Details
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Title
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
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Author
Cahalan, Susannah
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Binding
Trade Paperback
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Edition
Reprint
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Condition
New
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Pages
266
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Volumes
1
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Language
ENG
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Publisher
Simon + Schuster Inc., New York
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Date
2013
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Features
Bibliography, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
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Bookseller's Inventory #
004407
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ISBN
9781451621389 / 1451621388
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Weight
0.55 lbs (0.25 kg)
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Dimensions
8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 in (21.08 x 13.97 x 2.03 cm)
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Library of Congress subjects
Autobiographies, Encephalitis
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Dewey Decimal Code
B
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From the publisher
An anniversary edition of the 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--with a new note to readers by the author. 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.
Excerpt
PREFACE
At first, theres just darkness and silence.
Are my eyes open? Hello?
I cant tell if Im moving my mouth or if theres even anyone to ask. Its too dark to see. I blink once, twice, three times. There is a dull foreboding in the pit of my stomach. That, I recognize. My thoughts translate only slowly into language, as if emerging from a pot of molasses. Word by word the questions come: Where am I? Why does my scalp itch? Where is everyone? Then the world around me comes gradually into view, beginning as a pinhole, its diameter steadily expanding. Objects emerge from the murk and sharpen into focus. After a moment I recognize them: TV, curtain, bed.
I know immediately that I need to get out of here. I lurch forward, but something snaps against me. My fingers find a thick mesh vest at my waist holding me to the bed like awhats the word?straitjacket. The vest connects to two cold metal side rails. I wrap my hands around the rails and pull up, but again the straps dig into my chest, yielding only a few inches. Theres an unopened window to my right that looks onto a street. Cars, yellow cars. Taxis. I am in New York. Home.
Before the relief finishes washing over me, though, I see her. The purple lady. She is staring at me.
Help! I shout. Her expression never changes, as if I hadnt said a thing. I shove myself against the straps again.
Dont you go doing that, she croons in a familiar Jamaican accent.
Sybil? But it couldnt be. Sybil was my childhood babysitter. I havent seen her since I was a child. Why would she choose today to reenter my life? Sybil? Where am I?
The hospital. You better calm down. Its not Sybil.
It hurts.
The purple lady moves closer, her breasts brushing against my face as she bends across me to unhook the restraints, starting on the right and moving to the left. With my arms free, I instinctually raise my right hand to scratch my head. But instead of hair and scalp, I find a cotton hat. I rip it off, suddenly angry, and raise both hands to inspect my head further. I feel rows and rows of plastic wires. I pluck one outwhich makes my scalp stingand lower it to eye level; its pink. On my wrist is an orange plastic band. I squint, unable to focus on the words, but after a few seconds, the block letters sharpen: FLIGHT RISK.
Media reviews
Compellinga New York Post reporter recounts her medical nightmare.
Citations
- New York Times Book Review, 09/15/2013, Page 32
About the author
Susannah Cahalan is an award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker. Her 2012 memoir, Brain on Fire has sold over a million copies and was made into a Netflix original movie. Her second book, The Great Pretender was shortlisted for the 2020 Royal Society's Science Book Prize. She has written for The New York Times, New York Post, Elle, The New Scientist, and BBC's Focus, as well as academic journals The Lancet and Biological Psychiatry. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and twin toddlers.
