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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Incredibly glad I got around to reading Susannah's story after I had her book sitting on my shelf for so long. This is a must read. A gift of a story.
This book fooled me in the beginning thinking this was a story, as someone with mental illness, that I could relate to. So many symptoms she describes in vivid detail to the degree that I felt she was explaining things from my brain, but then the symptoms got wilder. Symptoms that I’ve never experienced. It gave me so much sympathy for this woman to experience the things I have, but more and worse. It was a beautifully written story about her experience. It opened my eyes. Well done, Susannah.
3.5 rounded up. Pretty compelling and it's incredible that her story raised awareness and helped so many people. Even though she's aware of and acknowledged the fallibility of memory, especially in her situation, she still goes on to write this in the form of narrative non-fiction. She writes as if she has more specific recollection of the events, conversations, and her thoughts than she says she does. Sure she did extensive interviews of family, friends, medical staff, etc but it wouldn't be enough to tell the story in the detail that she does. The writing about the medical elements is lacking at times. Still a worthwhile read and her narrativization of the events does help you feel the visceral terror of what she went through. Her boyfriend (now husband) is a 10/10 great dude and an incredible example of true love.
““The existence of forgetting has never been proved: we only know that some things do not come to our mind when we want them to.”
WOW. I was completely taken aback by reading Susannah’s story. I can not imagine the toll it took to go through something like this, and the strength it took to write it all down. I hear the movie is not as good, but I hope it gives her some justice.
WOW. I was completely taken aback by reading Susannah’s story. I can not imagine the toll it took to go through something like this, and the strength it took to write it all down. I hear the movie is not as good, but I hope it gives her some justice.
Busy moms beware: Journeying with Susannah Cahalan on her month-long descent into “madness” and the grueling climb back out is fascinating and spellbinding, all the while depressing and frightening.
First, from the perspective of the reader, her experience is tangible with every page you turn. Her frustration is yours. The moments of her denial has you shouting and shaking the book “No! No! You’re not fine!” The jubilation at her final diagnosis is also yours, emotionally fatigued and delighted to have an answer. A treatment plan. The light of hope at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
Then, from the perspective of a mother, the truth that not every disease is well understood, that you, your family or your child may suffer some similar experience, will hit you where it hurts. And give you hope that, should you find yourself in a situation so frightening, so unfamiliar, all is not lost. Persistence, faith and hope can result in resolution.
From the memories she retained with the help of her family, written and videotaped medical records, interviews with her medical team, the journal her father wrote and hospital communication notebook her parents maintained, Ms. Cahalan weaves the evasive truth of her illness into a memoir and cautionary tale. Part medical mystery, part memoir, it’s a fascinating tale. I found myself less engaged following her diagnosis and successful treatment, mainly because the tale of her recover seemed anti-climactic. This is not to suggest it was dull, to discount its importance or to downplay the challenges she faced. Rather, for me the primary source of tension in the book was her elusive diagnosis, so what followed after her recovery began, difficult as it was, did not hold my attention as well. Despite this, the book and the story are well-written and will transfix most readers.
This book should be on a ‘must read’ list for busy parents, and medical practitioners. Following a patient, a daughter, a partner, on a dismal decline, hoping in the face of hopelessness and struggling to find the truth, the treatment, the person who was lost to the disease, are life lessons for all of us.
Happy trails, and may good books (and good health) be plentiful!
First, from the perspective of the reader, her experience is tangible with every page you turn. Her frustration is yours. The moments of her denial has you shouting and shaking the book “No! No! You’re not fine!” The jubilation at her final diagnosis is also yours, emotionally fatigued and delighted to have an answer. A treatment plan. The light of hope at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
Then, from the perspective of a mother, the truth that not every disease is well understood, that you, your family or your child may suffer some similar experience, will hit you where it hurts. And give you hope that, should you find yourself in a situation so frightening, so unfamiliar, all is not lost. Persistence, faith and hope can result in resolution.
From the memories she retained with the help of her family, written and videotaped medical records, interviews with her medical team, the journal her father wrote and hospital communication notebook her parents maintained, Ms. Cahalan weaves the evasive truth of her illness into a memoir and cautionary tale. Part medical mystery, part memoir, it’s a fascinating tale. I found myself less engaged following her diagnosis and successful treatment, mainly because the tale of her recover seemed anti-climactic. This is not to suggest it was dull, to discount its importance or to downplay the challenges she faced. Rather, for me the primary source of tension in the book was her elusive diagnosis, so what followed after her recovery began, difficult as it was, did not hold my attention as well. Despite this, the book and the story are well-written and will transfix most readers.
This book should be on a ‘must read’ list for busy parents, and medical practitioners. Following a patient, a daughter, a partner, on a dismal decline, hoping in the face of hopelessness and struggling to find the truth, the treatment, the person who was lost to the disease, are life lessons for all of us.
Happy trails, and may good books (and good health) be plentiful!
very fast paced until the last quarter of the book. this is my second time reading the book, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first!
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I understand that this was a story about her personal experience with symptoms related to her diagnosis. Part of me wishes that in putting on her journalistic hat, she would have gone a bit deeper to discuss about the bias that exists towards people exhibiting mental health symptoms in the medical field. She almost died because of that bias and I feel that that should’ve been addressed because it impacts not only her but millions of people in the United States. I wish she would have gone deeper into the medical negligence that effects people with psychosis-presenting symptoms, especially people who identify as female or our gender nonconforming, and then amplifying that bias experienced if you are a person of color.
This story was SO enthralling to me. I went into this memoir pretty blindly because I wanted to listen to an audiobook about mental health and this was the first one I found on Libby. Susannah's medical story was so interesting to learn about, especially because I had never heard of her condition before. The human body is very very weird. Cahalan's experience as a writer for the Post was evident in this book as it felt very chronological, which I appreciated a lot because it made it easier to keep track of all the obstacles she faced. My only qualm with this story is that some details felt very repetitive at times and I felt like I was listening to the same thing over and over again, but it was very minor in the grand scheme of things and the overall story. A very interesting read on mental health, medical information, and what it feels like to be trapped in your own brain. I think I will watch the movie that came out in 2016 now that I've read her book!
☆☆☆☆/5
☆☆☆☆/5