One day in 2009, twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. A wristband marked her as a “flight risk,” and her medical records—chronicling a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory at all—showed hallucinations, violence, and dangerous instability. Only weeks earlier, Susannah had been … been on the threshold of a new, adult life: a healthy, ambitious college grad a few months into her first serious relationship and a promising career as a cub reporter at a major New York newspaper. Who was the stranger who had taken over her body? What was happening to her mind?
In this swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her inexplicable descent into madness and the brilliant, lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. A team of doctors would spend a month—and more than a million dollars—trying desperately to pin down a medical explanation for what had gone wrong. Meanwhile, as the days passed and her family, boyfriend, and friends helplessly stood watch by her bed, she began to move inexorably through psychosis into catatonia and, ultimately, toward death. Yet even as this period nearly tore her family apart, it offered an extraordinary testament to their faith in Susannah and their refusal to let her go.
Then, at the last minute, celebrated neurologist Souhel Najjar joined her team and, with the help of a lucky, ingenious test, saved her life. He recognized the symptoms of a newly discovered autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the brain, a disease now thought to be tied to both schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps the root of “demonic possessions” throughout history.
Far more than simply a riveting read and a crackling medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind. Using all her considerable journalistic skills, and building from hospital records and surveillance video, interviews with family and friends, and excerpts from the deeply moving journal her father kept during her illness, Susannah pieces together the story of her “lost month” to write an unforgettable memoir about memory and identity, faith and love. It is an important, profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic.
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Amazing story.Worth reading.
Very interesting.
Amazing memoir of a brave young woman overcoming a mysterious, scary medical unknown with the great work of a talented doctor and with love and support from family and friends
Susannah’s story of madness sent chills through every cell in my body. Vivd, raw, and powerful, this book is hard to put down. It reinforces what we already know…be kind to one another. Don’t judge. Know that the human spirit can be broken, but can also be repaired…as long as we’re willing to do the work to repair it.
I am in awe of doctors who never give up along with family and friends who stood by Susannah when she declined into a horrific state until a answer was found her story gives us hope in the face of in surmountable odds
If you love a good medical mystery or have an interest in phycology, I would highly recommend this memoir! This is my second time through and it was still riveting.
For my full review, please visit: https://www.krwardbookreview.com/2021/04/brain-on-fire-by-susannah-cahalan.html
I loved how real it felt to go through parts of her journey with her. It is a fascinating read and a good lesson to keep fighting to figure out what is wrong rather than just accepting a diagnosis.
This was probably the most haunting memoir i have read. I related deeply to this book since 12 years of my 25 years of life have been spent institutionalozed in hospitals and treatment centers all over the US for severe Anorexia. My experiences were traumatic, awful, and I can’t even imagine what you had to deal with… they mental health system …
Based on a true story and had a lot of information about workings of the brain. I like books in which I learn something new.
Calahan writes, “I am physically incapable of remembering that time, writing this book has been an exercise in my comprehending what was lost.” A fascinating insight to one woman’s experience with mental illness. Couldn’t put it down.
A very interesting read – if you are into psychology or medicine this is a book for you. It is amazing how much we still don’t know about the brain and disease. To think that the autoimmune system can malfunction as a result of environmental and/or genetic cues causing such a plethora (I hate this word but it fits here) of physiological and …
I found this book to be very interesting and only got lost a little bit during the medical explanations…but unlike other books I’ve read that explained things like that, this one didn’t read as much like a text book. I was still invested in what was happening to Susannah and so was interested in what I was reading.
What she went through was …
I love this book. I mean love this book. I originally saw it on a Buzzfeed list and decided that it would be an interesting read. I figured it would be about mental illness, something I’m interested in, but it ended up being something much more fascinating. The author also takes time to talk about how neurological disorders and psychiatric …
Loved this autobiography about her encephalitis that was difficult to diagnose. It lost me a bit when she got more technical on terms of what was happening, but thrilling, and I was amazed with dynamics among family, doctors and friends.