Susannah Cahalan

An account of the author's struggle with a rare brain-attacking autoimmune disease traces how she woke up in a hospital room with no memory of baffling psychotic symptoms, describing the last-minute intervention by a doctor who identified the source of her illness.

My Month of Madness

Brain on Fire

I enjoyed because neuroscience major and it had a nice mix of story plus science. Honestly fascinating read and good for awareness for those who don’t know about anti-NMDAR encephalitis!

Angeleeka

Patrick Book

emelia grace ilgner

I thought was okay. It's definitely a crazy story -- so crazy that I kept wanting to tell people about it. I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, so this blew me away from like a "holy shit this happens to people?" way. 

I did feel like the author was a bit... on her high horse, with her fancy Hells Kitchen apartment and her great boyfriend and great job and family who somehow is able to really pull it all together to keep her safe. While she does touch on the fact that she was lucky, but I still didn't get the sense that she understood exactly how fortunate she really was -- in terms of her circumstance, rather than her recovery (which she seemed to totally get). She also makes a remark early on in the story about certain shades of blonde being "whoreish" which really put me off -- just something a little... eeehhhhh there. 

I did feel like it went on way too long, with not much really being said. It could have ended at like, chapter 30, but then there were 30 more to go. The writing didn't really blow me away either -- the story itself definitely carries this one. 

I wouldn't read it again, and I don't think I'd recommend it unless it was for like, a summer beach read.

Samantha gust 

Now looking back I was never able to get through this book or the movie .

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING CHLOË GRACE MORETZ An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity. When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened? In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. “A fascinating look at the disease that...could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life” (People), Brain on Fire is an unforgettable exploration of memory and identity, faith and love, and a profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic.

Denaiir

Extremely interesting account of the experience Susannah Cahalan lived, I couldn't put it down and the audiobook version was great.

This is a real-life horror story, a gripping personal account of a young woman's descent into a madness for which there seemed to be no cure.

Reyna Mendoza

Such an amazing book. Her story is truly frightening as it is inspiring.

Ayesha ahmed

An interesting read based on the true story of Susannah Cahalan, an up-and-coming journalist at the New York Post.  She experienced various life-changing symptoms including voices in her head and seizures and continued to progress into what many thought was mental illness.  The story is fascinating as it covers her very lengthy hospital stay and all the many misdiagnoses and steps it took to finally determine an accurate diagnosis.  Her experiences chronicled in this book, as well as a movie, have been a lifesaver to many who have followed in her footsteps. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy true stories related to medical journeys.  I found it difficult to put down.  The chapters are short; normally just a few pages long and a quick read.  

Linda Smith

Lucy Marshall

** spoiler alert **
           Really really good! Very science-full however of which was good for me but maybe not for everyone, would recommend though because it really sheds an important light on a lot of things!

Matthew Royal

Excellent first hand account of a brain infection that presents as mental illness. It's truly revealing how much stigma we put on mental illness and neurological problems when seen through the lens of the root issue being a "real" illness like encephalitis. The diagnostic tools most doctors use are inadequate, being subjective behavioral measures. 

I've concluded from this book and other books on medicine and medical practice that we need to update medical practices to be data driven, starting with performing high resolution, full-body imaging every year. Any areas of inflammation, any odd tumors or large changes from previous scans demands immediate attention, and eliminate so much guesswork that plagues patients know, who know something is wrong, but encounter only doctors convinced they drink too much or are "crazy."

Belle

Considering about half this book takes place during a period when the author has no memory of events to rely on, she did a wonderful job of pulling together all the resources she could to describe what happened to her. This book was a lot like a real-life episode of House M.D., only with a sprinkle of the patient's self-analysis thrown in.

Natalie

This book you guys. While the author’s disease is very, very different from mine, her recreation of her experiences—the emotional landscape of her illness—maps so closely to mine in some ways that it’s eerie. An utterly compelling and fascinating read.

Denise

I found this book fascinating. Well written and with so much valuable information.

