Welcome to Litsy!

I took a half day off work…to do this, basically. I‘m finding this book terrifying. That your body can suddenly turn on you is such a scary thing.

“I was a slave to the machinations of my aberrant brain. We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Both a fascinating neurological case study and harrowing suspense novel in one!

Bio of a young woman in NYC who starts becoming paranoid, violent, experiencing memory loss and seizures, but no one can figure out what‘s wrong with her. After dozens of doctors and months of deterioration, one doctor comes to the rescue. Pretty wild story - will make you appreciate your health, as it can be fleeting.

This true story is like one extremely detailed episode of House, minus House himself. I was riveted for the first half, but became somewhat indifferent to the rest. I guess that's more of a ME problem than a BOOK problem, maybe.

Fantastic book! Reminds me of how fragile and unknown the human body and especially the brain still are, despite the myriad discoveries and breakthroughs. Amazing story I think everyone should read to help increase awareness of various mental diseases. Knowing that there are treatments being discovered could help someone in the future.

#ConflictedWorlds #Self
@Eggs & @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🌷
This story was so terrifying, when your own body turns on you it's so scary.

Super interesting! As a daughter of a man with an autoimmune disease (CIDP), the author's triumphs and her families frustrations are very real, and deeply felt by me. Though the diseases are extremely different the struggle for the correct diagnosis are very similar.

1. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, The Elements of Style, and Project Hail Mary
2. Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
3. Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

#weekendreads

I watched the movie first a while back and I have to say they did a pretty good job. I just think this story was such a medical miracle bc wo that special doctor she probably wouldve ended up much different.

Book 64

I absolutely loved this. I find it amazing that she was able to recover so well. Her tenacity in finding out what happened to her and then putting into words is profound. I enjoyed learning about her month of mad (longer really, when you consider her recovery). What a great memoir. Book 17 in 2021

⭐⭐⭐Overall, it was a good read. I learned a lot about the brain and how a disease can be misdiagnosed. The first half of the book was great learning her symptoms and how she was trying to get help but no one was able to figure out what exactly was wrong with her. But then the second half of the book, once they figured out what the disease was, it then became more of an educational book, interesting, but not the book that I was looking to read.

See image for review.

Yes!!!

Now THIS is a book worth reading. Also a film worth watching if you have Netflix!

Susannah Cahalan shares her story of the struggle to find an accurate diagnosis for her condition which was going undiagnosed at the time!

Just imagine not being able to move, communicate, or express how you‘re feeling inside. And no one can identify what is wrong with you...that‘s the scariest part!

Luckily (spoiler warning) there‘s a happy end in sight.

Two reasons this quote just brought me to tears:

1. “I was shocked he knew nothing about the disease.” When I was in the hospital this past winter for my first two relapses for multiple sclerosis, I had more than one neurologist tell me they were unfamiliar with multiple sclerosis which was why I was there!! It was terrifying. And heartbreaking.

2. “I realize now that my survival, my recovery... is the shocking part.” Yes ma‘am. Enough said.

#3books... That I own (and haven't read) that were adapted into movies (that I haven't seen) 😁

Wow. This was terrifying and captivating. I couldn‘t put it down.

Another spot for #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

I should not be allowed out of the house 😂 We went to 2nd & Charles today after our other plans got cancelled. The tagged was wrapped as a “Blind date with a book” and the description written on it sounded good. So I went for it. Opened it up and...bonus! It‘s already on my TBR list.

Book buying mood is still going strong @Clwojick and @TheAromaofBooks 🤣

Interesting

Book 74
I listened to this memoir about a woman in her 20s who gets sick with a hard-to-diagnose illness. Hearing her experience was fascinating mainly because, I believe, it's elucidates, from a safe distance, what is possible. Noticeable from the writing, the author is a reporter. It's an interesting book, but is found lacking from a literary standpoint.

Based on the many interviews with doctors, nurses, family, & friends; medical records; her father‘s personal journal; hospital video footages; & her notebooks; Susannah pieced together the events of the most traumatic period of her life. Her family‘s & boyfriend‘s faith in her were remarkable. Part memoir, part medical mystery (the medical descriptions are not overwhelming & easy to understand) 🔽

#ReadYourSign #Aries
#YourElementInTheTitle 🔥

#7days7books

Books that changed me or had a lasting impression on me.

