Brain on fire : my month of madness
(Book - Regular Print)
Author
Published
New York : Free Press, 2012.
Edition
First Free Press hardcover edition.
Physical Desc
xii, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Status
Yavapai College Prescott - LIMBO - Items being donated to other libraries
RC390.C24 2012
1 available
RC390.C24 2012
1 available
More Details
Published
New York : Free Press, 2012.
Format
Book - Regular Print
Edition
First Free Press hardcover edition.
Language
English
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
Description
The story of twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan and the life-saving discovery of the autoimmune disorder that nearly killed her -- and that could perhaps be the root of "demonic possessions" throughout history.
Description
One day in 2009, twenty-four-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. A wristband marked her as a "flight risk," and her medical records, chronicling a monthlong hospital stay of which she had no memory at all, showed hallucinations, violence, and dangerous instability. Only weeks earlier, Susannah had been on the threshold of a new, adult life, a healthy, ambitious college grad a few months into her first serious relationship and a promising career as a cub reporter at a major New York newspaper. Who was the stranger who had taken over her body? What was happening to her mind? In this narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her inexplicable descent into madness and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn't happen. A team of doctors would spend a month, and more than a million dollars, trying desperately to pin down a medical explanation for what had gone wrong. Meanwhile, as the days passed and her family, boyfriend, and friends helplessly stood watch by her bed, she began to move inexorably through psychosis into catatonia and, ultimately, toward death. Yet even as this period nearly tore her family apart, it offered an extraordinary testament to their faith in Susannah and their refusal to let her go. Then, neurologist Souhel Najjar joined her team and, with he help of a lucky, ingenious test, saved her life. He recognized the symptoms of a newly discovered autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks th brain, a disease now thought to be tied to both schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps the root of "demonic possessions" throughout history. This story is the powerful account of one woman's struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind. Using all her considerable journalistic skills, and building from hospital records and surveillance video, interviews with family and friends, and excerpts from the deeply moving journal her father kept during her illness, Susannah pieces together the story of her "lost month" to write an unforgettable memoir about memory and identity, faith and love.
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Cottonwood Public Library - NF - Nonfiction Books | 616.832 CAH | Checked Out |
Yavapai College Prescott - LIMBO - Items being donated to other libraries | RC390.C24 2012 | Find It Now |
Subjects
LC Subjects
Autoimmune diseases -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Biographies.
Cahalan, Susannah -- Health.
Cahalan, Susannah -- Mental health.
Case studies.
Diagnostic errors -- United States -- Case studies.
Encephalitis -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Frontal lobes -- Diseases -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Limbic system -- Diseases -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Biographies.
Cahalan, Susannah -- Health.
Cahalan, Susannah -- Mental health.
Case studies.
Diagnostic errors -- United States -- Case studies.
Encephalitis -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Frontal lobes -- Diseases -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Limbic system -- Diseases -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
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Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Cahalan, S. (2012). Brain on fire: my month of madness (First Free Press hardcover edition.). Free Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Cahalan, Susannah. 2012. Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness. Free Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Cahalan, Susannah. Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness Free Press, 2012.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Cahalan, Susannah. Brain On Fire: My Month of Madness First Free Press hardcover edition., Free Press, 2012.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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