Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
Brain on Fire My Month of Madness
Author: Susannah Cahalan
A gripping memoir and medical suspense story about a young New York Post reporter?s struggle with a rare and terrifying disease, opening a new window into the fascinating world of brain science.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 m...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781451621372
ISBN-10: 145162137X
Publication Date: 11/13/2012
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 23

4 stars, based on 23 ratings
Publisher: Free Press
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Like Mystery Diagnosis on television, this young lady goes from doctor to doctor, each giving a different diagnosis and treatment until she finds the right doctor who figures it out. An infection that makes her seem psychotic. Very odd, very scary.
donkeycheese avatar reviewed Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness on + 1255 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Brain on Fire is a true account and it will leave you, at times, speechless. I love watching medical dramas on television, but this is a real person. And what happened to her is very scary. I couldn't even imagine waking up one morning, strapped to a bed, and not knowing what happened in the past month - especially when told you've been awake the whole time.

From the medical dramas I watch, there is usually a team of doctors trying to diagnose someone or someone gets misdiagnosed because the symptoms present themselves differently. That's pretty much what happened to Susannah, but with quite a bit more things that convoluted things and made her sink into madness for a month. It's fascinating reading, if not horrific at times, and Cahalan does it with complete candor. I felt a myriad of emotions reading this book- - it was very hard to put down. A fascinating, brilliant book told by a courageous woman. Highly recommend!
luv2cnewthings avatar reviewed Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness on + 55 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"Dedicated to those without a diagnosis."

If that doesn't get you to start reading this book, I don't know what will!

Okay, how about in the "Author's Note" where Susannah Cahalan states: "...I readily admit that I'm an unrealialbe source." She openly says she is an unrealiable sourse on herself?!? Completely and utterly sane people won't admit to that, but she did.

However, extracting a bunch of quotes from a good book isn't the equivalent of a review. So...what happened?

The preface of the book opens up with Susunnah waking up in a hospital where she is strapped down to a bed - but perhaps the first signs of something going wrong was when she became adament that her studio apartment was infested with bedbugs. From here she has emotional ups and downs, numbness, paranoid episodes, delusions and hallucinations.

Other symptoms included a lack of appetite, emotional outbursts and seizures, but as Susannah herself stated - the seizures were practically a godsend since it was the anchor that tethered her friends and family to believe that something was physically wrong and not simply mentally. In fact, the first neurologist that saw her said she was an alcoholic. Other doctors diagnosed her as some sort of schizophrenic. Without revealing too much...none of those were it!

Throughout this book, what makes you feel for Susannah Cahalan? Quotes like this:

"I would soon learn firsthand that this kind of illness often ebbs and flows, leaving the sufferer convinced that the worst is over, even when it's only retreating for a moment beofe pouncing again." (Pg. 26)

Or how about: "Now that we had a diagnosis that had never before been seen at NYU, young MDs, hardly a day older than me, stared at me as if I were a caged animal in a zoo and made muffled assessments, pointing at me and craning their heads as more experienced doctors gave a rundown of the syndrome." "...The group ogled me and a few even let out a few quiet 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs.' My father gritted his teeth and tried to ignore them." "...this patient may have her ovaries removed as a precaution...As the spectators nodded their heads, I caught this somehow, and began to cry." (Pg. 160)

"I couldn't read, could hardly make small talk, and couldn't drive a car, but, dammit, I was going to have a few glasses of champagne at a wedding." (Pg. 187)

Moments where you think, your brain doesn't have to be on fire to feel that way or yea me too:

"In this short line, I don't betray the disappointment I felt about having to not only officially abandon my self-sufficient life, but also give up my first real apartment, the symbol of my forgone adulthood." (Pgs. 202 - 203)

"Often I would sit outside Starbucks and take stock of the many different types of women walking by: 'I'd take her thighs,' or 'I'd trade bodies with her,' or 'I wish I had her arms.' (Pg. 204)
Read All 12 Book Reviews of "Brain on Fire My Month of Madness"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

kdurham2813 avatar reviewed Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness on + 753 more book reviews
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

A young woman at the beginning of a promising career at the New York Post as a journalist, when a few random occurrences linked together put her in the hospital with no explanation the story takes off. This non-fiction memoir was my favorite non fiction read of 2012. Because she is a journalist, she was able to piece together moments that she may have missed by using the resources around her. She wrote this book in such a way that it was easy and enjoyable to follow.
reviewed Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness on
I ordered this thinking that it was a memoir of a psychotic break or manic episode the author had had. It's that, but in a much more complicated way: The author's "month of madness" was the result of a rare (but, thanks to her, increasingly known) viral infection that causes people to, essentially, lose their minds - and then die.

The chronicles her friends' and family's rising alarm over her increasingly erratic and uncharacteristic behavior. Teams of doctors are baffled by what is going on until one of her specialists recalls a recently published study... and he and the doctor who published it brink her back from the brink of death.

The book is a part of her effort to raise awareness about the disease. As a reporter, her writing is crystal clear; excellent at conveying complex medical terms, concepts and descriptions; and able to touchingly convey the suffering of the people who love her, as well as her own. One of the sweetest parts is the incredible devotion her relatively new boyfriend shows.

SO worth a read.
reviewed Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness on + 8 more book reviews
Fascinating account of a horrible disease. Fortunately the author was led in the direction of a very capable doctor. She also had a great support team making sure she had the best of care.

Book Wiki

Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
People/Characters
Susannah Cahalan (Primary Character)

Genres: