One day, Susannah Cahalan woke up in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. Her medical records--from a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory--showed psychosis, violence, and dangerous instability. Yet, only weeks earlier she had been a healthy, ambitious twenty-four-year-old, six months into her first serious relationship and a sparkling career as a cub reporter. Susannah's astonishing memoir chronicles the swift path of her illness and the lucky, last-minute ...
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One day, Susannah Cahalan woke up in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. Her medical records--from a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory--showed psychosis, violence, and dangerous instability. Yet, only weeks earlier she had been a healthy, ambitious twenty-four-year-old, six months into her first serious relationship and a sparkling career as a cub reporter. Susannah's astonishing memoir chronicles the swift path of her illness and the lucky, last-minute intervention led by one of the few doctors capable of saving her life. As weeks ticked by and Susannah moved inexplicably from violence to catatonia, $1 million worth of blood tests and brain scans revealed nothing. The exhausted doctors were ready to commit her to the psychiatric ward, in effect condemning her to a lifetime of institutions, or death, until Dr. Souhel Najjar--nicknamed Dr. House--joined her team. He asked Susannah to draw one simple sketch, which became key to diagnosing her with a newly discovered autoimmune disease in which her body was attacking her brain, an illness now thought to be the cause of demonic possessions throughout history. With sharp reporting drawn from hospital records, scientific research, and interviews with doctors and family, Brain on Fire is a crackling mystery and an unflinching, gripping personal story that marks the debut of an extraordinary writer.
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Add this copy of Brain on Fire to cart. $39.95, good condition, Sold by Goodbookscafe rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Macon, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by Recorded Books on Brilliance Audio.
Add this copy of Brain on Fire to cart. $66.76, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2015 by Recorded Books on Brilliance A.
The subject was interesting but poorly written I thought and very poorly edited. One doctor called a she in one place, a he in another. Disjointed and not very clear which I understand to be part of the disease but I still thought it was poorly written since the writer was a reporter.
Dolores H
Jul 10, 2014
Month of madness
Liked book so much I ordered a second copy for family to pass around.
quasar
Dec 1, 2013
Scary & well written!
She is a journalist so knows how to put together a paragraph. Very well written page- turner about her experience w/ a brain disorder that was misdiagnosed by several prominent neurologists until one finally gave her a simple pencil & paper test. This is a persuasive arguement for universal health care. It cost over one million dollars to diagnose and treat her. A patient w/ no insurance may have been dumped in a state psychiatric hospital and left. Spoiler alert - it has a happy ending.
