Reviews

This was such and amazing account of how terrifying it is to be a patient. Feeling out of control and unable to help yourself is not how many people live. This is especially great to read if you’re in the medical field as if gives good insight into how patients actually feel.

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4.0

For those also living with inexplicable or confounding health symptoms that seem neurological in nature, but difficult to diagnose, Brain on Fire will both resonate and deeply unsettle.

In those infrequent moments when you let yourself reflect on death (or crippling illness), to truly feel its full force, you realize how suddenly your health can completely destabilize, be it due to a brain injury, "long COVID," an infection, or cancer. You cherish days when you don't have to wrestle through Sisyphean health burdens.

Depending on your current health situation, Cahalan's book will either offer comfort or trigger you (especially if your current psychological state is precarious due to the onset of unexplained symptoms). So I don't recommend it to everyone.

Still, it's quite a feat for a memoirist to pen. If you or a loved one is struggling through a similar sounding onslaught of misdiagnoses or stumped medical professionals, perhaps Brain on Fire will offer insight and direction. And a bit of hope in the midst of a dark medical saga.