Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
Published by: Simon & Schuster on November 13, 2012
Pages: 268
Source: Purchased by me
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir, Medicine, Psychology

"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?" (Source: Goodreads description)

My Thoughts: I’ll be honest; it took me about 50 pages to really believe what was going on in this psychology memoir. My initial reaction to reading about Cahalan’s slow descent into ‘madness’ was doubt. She’s a journalist, so of course she has the ability to persuade someone into thinking what she wants you to think, but the openness of her journey is what really had me reeling. She approaches her dark experiences in an extremely researched and open way that leaves literally nothing to be imagined. As you crawl deeper into the rabbit hole that was her spiraling life, you come to realize that it’s not a story anyone would create for attention. This memoir relates real psychological and physical pain unlike anything most people will ever experience

I found this book extremely fascinating because it brought together many parts of Cahalan’s life into a bound up piece of work (of course, those pieces she has divulged, not necessarily her as a full person.. You get my point). As a journalist, she went to all of the people she was in contact with during her illness to get the point of views that others had when she was blind to reality. Having the context of her story from others makes it more accurate and ultimately polished.

Even if you aren’t interested in psychology and brain health, this is an extremely beautiful novel. It shows the strength of hope in a situation that can seem otherwise hopeless. It also shows how impossibly difficult it can be when yourself of self is lost and you have to build ‘you’ back up from rubble. Obviously, this isn’t your average memoir.

My Rating: ★★★