Day 5 (I missed yesterday)

Wanna play @hes7 🧐🤗

#7days7books

Day 2:

Brain on Fire is a story that left a deep impression on me because of how hard she had to fight fo have her voice heard. She could have been easily dismissed as needing psychiatric assistance. But she was persistent in the midst of what she was experiencing.

“I live with that constant refrain— not of self-pity but the real question of why my body decided to turn on itself.” 🧠

This book is 3/5 stars for me; I definitely recommend reading as it is a great medical mystery case, very well-told. However I found that the author didn‘t explore her identity as deeply as I‘d hoped. I found that part a bit shallow, but I think most people will still really enjoy this book!

Read this! It is captivating and brave and beautifully written. I couldn‘t put it down.

“Sometimes, just when we need them, life wraps metaphors up in little bows for us. When you think all is lost, the things you need the most return unexpectedly.”

Fascinating!

My rating of this book is completely a personal preference. It‘s not a reflection of this author‘s courage to share her story nor the narration. I can‘t even begin to imagine what it‘s like to be ill and have no idea why. *Print credit goes to @mypoesoul (https://poesoulstudio.com) #MountTBR

Oops! I did it again....went to Barnes and Noble....came home with two books🤦

Hokey Pete was that an intense read. I can‘t begin to imagine what Susannah‘s experience was like or even that of her family. I‘d never heard of this condition before or how scary it could be. Susannah‘s writing was fantastic and I totally devoured this book.

Final day of a short vacation in Utah. Everyone else spent the trip skiing or snowboarding; I had a morning routine of meditating, yoga, and qigong followed by a nap then reading by the fire. Pretty sure I made the better choice. 😉

Buy one get one half-off at Barnes and Noble today!

You can so tell she‘s a journalist!

I have felt that odd whir of wings in the head.

Fascinating and terrifying. I couldn't put this book down as Susannah Cahalan tells her story with courageous, beautiful prose.

#NFNov I didn't fill the board, but I got two bingos!
Thank you to @Clwojick and @rsteve388 for hosting this event! I hope we can do it again!

#NFNov book 4
Bingo card prompt "Health & Medicine
@Clwojick @rsteve388

#NFNov Book 5 finished.
Other litsy reviews have said this book is scary or terrifying. They're right!! I highly recommend it. It makes you wonder how many people have been misdiagnosed with some form of psychotic disorder.
#TIL Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune condition, in which antibodies from the immune system attack a person's brain. @rsteve388 @Clwojick

This was scary, but great on audio. Available on #Hoopla

Unpopular opinion: I enjoyed the mystery of Cahalan‘s illness, but the recovery part of the narrative was so excruciatingly detailed I couldn‘t continue on to finish it. For me, this is why memoir (and some NF) is not in my wheelhouse. Sometimes shorter is more impactful.

This book was so incredibly fascinating. Susannah Cahalan was a normal 24 year old, who was in the midst of launching her career as a journalist when she had a complete psychotic breakdown. She stayed in a hospital for a month where her only recollection of what happens comes from videos where she barely recognizes herself and stories from her family. This book thankfully has a happy ending, but my goodness the story itself is terrifying.

Sitting on the balcony in my jammies to watch the sunset and read my book. 😁

Yes, I'm drinking coffee at 9pm. I'll fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. 4 hours of sleep + 9 hours of teaching = one very tired Rachel. 😴

I wandered over to the used bookstore after Lucas' hair cut and found this gem. I'm going to start reading it now because Susannah's story is so interesting, and it makes me wonder how many other people this has happened to. 🤔

• I love a good mental health memoir but this one just failed to impress me. I'm giving it 2/5 ⭐️ bc it often felt like the author was reading from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. I get it, she had this crazy physical/mental problem with the strangest symptoms and it's certainly a story worth telling; however, the delivery did nothing to keep my interest. I finished the book on audio--but quite listlessly •

Good memoir of having her brain attacked by her immune system. Scary yet encouraging that there is hope.

It‘s almost 8:30 and I‘m thoroughly engrossed with Brain on Fire. #summerreads #teacherreads