25 ratings | 9 reviews | avg rating:4.84

Susannah Cahalan’s Followers (2,621)

Susannah’s Bookshelves

to-read (13)
currently-reading (1)
read (34)
2018-reads (0)

Susannah’s Friends (413)

Emily LaBranche

993 books | 63 friends

Carol

26,133 books | 942 friends

Paul

2,937 books | 182 friends

🩶 April • A.M. Flynn • 🩶

65,823 books | 4,989 friends

David

995 books | 4,905 friends

Alex Helm

99,386 books | 1,539 friends

Jeremy

5,479 books | 229 friends

David Abrams

2,549 books | 2,119 friends

More friends…

Susannah Cahalan

Goodreads Author

Born

New York , The United States

Website

http://www.susannahcahalan.com/

Twitter

scahalan

Genre

Nonfiction, Memoir, Science

Member Since

February 2012

edit data

Susannah Cahalan is the New York Times bestselling author of "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness," a memoir about her struggle with a rare autoimmune disease of the brain. She writes for the New York Post. Her work has also been featured in the New York Times, Scientific American Magazine, Glamour, Psychology Today, and others. ...more

3 posts
Susannah Cahalan's Blog

The Acid Queen

Hello Goodreads!

I'm thrilled to share news of Goodreads Giveaway of my new book THE ACID QUEEN!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

THE ACID QUEEN is the intimate biography of a woman named Rosemary Woodruff Leary--a fascinating and forgotten woman of the 1960s counterculture, who devoted her life to pursing interests of the mind and consciousness. She was married to the infamous acid guru an Read more of this blog post »

3 likes · Like • 1 comment • flag

Published on June 02, 2025 07:38 • Tags: brainonfire, susannahcahalan, theacidqueen, thegreatpretender

View all 3 posts »

Combine Editions
Susannah Cahalan’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 252,005 ratings · 18,740 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness 4.09 avg rating — 238,926 ratings — published 2012 — 69 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness 3.65 avg rating — 12,536 ratings — published 2019 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Acid Queen: The Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary 3.98 avg rating — 540 ratings — published 2025 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Canongate Books The Acid Queen The Psychedelic Life of Rosemary Woodruff Leary. 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Susannah is Currently Reading

Susannah is currently reading

Circe

by Madeline Miller (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Apr 14, 2018 11:34AM

rss
Susannah’s Recent Updates

Susannah is now friends with Nilufer Ozmekik
Jun 02, 2025 07:41AM · like

More of Susannah's books…

Quotes by Susannah Cahalan (?)

“Sometimes, Just when we need them, life wraps metaphors up in little bows for us. When you think all is lost, the things you need the most return unexpectedly.”
― Susannah Cahalan, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

113 likes

“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, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

93 likes

“Someone once asked, "If you could take it all back, would you?"
At the time I didn't know. Now I do. I wouldn't take that terrible experience back for anything in the world. Too much light has come out of my darkness.”
― Susannah Cahalan, Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

68 likes

See all Susannah Cahalan's quotes »

Polls

Which of these books would you prefer to read as the September book club selection?

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

6 votes, 60.0%

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

3 votes, 30.0%

Killing Kate by Alex Lake

1 vote, 10.0%

10 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2012-2013: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2485	866	Feb 28, 2013 09:01PM
The Life of a Boo...: Q1 2013 Non-Fiction Nominations	35	95	Mar 21, 2013 11:03AM
You'll love this ...: Connie's April Toppler List	23	32	Apr 14, 2013 08:05PM
Audiobooks: Audible Offers: 2013 (Jan - April)	437	542	Apr 22, 2013 09:18PM
The Seasonal Read...: Spring Challenge 2013 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC!	2808	782	May 31, 2013 09:02PM
Reading with Style: Spring 2013 Rws Completed Tasks - Spring 2013	920	141	May 31, 2013 09:03PM
Bookworm Bitches : Books Read in February 2013	34	99	Jun 12, 2013 06:28AM
The Life of a Boo...: KarenLee's list of Books in 2013	46	95	Jun 24, 2013 05:47PM
Bookworm Bitches : Books Read This Month - June 2013	23	73	Jun 30, 2013 04:22AM