Sofia de Anda

I absolutely loved it! I loved the fact that Susannah made the effort to find all of the possible details about what happened to her and the explanation to all of them. Yes, some parts were very technical and I had to read them over like 3 times before I got it correctly and sometimes I even almost fainted cause I am terrible at medical stuff. However, I loved the explanations and I am fascinated at the fact that this actually happened. It really makes me wonder how many people there are out there without a diagnosis. My only complaint (and it is not really a complaint) is that I wish I had known more about Susannah before everything started happening. Although we learn about her old self all throughout the story, I still wish I knew more about the old her. Anyway, if you are interested in the human brain and psychology, this book is for you! And if not, it is probably for you anyway.

Nelson Zagalo

Existem vários problemas aqui, sendo o primeiro de todos a impossibilidade de uma pessoa que passa por um problema grave mental que afeta o seu discernimento, ser a pessoa ideal para contar o que se passou com ela. Por isso, o filme homónimo faz um melhor trabalho. O segundo problema, é que nem a escrita, nem a bagagem da autora ajudam. É tudo trabalhado demasiado à superfície. A construção de realidade apresentada é básica, sem detalhe nem alcance. Temos um mero descritivo do que fazia e do que lhe aconteceu. Na verdade, temos o típico tratamento que é realizado pelo jornal em que trabalhava, o New York Post, um irmão de sangue do nosso Correio da Manhã.

Assim, resta-nos a sua história, e talvez o melhor o facto de ela ter pegado na mesma e ter feito desta uma causa para alertar todos os que podem vir a passar pelo mesmo. Nesse sentido, apesar do livro ser fraquinho, a intenção e o propósito do livro são fortíssimos, e são esses que justificam as notas altas que podemos ver por aqui, assim como toda a discussão que o livro gerou nos jornais.

Para enquadrar. Susannah Cahalan, com apenas 21, começou a perder o controlo do seu comportamento, e depois do seu corpo. Os médicos não conseguiam perceber porquê, tendo começado por diagnósticos psiquiátricos, como forma de fechar o assunto e desistir da paciente. Valeu a preseverança da família. Cahalan foi apenas a 217ª pessoa a ser diagnosticada com o problema da encefalite causada por anticorpos contra o receptor NMDA. Sem este diagnóstico, e o tratamento realizado, teria acabado por ser internada num hospital psiquiátrico e aí permanecido em estado semi-catatónico para o resto dos seus dias.

Celeste Richardson

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Well, that was interesting. And scary. Really, really scary. The thought of suddenly being a prisoner in my own mind, at the mercy of a disease that no one seems able to diagnose, is something straight out of my nightmares. Thankfully, readers know going in that things work out in someone, because this is a first person narrative and conveys the story through the lens of hindsight. 

The author is an investigative journalist at the New York Post, and she puts her skills to use filling in a month that she doesn’t remember, recounting the build up to that month that she does recall and using interviews with family and doctors along with video footage from the hospital to fill in the information she lost. I can’t imagine how odd it had to be researching yourself in that way, and it was a fascinating premise for a nonfiction work. And seeing footage of yourself and your actions of which you have no recollection must have been incredibly strange and uncomfortable.

While the book was undoubtedly interesting, there were sections that were so heavy with medical jargon and biological information that had a quicksand affect on me. I found myself very bogged down and had a hard time following the information back into the story. I understand that this was necessary, especially as this is a work of investigative journalism about an illness with an elusive diagnosis, but medicine is a topic that has always been a struggle for me to not tune out. 

I’m glad I read Brain on Fire. I’m sure it will be nightmare fuel for at least the next week if not longer because I know that it’s a true story. However, I find that I still struggle with nonfiction, even thought I’m an adult and even when the topic is interesting. I suppose that I’m too much of an escapist to truly enjoy a book firmly based in reality. Thankfully, I know that many readers don’t share in that struggle, and I’m sure that others will be absolutely enthralled by this story.

Evidence backed insights about how little healthcare experts actually know (scary), yet shows a sliver of progress proving that today is the best it’s going to get.

