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Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

Susannah Cahalan

Start date: February 1, 2021

Finish date: February 16, 2021

Discussion: Monthly Bonus Reads

Why we're reading this: February Bonus Read- Rare Disease Day

Brain on Fire My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
[close] February Bonus Read- Rare Disease Day

Brain on Fire My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

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What Members Thought

Nov 28, 2016 Barbara rated it liked it

3.5 stars

Susannah Cahalan

At the age of 24 Susannah Cahalan was doing just fine. She was lively, talkative, and fun-loving; she worked as a reporter for the New York Post; she lived in an apartment in Hell's Kitchen; and she had a great boyfriend named Stephen.

Then Susannah began to change: she forgot to prepare for an important work meeting; started to get migraines; felt compelled to snoop through Stephen's things; developed numbness.....then pins and needles. Before long these symptoms morph ...more

61 likes · Like · see review

Aug 20, 2018 Wendy rated it really liked it

Shelves: 5000-books, aug-18

I have to thank my daughter for referring Brain On Fire: My Month Of Madness by Susannah Cahalan to me. An informative, scary and fascinating true story.
Susannah Cahalan, a writer at the New York Post, recounts her months of battling an invisible illness. The author tells of her experience with a rare and recently discovered autoimmune disorder that causes symptoms such as seizures, psychosis, basically a descent into madness.
Not a story I'm likely to forget. ...more

28 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2013 JanB rated it it was ok

In general, I find medical mysteries fascinating but found this book rather dull. Despite being a member of a health care profession, I found much of the material was relayed in a dry, technical manner and there was a lot of repetitiveness and sensationalism. Halfway through, I ended up speed reading/skimming to the end. It is an important story to tell, thus the 2 stars, but perhaps it should have remained a magazine article.

5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2014 Ammar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It all started with a ' bed bug bite'. An odyssey of a reporter at The New York Post. Susannah Cahalan describes her month of illness.

Brain on Fire sheds the light on an under discovered illness that is autoimmune and attacks the brain. An inflammation of some sort that may be caused by various reasons.

over 48 chapters. most are short and combine memories and extracts from diaries written during the hospital stay and treatment.

her parents are vital also Susannah's boyfriend is there for her i ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2013 Stacey rated it really liked it

This is truly a gripping, horror of a memoir. It makes me think how fragile our lives are and at any second something could be amiss and my life will be set on a different course.

2 likes · Like · see review