Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite

What My Brain Told Me by Thom Kudla is an introspective and emotionally rich collection of autobiographical essays, poetic reflections, and short stories chronicling the author's coming-of-age journey through family, friendship, love, loss, and self-discovery. With both tenderness and biting wit, Kudla explores the depths of human experience from the vantage point of a deeply feeling and highly self-aware narrator. Kudla’s writing moves seamlessly between poignant recollection and philosophical musing, drawing readers into his internal landscape with an honest and lyrical voice. His reflections on family, particularly in the essays “Legacy” and “The Gift of Tears,” are especially evocative. These pieces reveal a young man grappling with the expectations of masculinity, the complexities of parent-child relationships, and the quiet moments that define love and strength.

Throughout the collection, Thom Kudla examines memory's bittersweet nature, acknowledging how it distorts and shapes our understanding of ourselves. In pieces about friends and lovers, he captures youth's uncertainty, humor, and heartbreak with striking authenticity. Stylistically, Kudla blends storytelling with poetic reflection, often framing experiences with literary and musical references that add texture to his narrative. His prose is contemplative and, at times, experimental, inviting readers to sit with his thoughts rather than race through them. The recurring motif of listening to what his brain tells him becomes a metaphor for both inspiration and internal conflict, a guiding thread that ties the pieces together. This book reads like a mix of memoirist and poet, with philosophical leanings. Kudla’s voice fits comfortably with readers who enjoy authors like Jonathan Safran Foer, Dave Eggers, Maggie Nelson, and Stephen Chbosky, who explore the inner life with emotional honesty and literary flourish.