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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Very enjoyable read for such a frightening situation. Not what I necessarily expected, subject-wise, but very good all the same. Readable, personal, and medical - meets all my criteria for a "fun" non-fiction read.
(Audio) I wanted to read this book because I know someone with autoimmune encephalitis and wanted to get a better understanding of what that diagnosis means. Hearing the journey of getting to the diagnosis is heartbreaking and terrifying how someone came so close to losing so much in such a short time. Hearing Susannah Cahalan retell her story and admit that she had to use her skills as a journalist to fill in her memories of that time is unbelievable.
It’s a very interesting, albeit intense recounting. I appreciate that the book does break down a lot of the medical terminology thrown about, though I felt it got a bit too technical at points. I think it was set up well and that the chapters felt like natural breaks in the story.
It’s a very interesting, albeit intense recounting. I appreciate that the book does break down a lot of the medical terminology thrown about, though I felt it got a bit too technical at points. I think it was set up well and that the chapters felt like natural breaks in the story.
Wow, what a crazy and scary disease. Fascinating topic and well written.
it took me forever to finish this book but honestly it was so interesting and influential. i still think about this book to this day. it wasn't my favorite book but i would read it again and recommend it to people anyways bc it was such a significant read
This book was fascinating. It was detailed and captivating, without bogging down in medical jargon. The balance of medical information was perfect for someone like me. I can’t help but think that for all the gratitude and acknowledgement of how lucky she was, that if this book was written today it would get criticism for not acknowledging her white privilege. And maybe she did get that criticism, because oh man is that ever a factor in her diagnosis! And while she also dedicates a few sentences to our medical system being broken, and how much money it all cost, I think I was hoping for more specificity. Not that she has all the answers.....Regardless, it was extremely well written and absorbing!
This book was terrifying, which surprised me. As a health writer and health nerd, I thought I would find the mystery of what illness (mental or physical?) this young New York Post reporter had compelling and fascinating, which I did. But I was unprepared for how scary this was—I think that was because I could relate somewhat because my husband has had some weird tingling/numbness/pain issues this past year that no one seems to know how to treat. I've learned more and more how doctors often don't have any idea what is happening to people, and that gets scarier as I get older. But anyway, this memoir and investigative story was interesting, and the mystery of it kept me going. I don't feel like I got a huge understanding of her pre-illness personality vs. post-illness and everything she lost personality-wise, but she explains in detail how she lost a month of memories during her madness, so that could be part of it.
This review was originally posted on my blog, Marissa Reads Books
I had been seeing this book in Chapters every time I went for quite a while. The cover always intrigued me. The picture of Susannah on the front along with the title always drew me in, but I never picked the book up because I don't normally read a lot of non-fiction. Let me just say I'm glad I picked this book up because I now know that I want to read a lot more non-fiction. Anyway, let me tell you about the book. Susannah Cahalan recounts the story of what she calls her month of madness, this woman literally went mad for a month, she was showing signs of paranoia and psychosis, and the doctors had no idea what was wrong with her. Reading about this experience was kind of terrifying, but it just instantly gripped me.
This doesn't feel too scientific or info-dumpy, because the author herself is someone who had to learn about what was happening to her body. However, that being said, it was extremely informative. I loved Susannah's writing style, and I could really see why she made such a great reporter. She hooks you and doesn't let go until her story is finished and you become as invested as she is. I don't want to say much about what Susannah's "month of madness" actually entails because you should read the book and find out (or watch the new movie on Netflix, but really you should read the book)!
I will say that it kind of boggles my mind how much money was spent on medical tests and how long it took these medical professionals to figure out what was going on. They were dealing with something that is still fairly unknown and potentially deadly if not treated in time. Susannah had almost reached this point when they were finally able to give her a proper diagnosis. Susannah's mother actually calls the doctor that was able to provide a diagnosis Dr. House (which I love).
Anyway, I think I'm going to keep this review pretty short and just say that if you're like me and you don't read much non-fiction, you should start with this one because it's really amazing. f any of you have read this book, let me know in the comments so we can discuss. Also if you’d like to purchase this book, feel free to do so using my Book Depository affiliate link here.
