Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness Kindle Edition

I will be forever grateful to Susannah Cahalan for writing this book. It was brought to my attention by a friend and reading it was what lead us to a diagnosis of Autoimmune Encephalitis for my son. This neurological disease has only been identified in the past twelve years and is not widely understood. It is often misdiagnosed as mental illness due to the neuro-psychotic nature of some of the symptoms. The six months proceeding my son's diagnosis were their own kind of hell, and I am not being mellow dramatic when I say that in writing this book, Susannah gave my son his life back. Without it I have no doubt that he would have been institutionalized.If you have any interest in the brain, medicine, or just enjoy a good medical drama please read this book. Not only is it a gripping medical story, but it raises awareness of an obscure and difficult to diagnose neurological disease. We need all the help we can get to raise awareness of Autoimmune Encephalitis and reading this book is a great place to start. Thank you from the mother of an Autoimmune Encephalitis warrior

I work in the field of mental health with individuals who suffer with persistent metal illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar and major depression. This book has me questioning so much, and thinking about clients who should have been tested for auto immune disorders. I'm questioning everything. I work as a care manager and one of my main goals is to facilitate communicating among providers...psychiatrists, primary care doctors, neurologists, etc. Since reading this, I have placed an even higher value on that role. Susannah's story taught me how vital it is to not take things at face value and to encourage discussion among professionals caring for someone in the throes of a severe illness.

"Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness" should be required reading for everyone in the health care profession- especially neurologists. This past April, 2017, my 18 year old granddaughter, Alysa, after having had seizures, spent 2 weeks in the hospital; MRI's, CT-scans, EEGs and blood work came back normal. Slowly, she became unable to read, to eat, to speak. Slowly, she "descended into madness", becoming violent and hallucinating. In the very beginning of her illness, my daughter-in-law, Gretchen, through research, texted me to have the doctors consider "anti-NMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis". At the same time, my sister-in-law, Downey, wrote to tell me of this book. Nope. None of the doctors at the first hospital had a clue about it. On April 14th, Alysa was transported to Chapel Hill, NC Neuroscience Hospital. (I requested the information about the anti NMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis be forwarded with her records) One month before Alysa's illness, a young woman was the first to be diagnosed with this disease at Chapel Hill. Working with The Mayo Clinic, doctors at CH acquired an infusion- which almost immediately reversed Alysa's psychotic symptoms! She is still recovering and will need more infusions and therapy. Susannah's book has not only given us insight into what was a horrific nightmare for our family, it has also validated getting a second (third or fourth) opinion when a patient's condition is not improving. Thank you, Susannah! I hope you have made a complete recovery by now.

Susannah Cahalan’s book should be required reading for every med school student, clinical psych major and any other front line profession (like teachers) who may encounter – not just NDMA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis – but any other rare disease that defies accurate diagnosis and treatment. At one level this book is a dire warning about the frequency with which symptomology is often forced into pre-conceived categories by medical professionals out of the toxic combination of arrogance, laziness and ignorance, and when those categories don’t match up precisely, how common the search for accurate diagnosis is sacrificed to a diagnosis that ends in NOS – Not Otherwise Specified. Cahalan makes the point that without a relentless physician, she herself would probably be now institutionalized or dead. She stresses that her “cure” represents a likely minority of patients who will never be properly diagnosed or treated and toward the end of the book she takes “Survivor Guilt” head on. Her unflinching self revelations are not entirely what make this account so worthwhile, though she writes without a shred of self pity or maudlin retrospection, (like the very best journalists often do). One of the most compelling features of this memoir is the brilliantly subtle deconstruction of human experience into all the elements - emotion, behavior, and thought, and how significant, even critical to “health” the integration of these functions is. It is a stunning reflection on the very notion of “self” and a remarkably honest disclosure about family and human relationships and the frailty of both. Stylistically the book bears the unmistakable mark of an accomplished journalist, and, If you are a fan of Cheryl Strayed, John Krakauer and Sebastian Junger you will love this book. Unlike Strayed, Krakauer and Junger however, whose "places" were the Pacific Crest, the Alaskan wilderness or the mountains of Afghanistan respectively, Cahalan's journey is the unfathomable complexity of human biology and psychology. It is perhaps the most daunting terrain to visit let alone report on. She does it very well.

This is a really worthwhile read. As the synopsis outlines, a healthy young woman suffers a number of symptoms that eventually going "crazy". The story was written once the author had recovered and using her journalistic skills, interviewing those involved in treating her and those close to her to put everything together. It really shows the power of the brain and how things can go wrong very quickly, and in addition, how far away from discovering everything we really are. The author was fortunate that a specialist doctor was found, who using simple test identified the problem (where other neuro surgeons had put the symptoms down to alcoholism). Interesting also the doctor was from Syria and had been written off academically when younger. Frightening to think that in times gone by, or some countries in the modern day, the author would have been written off as mad, possessed by demons or the like. If ever there was evidence of a need to invest in science and discovery and less in superstitious nonsense, this story is it.

Despite its difficult subject, I found this book enjoyable, enlightening and entertaining. There is still such fear of mental illness in our modern society, that the writer's exposé of the recent medical science in this area, concluding with her own definition of mental illness as 'neurochemical disease' is a rather reassuring one. Perhaps there are many more breakthroughs to be made and many more 'cures' found.There were occasions when the journalistic style grated, as the author sensationalised her experiences of this bizarre and frightening illness - hence the four stars. Overall a gripping and emotionally intense roller coaster ride of a book.

I recently attended a biomedical science seminar that discussed the after effects of autoimmune encephalitis, with Susannah’s story, among others as examples. I felt I had to go away and read more. This book was fantastically well written and I truly felt the slow horror as Susannah’s brain was gradually betrayed by her own body. It’s also great to see how the diagnosis has helped others as well. This is a true testimony as to how mind and body are intrinsically linked, and it seems that many mental health disorders are now starting to be viewed from a physical perspective. So glad I read this and I wish Susannah and her family all the best.

Incredible story. There is a lot of medical terms but I found that to be the most compelling part as it was educational as well as engaging.As someone who has been bounced with different diagnosis it's great to hear of a positive result and even better to hear of recovery. It's also scary how easy a wrong diagnosis can be pounced upon and something so serious can be missed and misunderstood

As a psychology graduate I found the science incredibly interesting, but as a normal young adult I find this story so emotional. I watched the film and cried watching the changes in Susannah which made me want to read her book. I won’t ever forget what happened, it has truly marked me and I hope the author has come to terms with what happened with her in that she received some closure. She is an amazing woman.