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_askthebookbug 's review for:
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
by Susannah Cahalan
• r e v i e w • #nonfictionnovember
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"We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it." - Susannah Cahalan.
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I kicked off November with Brain On Fire and what an interesting read it turned out to be. Our body is still so mysterious in the 21st Century, the origin of many diseases still unknown to the mankind. In 2009, Susannah's seemingly normal life was upturned leaving behind only a shadow of her former self. She loved everything about her life; a job at the New York Post, a stable boyfriend and an independent life with loving parents. During the bedbug scare in New York in 2009, Susannah woke up to a tiny bite mark on her left arm which left her immediately worried. This was the beginning of her month of madness.
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With frequent seizures and her emotions all over the place, friends and family panick about her mental health. The usual strong and confident Susannah turns into a wreck, paranoia overtaking her senses. Various MRIs and scans showed nothing abnormal and when her seizures never seemed to stop, she was admitted to the hospital. Her case baffled everyone and many renowned doctors were brought in to examine and provide a name for what tormented her. Soon, Susannah found herself unable to speak or even do the simplest of things. During her one month stay at the hospital, Susannah tried to escape multiple times, behaved aggressively and even lost most of her memory. From the very beginning she makes it clear that she used notes of those who were with her during this time to write this memoir.
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To learn of an independent and healthy woman to become just a shell and to read about how it happened is nothing short of frightening. After weeks of trying different medicines on her, they finally had a name for her condition. NMDA autoimmune encephalitis is a rare occurrence, one that is hardly known by even the topmost doctors, a condition that is strong enough to take lives. Susannah writes about how countless cases like hers might have been considered as Schizophrenia or also associated with being possessed.
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Susannah was just 24 when NDMA engulfed her life and it took her time to regain control over it. At 27 or 28, she wrote Brain On Fire, a brilliant book that speaks of the rarest of conditions. It was enlightening, heartbreaking and at times even awful to read about the trials that her family had to go through along with her. Our lives are truly so fragile, part of our bodies remaining forever a mystery. I highly recommend this.
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Rating : 4.7/5.
.
"We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it." - Susannah Cahalan.
.
I kicked off November with Brain On Fire and what an interesting read it turned out to be. Our body is still so mysterious in the 21st Century, the origin of many diseases still unknown to the mankind. In 2009, Susannah's seemingly normal life was upturned leaving behind only a shadow of her former self. She loved everything about her life; a job at the New York Post, a stable boyfriend and an independent life with loving parents. During the bedbug scare in New York in 2009, Susannah woke up to a tiny bite mark on her left arm which left her immediately worried. This was the beginning of her month of madness.
.
With frequent seizures and her emotions all over the place, friends and family panick about her mental health. The usual strong and confident Susannah turns into a wreck, paranoia overtaking her senses. Various MRIs and scans showed nothing abnormal and when her seizures never seemed to stop, she was admitted to the hospital. Her case baffled everyone and many renowned doctors were brought in to examine and provide a name for what tormented her. Soon, Susannah found herself unable to speak or even do the simplest of things. During her one month stay at the hospital, Susannah tried to escape multiple times, behaved aggressively and even lost most of her memory. From the very beginning she makes it clear that she used notes of those who were with her during this time to write this memoir.
.
To learn of an independent and healthy woman to become just a shell and to read about how it happened is nothing short of frightening. After weeks of trying different medicines on her, they finally had a name for her condition. NMDA autoimmune encephalitis is a rare occurrence, one that is hardly known by even the topmost doctors, a condition that is strong enough to take lives. Susannah writes about how countless cases like hers might have been considered as Schizophrenia or also associated with being possessed.
.
Susannah was just 24 when NDMA engulfed her life and it took her time to regain control over it. At 27 or 28, she wrote Brain On Fire, a brilliant book that speaks of the rarest of conditions. It was enlightening, heartbreaking and at times even awful to read about the trials that her family had to go through along with her. Our lives are truly so fragile, part of our bodies remaining forever a mystery. I highly recommend this.
.
Rating : 4.7/5.