I had been seeing this book in Chapters every time I went for quite a while. The cover always intrigued me. The picture of Susannah on the front along with the title always drew me in, but I never picked the book up because I don't normally read a lot of non-fiction. Let me just say I'm glad I picked this book up because I now know that I want to read a lot more non-fiction. Anyway, let me tell you about the book. Susannah Cahalan recounts the story of what she calls her month of madness, this woman literally went mad for a month, she was showing signs of paranoia and psychosis, and the doctors had no idea what was wrong with her. Reading about this experience was kind of terrifying, but it just instantly gripped me.
This doesn't feel too scientific or info-dumpy, because the author herself is someone who had to learn about what was happening to her body. However, that being said, it was extremely informative. I loved Susannah's writing style, and I could really see why she made such a great reporter. She hooks you and doesn't let go until her story is finished and you become as invested as she is. I don't want to say much about what Susannah's "month of madness" actually entails because you should read the book and find out (or watch the new movie on Netflix, but really you should read the book)!
I will say that it kind of boggles my mind how much money was spent on medical tests and how long it took these medical professionals to figure out what was going on. They were dealing with something that is still fairly unknown and potentially deadly if not treated in time. Susannah had almost reached this point when they were finally able to give her a proper diagnosis. Susannah's mother actually calls the doctor that was able to provide a diagnosis Dr. House (which I love).
Anyway, I think I'm going to keep this review pretty short and just say that if you're like me and you don't read much non-fiction, you should start with this one because it's really amazing. f any of you have read this book, let me know in the comments so we can discuss. Also if you’d like to purchase this book, feel free to do so using my Book Depository affiliate link here.
Brain On Fire started off really interesting but then it kind of fell flat for me. I think it's because the medical jargon was totally lost on me, and once Susannah was in the hospital it all kind of felt rushed. I did enjoy learning a bit more about anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and this book also caused me to look into my own health a bit more which I think was one of Susannah's intentions when writing it. Overall I just found the material a bit dry and I expected it to be more of a personal memoir with less medical talk, but that's also my own fault for not looking into this one before reading.
This story is terrifying to me. It's real, it's true, and it's as if you're there whilst you're reading it.
I picked this book up as part of the #MHAReadathon which aims to raise awareness of Mental Health conditions and get conversations going about them. I was hoping to like this book, and find out a bit more about Susannah Cahalan, but I was not prepared for how fast I would speed through this (in one day) or how much it would affect me (a lot). I genuinely fell head over heels for Susannah as her writing was SO easy to relate to (I also want to go into publishing etc) and she was so down-to-earth.
Susannah suffered through a month of misdiagnosis. One day she was fine, but within a few days she was so far from fine that she was almost a different person, and with more and more time, she felt herself getting lost to a psychosis she wasn't sure anyone would be able to help her out of. Seeing the decline of such a young, lively individual, and reminding myself it was a true story, was really impactful on me. I found myself completely absorbed, wanting the doctors to figure it out, not wanting her to be lost to this unknown psychosis that no-one could break.
The story within here is told through hospital records, digital diary documents, transcribed video tapes and Susannah's own recounting. I truly felt so much when we hear about the scenes Susannah doesn't remember - the scenes where she felt like someone else was in her body and her brain was afire. This book touched me, scared me, and ultimately will stay with me. I am happy for the resolution and the fact that she's here today to write this book, but it was a close call. If you want to know what I mean - read the book. 5*s
I picked this book up as part of the #MHAReadathon which aims to raise awareness of Mental Health conditions and get conversations going about them. I was hoping to like this book, and find out a bit more about Susannah Cahalan, but I was not prepared for how fast I would speed through this (in one day) or how much it would affect me (a lot). I genuinely fell head over heels for Susannah as her writing was SO easy to relate to (I also want to go into publishing etc) and she was so down-to-earth.
Susannah suffered through a month of misdiagnosis. One day she was fine, but within a few days she was so far from fine that she was almost a different person, and with more and more time, she felt herself getting lost to a psychosis she wasn't sure anyone would be able to help her out of. Seeing the decline of such a young, lively individual, and reminding myself it was a true story, was really impactful on me. I found myself completely absorbed, wanting the doctors to figure it out, not wanting her to be lost to this unknown psychosis that no-one could break.
The story within here is told through hospital records, digital diary documents, transcribed video tapes and Susannah's own recounting. I truly felt so much when we hear about the scenes Susannah doesn't remember - the scenes where she felt like someone else was in her body and her brain was afire. This book touched me, scared me, and ultimately will stay with me. I am happy for the resolution and the fact that she's here today to write this book, but it was a close call. If you want to know what I mean - read the book. 5*s