Details
Rent Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
Author:
Format: Unabridged-CD, Paperback
Publisher: Highbridge Company
Published: Nov 2012
Genre: Biography & Autobiography - Medical - General
Retail Price: $32.95
Synopsis
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.
Reviews
What an incredible story! This book had me riveted from page one when Susannah first saw the hospital bracelet that said Flight Risk. I first became interested in reading this book when Susannah Cahalan appeared on the nowdefunct Jeff Probst show. What shame because he gave voice to people like her which you dont see that much on TV talk shows as most hosts are so celebrity obsessed and driven for the superficial and not much substance. But I digress.....The book covers her whole experience from the beginning when she was a successful journalist at the NY POST through her battles and recovery and getting herself back into a normal life. We witness her paranoia, blackouts and seizures while she is still trying to work yet not being able to cope and the heartbreak and frustration of trying to find an answer to her illness where she was told she drinks too much, parties too much, is bipolar or schizophrenic until finally a doctor found she had nonNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis which means her body was attacking her brain and causing part of it to be inflamed so her brain was literally on fire. It was heartbreaking to read her struggles and what difficulty her family and friends went through during the time she was sick. After finally getting the right diagnosis she was able to get the treatment she needed and she is one of the fortunate ones who recovered because it doesnt happen for everyone and there is still a death rate of 7 percent. Cahalan also pointed out that many who suffer from other metal disorders or physical illness could also be similarly afflicted and cantt get help they need because of misdiagnosis. As simulating back into the everyday world was a painful and difficult process and makes me realize that some people can be well meaning but ignorant and there but by the grace of God go they. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the working of human body especially the brain and human behavior or those who love a gripping memoir. I even learned about teratoma which I had never heard of before but I am not going to soil the discovery here. It is pretty wild!