Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

9 reviews

elvahn's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

This book highlights the importance of empathy in the medical profession and calls attention to the grave harm of misdiagnoses that can result from lack of information or simply not taking the time to dive deeper into a parent's case.

By the end, there is also some hope in that though sharing her story, others get access to real help, and medical science is furthered. Even the doctor who had decided she was simply "partying" too hard rather than take her symptoms more seriously (my rage boiled over reading about this man) eventually refers to her experience to direct patients to help.

Part memoir, part call to action, part humane medical text(??), the author weaves us through her month of madness, using interviews, journals, and hospital footage to help complete the story. Engaging, well-done.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Terminal illness

Moderate: Dementia, Excrement, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, and Vomit

bartlebies's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

3.5

Boy howdy the narrator for the audiobook was awful. Can we ban white people doing bad accents when there is literally no reason to do them?? christ. 

The book itself was okay, but I felt like it lacked any deeper meaning beyond “i had this rare disorder and it sucked for everyone and now i’m better” which is unfortunate since she’s a reporter/writer who you would think would be a better writer. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Self harm

Minor: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Dementia, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Self harm, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Child death

mxpringle's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Chronic illness, Cancer, Alcoholism, and Ableism

books_tea_and_candlelight's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Terminal illness

faefires's review

challenging informative slow-paced

3.75

drags at the end, but mostly engaging and informative. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Medical content

courtneyfalling's review

emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

Susannah Cahalan offers some gripping and insightful health autojournalism here. This was one of the better patient narratives of a mysterious and sudden-onset condition that I can remember reading (still with some pitfalls of the genre, especially around discussing cognitive and behavioral symptoms within somewhat traditional, saneist paradigms). But overall it felt really careful, tightly written, and emotionally reflective. I ended up giving my copy to a premed friend to read next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Medical content

thereaderfriend's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

Minor: Drug use, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Very informative and interesting. Kept me on my toes

lizzie24601's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, and Terminal illness

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

mandi4886's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness