ill young man becomes the rite of passage that he didn't know he needed.
Robert’s graduation to a new life, however, wouldn’t be complete without meeting the magical Jennifer Stewart. But times, they are ’a changin’.
As a New World Order rises to unprecedented power, Robert is on to the game. The 2008 bank bailout, the sudden tsunami of Obama’s Hope and Change—America will never be the same. And Robert, resurrected from the ashes, must save his family from certain apocalypse.
Honestly and unabashedly written, Robert and the Erupting Brain plays out the incredible footage of Robert’s awakening as he travels the tragic road of revolutionaries, venturing into the belly of the beast.
Will Robert save those closest to him—especially Jennifer—from the looming tyranny of the New World Order?
Robert and the Erupting Brain is an adventurous, coming-of-age memoir that delves inside the inner workings of a sudden-onset psychosis. This gripping true story is an easy-to-read page-turner that colorfully illustrates how the tragic and taboo ruin of a mentally ill young man becomes the rite of passage that he didn't know he needed.
- GenresBiography Memoir
200 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2015
4 people are currently reading
922 people want to read
About the author
Bobby Epperson
1 book15 followersWelcome to my author page.
I wrote a book. I want to write more. I suck at marketing; therefore, my indie career is floundering.
Read. Ponder. Leave a review.
I appreciate you.
Bobby Epperson
I wrote a book. I want to write more. I suck at marketing; therefore, my indie career is floundering.
Read. Ponder. Leave a review.
I appreciate you.
Bobby Epperson
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 21, 2019
I received Robert and the Erupting Brain: A Memoir through a Goodreads Giveaway.
Robert and the Erupting Brain is an interesting book that offers insight into the world of mental illness. Personally, I know next to nothing about mental health, but yet this book made me feel as though I was experiencing his situation for myself and that makes for a simply terrific read. I can appreciate this unique book that helps to bring to light an often ignored part of society.
Robert and the Erupting Brain is an interesting book that offers insight into the world of mental illness. Personally, I know next to nothing about mental health, but yet this book made me feel as though I was experiencing his situation for myself and that makes for a simply terrific read. I can appreciate this unique book that helps to bring to light an often ignored part of society.
June 17, 2019
Fun and intensely interesting, it truly felt like I was being given a glimpse into a fractured mental state.
August 12, 2015
I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads
I could not put this down. As a mental health patient myself, who has been misdiagnosed multiple times, to finally getting a correct diagnosis over 10 years after the onset of my disorder, the authors view of the BHC and Dr. Krauss is a very familiar feeling. While I know that this was creative non fiction, it still felt very personal, and very true to life the feelings that people in the authors situation go through. Roberts story is very touching and it just brings into focus that there are other people like me out there, and that we as a whole are still mostly misunderstood. I do hope that more attention is brought to mental health, especially from the point of view of the patient, and I think this is a brave, wonderful start.
I could not put this down. As a mental health patient myself, who has been misdiagnosed multiple times, to finally getting a correct diagnosis over 10 years after the onset of my disorder, the authors view of the BHC and Dr. Krauss is a very familiar feeling. While I know that this was creative non fiction, it still felt very personal, and very true to life the feelings that people in the authors situation go through. Roberts story is very touching and it just brings into focus that there are other people like me out there, and that we as a whole are still mostly misunderstood. I do hope that more attention is brought to mental health, especially from the point of view of the patient, and I think this is a brave, wonderful start.
March 9, 2016
THIS RATING WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FOUR-STAR. IN TRYING TO EDIT IT, I CANNOT GET IT TO CHANGE TO A FOUR.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway in return for an honest review.
This was an intriguing book - not easy to put into a particular category and also not easy to put-down. Softbelly, was at times, very funny and at other moments, sad and depressing. But that is what Mr. Epperson wanted us to experience -- his roller coaster of a ride through mental illness. If this is what he wanted to experience, I would have to say that he certainly nailed it. I felt like I was really experiencing a psychotic episode. Mental illness is still not easily understood by many people but great strides have been taken to understand the illness. Softbelly is Mr. Epperson's attempt to show us what it means to have a form of mental illness and he has succeeded.
Robert's choice of "saint" was spot-on about Jennifer. She truly was a saint to stick to him throughout his episodes. A lesser woman might have bailed out of the relationship but not Jennifer.
