Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

[cehedley]

This book was a real page-turner from the start to the end. Susannah details her struggle with a terrifying and rare disease, although she does not remember most of it. She interviews doctors, nurses, her family, and her friends and reads the many medical records of her time in the hospital, then compiles all the information together. It truly is terrifying reading about her story as she suffers seizures and slowly exhibits behavior of psychosis.

This book may not be for everyone, however. Susannah delves into medical records discussing the science behind her illness and certain symptoms she experienced. I was surprised to find out just how much of the book was dedicated to discussing the science aspect of her illness. While I personally appreciate the scientific knowledge that Susannah delivered, it may not be the right book for someone who does not care for science.

[Jweaver05]

I could not put this book down. The human brain is beautiful and terrifying at the same time. This poor woman was diagnosed with a rare disease and this book describes her journey. This book was outside the scope of what I usually read, but if you have any interest in the human brain and how it works this would be a good read for you.

[Sabrina]

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness was a phenomenal story. I enjoyed the scientific/medical aspect as it truly allowed the reader to begin to understand how people in the medical field need to figure out and pinpoint an actual diagnosis. We still know so little about the brain that new diseases and disorders are being discovered regularly. The research that Susannah Cahalan had to put into her book allowed her to discover her own path "down the rabbit hole" but it also allows others to possibly find their own diagnosis...or at least lead them in a direction not yet sought.

[Camille2020]

I loved this book as well. It was spooky to get the inside look of what happened to her. I think this book gives us amazing points of view from her's, her parent's, boyfriend, and doctor's that worked with her. Its amazing how medicine can be so wrong sometimes. Throughout the book I was waiting on the actual diagnosis for schizophrenia, bio-polar disorder, etc. What I thought was cool was that the last doctor came in and gave her the one test that everyone else forgot from med school and was able to begin proper procedures in diagnosing and treating her.

[ladyrexford]

Coming from a medical professional background, this book is incredibly interesting! It has also made such an impact that patients within my hospital have been diagnosed properly do to Susannah's experience. The language is very easy to understand, you definitely do not need to know medicine to comprehend this plot. Also, the writing is so strong that although her recollection of certain events is blurry due to her mental state, she does not let this interfere with her storytelling. Perspectives of loved one's corroborate her story, but her raw emotion, especially fear, make the lack of detail completely irrelevant. This is an amazing memoir, I recommend it to anyone even if they do not usually like memoirs.

[Booklover813]

I couldn't put this book down either! In fact I actually had to buy the book. It was that good. It was engrossing and compelling. I also felt awful for her that she wasn't able to get an accurate diagnosis for too long. It's a must read!