I’ve been reading at a faster clip now that I’m actually done with the Cannonball. Or at least, it feels like it. Maybe it’s because the pressure is off. This latest book comes courtesy of that old traveler’s standby, Hudson News. Even though I have about 20 unread books on my Kindle – including that bastard book five of A Song of Ice and Fire – I always wander into this newsstand/bookstore when I’m at the airport. This book caught my eye and I’m really […]
The horror of losing yourself
I’ve seen Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (2013) by Susannah Cahalan around in bookstores and it caught my interest. So I finally picked it up. This was a fast read and a fascinating true story of a 24-year-old woman who loses her mind, without warning and without explanation. Susannah Cahalan is a reporter at the New York Post when her life starts slowly unraveling. It starts with a little paranoia, acting odd, and missing deadlines. Susannah’s symptoms quickly progress to where she is […]
Brain on Fire
Brain on Fire is the memoir of Susannah Cahalan, a New York Post reporter who at the age of twenty-four began experiencing symptoms of psychosis. These ranged from episodes of paranoia to personality changes to more neurological findings such as grand mal seizures and visual changes. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and alcohol withdrawal by different professionals until finally being admitted to the hospital following a series of seizures. Cahalan herself has little memory of the time after this point; she reconstructed most of […]
You’ll never take your sanity for granted again
Many thanks to Rachel. S., whose review inspired me to read this book. I saw a neurologist once. I was feeling increasingly confused, forgetful, and mentally disheveled. I would find myself driving on the freeway and suddenly not know where I was or where I was going. I would walk into a co-worker’s office only to forget why I was there. I’d read a book or watch a movie and not remember what it was about. The neurologist gave me a handful of tests, during […]
“The brain is a monstrous, beautiful mess.”
This is Susannah Cahalan’s story of how she lost her mind for a month. Susannah was a normal, healthy mid-twenties woman living in New York City. She had a great job as a reporter, a wonderful boyfriend, and a network of friends and family. She was described as outgoing and talkative, and seemed to be the life of the party. Then one day in 2009, she slowly slipped into a state of paranoia, developed seizures, and could no longer control her movements or thoughts. She […]