Stefanie A. (Erlichette) reviewed on 1/3/2021

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.

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