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A review by alisez
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
It was informative and frightening to read about the development of author’s illness. A lot of interesting details about the insides of medical industry and history of misdiagnosis.
However, after reaching a point in the book where her illness is diagnosed, I lost interest. This book is full of medical descriptions that seem to be copied from textbooks. I was also expecting to read more about the family and friends dynamics, but a lot stayed hidden. My guess is that it’s difficult for the author to talk about, which is understandable.
Overall, the knowledge I gained from this book could have been summarized in 50 pages or so. If I wanted to pick up more on the medical side, I would read scientific literature, not autobiography. Also, it wasn’t easy to connect with the author on an emotional level.
However, after reaching a point in the book where her illness is diagnosed, I lost interest. This book is full of medical descriptions that seem to be copied from textbooks. I was also expecting to read more about the family and friends dynamics, but a lot stayed hidden. My guess is that it’s difficult for the author to talk about, which is understandable.
Overall, the knowledge I gained from this book could have been summarized in 50 pages or so. If I wanted to pick up more on the medical side, I would read scientific literature, not autobiography. Also, it wasn’t easy to connect with the author on an emotional level.