Reviews

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

erinkolb's review against another edition

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4.0

Absolutely fascinating!

spare_comma's review against another edition

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I'll come back to it. Just not right now

westonculture's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm not sure which aspect of this book I found more frightening: that our body/brain can so suddenly attack itself or the level of misdiagnosis when a person presents with the symptoms? Probably the latter as the book left me with the thought: how many people with this condition (anti-NMDA autoimmune encephalitis) are stuck in psych wards or living doped to the gills because they've been misdiagnosed with a mental illness?

ohokaykay's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

sarasey1's review against another edition

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3.0

Did the audiobook version so maybe I just wasn’t a fan of the voice, but it felt like an incredible story written with the vocabulary and prose of a buzz feed article :( I was hoping for so much more. Maybe my expectations were too high.

This is certainly an impressive task and book. I can’t imagine the emotions and work that went into uncovering and reliving and not remembering a life event of this magnitude. Maybe I wanted something more personal from the author, which is why I enjoyed the last few chapters of the book so much more. Maybe that’s unfair of me to ask her to connect personally with a time period she doesn’t remember.

Would definitely 100% recommend. It just wasn’t the literary work of art I was expecting, and maybe that’s on me!

nicperlman's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

4.5

seasideimprov's review against another edition

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4.0

i remember watching the movie years ago and not liking it. the book is much better but man is it terrifying 

ktnl22's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Had watched the movie and enjoyed it, so wanted to try the book. It was very informative of the struggles Susannah and her close ones went through during her illness and diagnosis. 

taramarion's review against another edition

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3.0

It’s terrifying to think that your body can attack your brain and mimic symptoms of mental illness. This could happen to anyone. The author’s account of her life before, during and after her battle with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is well written and compelling. I commend Susannah for her courage to share her story. It’s a fascinating read for anyone who has ever suffered from a brain disorder.