I really liked the style of writing. Epperson is a very intelligent and articulate man. He injected enough humor into the book to keep us interested, energized and hopeful of a good outcome.
One of my favorite quotes from this book was a the beginning when he was talking to Vlad, the U-Haul man,
"A peron's country is in the ind, not on a map:. You will find that the less you identify with the world around you, the more potential you have to be in control of your life.
Also wise words from Vlad... "you see, simplicity and clarity do not last forever. They are to be achieved over and over again, each time a new reflection, like walking up a spiral mountain, going in circles, but always higher toward our destinies."
A worthwhile read, not just focused in terms of mental illness but reaches out to all of us who strive to live better lives and come through hard times.
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway in return for an honest review.
This was an intriguing book - not easy to put into a particular category and also not easy to put-down. Softbelly, was at times, very funny and at other moments, sad and depressing. But that is what Mr. Epperson wanted us to experience -- his roller coaster of a ride through mental illness. If this is what he wanted to experience, I would have to say that he certainly nailed it. I felt like I was really experiencing a psychotic episode. Mental illness is still not easily understood by many people but great strides have been taken to understand the illness. Softbelly is Mr. Epperson's attempt to show us what it means to have a form of mental illness and he has succeeded.
Robert's choice of "saint" was spot-on about Jennifer. She truly was a saint to stick to him throughout his episodes. A lesser woman might have bailed out of the relationship but not Jennifer.
I really liked the style of writing. Epperson is a very intelligent and articulate man. He injected enough humor into the book to keep us interested, energized and hopeful of a good outcome.
One of my favorite quotes from this book was a the beginning when he was talking to Vlad, the U-Haul man,
"A peron's country is in the ind, not on a map:. You will find that the less you identify with the world around you, the more potential you have to be in control of your life.
Also wise words from Vlad... "you see, simplicity and clarity do not last forever. They are to be achieved over and over again, each time a new reflection, like walking up a spiral mountain, going in circles, but always higher toward our destinies."
A worthwhile read, not just focused in terms of mental illness but reaches out to all of us who strive to live better lives and come through hard times.
April 10, 2020
Robert and the Erupting Brain: A Memoir pits my manic journey of personal healing against the persuasion of friends, foes, and family. I was driven forward by a desire to find a "higher" truth during that day and age, a distortion of reality that sets my psychosis into motion and sustains what is—by my altered perception—a special mission blessed by God, a heroic journey that puts me at the center of the universe, charged with bringing light to a dark society.
My then-girlfriend, my sidekick, comes along for the ride. She is a steady source of support as I frantically search for redemption as the savior of the broken and a harbinger of societal ills, roles which fade as the manic magic wanes, stripping me down to a powerless and ill adolescent who, still without proper medical attention, is searching to be seen as a 23-year-old man.
I tried to write in such a way that the reader would feel as though he or she were experiencing a psychosis. (I have, according to a couple reviews, succeeded in doing so.) Additionally, multiple perspectives, as in an omniscient view, are presented through the incorporation of real life messages between characters. Finally, I drew inspiration from elements of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey as well as screenplay plot points. That is why this book is hard to put down, has cinematic appeal, and evokes a fictional quality that transcends the memoir genre.
My then-girlfriend, my sidekick, comes along for the ride. She is a steady source of support as I frantically search for redemption as the savior of the broken and a harbinger of societal ills, roles which fade as the manic magic wanes, stripping me down to a powerless and ill adolescent who, still without proper medical attention, is searching to be seen as a 23-year-old man.
I tried to write in such a way that the reader would feel as though he or she were experiencing a psychosis. (I have, according to a couple reviews, succeeded in doing so.) Additionally, multiple perspectives, as in an omniscient view, are presented through the incorporation of real life messages between characters. Finally, I drew inspiration from elements of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey as well as screenplay plot points. That is why this book is hard to put down, has cinematic appeal, and evokes a fictional quality that transcends the memoir genre.
August 19, 2016
I think this was a very well written book, and it read quickly and easily. As someone who knows very little about mental illness, this was quite the glimpse into someone's life who was truly suffering. I grew up with Robert and went to school with him from elementary school through our final year of Texas Tech Civil Engineering school, so I had an interest in learning more about him since we have not been in touch since 2007 or so. Even if you have never met Robert, I think you would learn something about mental illness and gain a new perspective on anyone in your life or personal network that may be suffering from these sorts of issues.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews