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kosmond 's review for:
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
by Susannah Cahalan
**Originally posted here.
From the first time I saw this book and read a quick exerpt, I knew it was something I needed to read. I don't read a lot of memoirs or biographies and because of this, I didn't want to spend the $20+ for the book. I kept waiting and looking for it at garage sales or thrift stores and one lucky day I found it! It was time for me to finally sink into Brain on Fire - My Month of Madness.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed after I read it. It's a memoir as I mentioned, so it's hard to say it was a bad book, because it wasn't but it just wasn't as exciting as I had expected it to be. Let's clear this up a little. When I read the little chapter, I was intrigued because Susannah had no idea who she was or where she was. But there's a lot more behind this than I had thought. Without giving away too much of the book, she had her family and her boyfriend there with her at all times helping her along the way. In my mind, I pictured this poor woman waking up alone, all by herself with no one. I think that's what I wanted. More mystery with who she was overall and I wanted to come along on a journey with her as she finds herself. We do get the mystery while figuring out what caused Susannah to have a "month of madness" and it's an interesting read, and we definitely follow along as she finds herself and rediscovers her life before this all happens.
Brain on Fire was an okay book to read, it's hard to believe that our bodies and minds are so fragile and anything can happen to anyone at any given time. I'd recommend this read to anyone who enjoys memoirs and/or medical suspense reads.
From the first time I saw this book and read a quick exerpt, I knew it was something I needed to read. I don't read a lot of memoirs or biographies and because of this, I didn't want to spend the $20+ for the book. I kept waiting and looking for it at garage sales or thrift stores and one lucky day I found it! It was time for me to finally sink into Brain on Fire - My Month of Madness.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed after I read it. It's a memoir as I mentioned, so it's hard to say it was a bad book, because it wasn't but it just wasn't as exciting as I had expected it to be. Let's clear this up a little. When I read the little chapter, I was intrigued because Susannah had no idea who she was or where she was. But there's a lot more behind this than I had thought. Without giving away too much of the book, she had her family and her boyfriend there with her at all times helping her along the way. In my mind, I pictured this poor woman waking up alone, all by herself with no one. I think that's what I wanted. More mystery with who she was overall and I wanted to come along on a journey with her as she finds herself. We do get the mystery while figuring out what caused Susannah to have a "month of madness" and it's an interesting read, and we definitely follow along as she finds herself and rediscovers her life before this all happens.
Brain on Fire was an okay book to read, it's hard to believe that our bodies and minds are so fragile and anything can happen to anyone at any given time. I'd recommend this read to anyone who enjoys memoirs and/or medical suspense reads.