Jacqueline Kim

Rec from Pran

Evidence backed insights about how little healthcare experts actually know (scary), yet shows a sliver of progress proving that today is the best it’s going to get.

Jenna

This book was a really quick read. Her disease was really interesting. However, at times the writing style didn't work for me. Overall it was enjoyable though.

Skye Sherman

So good! What a crazy (true) story, and so easy to read because it’s so well reported—anyone interested in psychology or medical mysteries will find this a quick and fascinating dive into an illness we’re only just beginning to spot and understand. Glad she shared her story and now I’m looking forward to reading her next book which was recently released!

Grace Holding

This book has been a mental and emotional rollercoaster, relatable to a T. So spot on. I guessed that’s why the tittle make such an impression at first. I understand by first hand experience what it feels months of unknown, test results coming back normal and puzzled doctors. My own experience wasn’t as deadly as what SC had to go though, my diagnosis took around 5 to 7 months to diagnose, and it does makes a big difference the having a name for what is happening to you, and the same questions, why me? Why now? What triggered it? So many questions without answers, I’m definitely happy that I read this book made me took a whole new point of view, and totally understand why we need to spread awareness about immunological diseases. 
From a person suffering from one to all of you, read this book, is really worth your while.

Abigail Saathoff

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was something I don’t normally read, memoirs, but I made a rare exception for this one and it did not disappoint. The book was detailed and intriguing, including all of the harrowing details of exactly what happened to Susannah Cahalan during her terrifying month of madness. The story was laced with the beauty of a families love, the determination of a partner, and the bravery of friends to continually care and support their friend, even when it isn’t easy. But, I underestimated how hard this would be for me to read, the details rang in my mind and made me feel heavy. Unlike other books, finishing this book was like lifting a weight off my chest, you know Susannah is cured, learn that she used her diagnosis to help others, but it doesn’t make the book any easier to digest.

Mayra Melo

Mars Holscher

Summary:
An autobiographical account of a woman who starts having psychotic episodes and seizures. At first, doctors think it’s a psychological illness, but they discover that it’s a reversible autoimmune disease. The book is about her experience being hospitalized and then recovering from her illness. 

This book is pretty straightforward. It was written by a journalist and that fact is pretty obvious as you read. I felt for her pain and confusion going through the disease she went through, and it’s amazing that the doctors were able to figure out what was wrong with her. However, the entire month in the hospital is murky, because she doesn’t remember any of it. That portion of the book is pieced together based on videos, secondhand accounts, and deduction. If you’re hoping to get into the exact thought process of someone who is experiencing psychosis or going through illness, then you won’t really find it here. Most of the focus is on the symptoms leading up to the hospital visit, the reactions of her family and friends, and her struggle to feel “like herself” again after experiencing extreme cognitive decline. The ordeal sounds like hell, but it wasn’t quite as in-depth as you’d expect from an autobiography because the author literally doesn’t remember what she went through. It’s almost more like a biography. 

There’s also this thread of “thank goodness this was a physical illness and not a mental one, she wasn’t ‘crazy’ after all!” throughout the book that disheartened me a bit. It was obviously a relief for her to discover that her psychosis was curable and that she wasn’t going to be permanently “mad.” But knowing that many people do suffer long-term mental health issues, the tone of her being like “at least it wasn’t schizophrenia!” rubbed me the wrong way. 

Not sure I’d jump to recommend this book, but it’s always nice to pay respects to someone’s struggle by reading about it. It’s great that her sharing her story and releasing this book has helped others - many have been able to receive a proper diagnosis of the same autoimmune condition because they heard her story and brought it to a doctor. The fact that sharing her situation has saved lives, far outweighs any literary criticism on the quality of the writing (in my opinion).

Christina M Masters

Fantastic and somewhat frightening book. It is hard to believe we still don't know so much stuff about the human brain or the human body for that matter and that something like this can strike someone without knowing the underlying cause and be misdiagnosed several times. Thankfully because Susannah Cahalan decided to share her harrowing story (which couldn't have been easy) many others have been saved.

Brain on Fire My Month of Madness

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