Welcome to Litsy!

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

#audiobook #30Junebooks These are my current audiobooks. Brain on Fire is intense and I am close to finding out whodunit in the Christie.

@howjessreads

#nonfiction2019 I finished two NF books today. #somethingpersonal = Brain on Fire and #somethingwithtravel = The Motorcycle Diaries

Listening to my audiobook from my Amtrak bedroom. I‘ve been doing this trek from the east coast to the Midwest so many times this year - on plane, train, and automobile - with my mom‘s unexpected & serious illness that I decided now that she‘s stabilized back home, I‘d treat myself on the way back East this last train ride (hopefully) for a while.

Went thrifting with a friend today and while she was looking at clothes I was looking at books. Picked up this like new copy for $1.99.

📖 Brain on Fire
🎥 Scanners
🎶 There's a Zombie on Your Lawn

https://youtu.be/Yy86WS7pzoM

#manicmonday @joscho

#manicmonday @JoScho

📘 Brain on Fire
📽 A Beautiful Mind
🎶 Brain Stew by Green Day

Why are these specific books in my cart? Check out my latest BookTube video to find out! https://youtu.be/ngKwixH3mek

#booktube #thriftstorebooks #bookcommunity #bookfun

Read it in one sitting- completely engrossing, terrifying, fantastic

Some books I plan on reading this year:
1.Brain on Fire
2. Educated
3.Becoming
4.Audacity
5.What Happened

Interesting, and scary. A bit long though, I had to jack the speed up to 1.5 in the last quarter of the book or so because I was just ready to be done with it. The narrator may have been part of the issue.

#nonfiction #audiobook

#AnglophileApril Susannah Cahalan seemed to finally be living the life she always dreamt of, at 24 she had a great job, supportive boyfriend until she began having moments and bouts of unexplained #paranoia. Soon this happy, talented woman was unable to concentrate / function at her daily job or perform menial tasks. Nobody had a valid reason what was happening to her, every one was quick to assume stress & anxiety ~ but they were wrong.

This year I decided to read more about patient experiences to ready myself for clinical work. I am about 1 year from being an OTR/L and a little cognitive assessment could have hurried this lady‘s progress along. But alas, a detailed history of waking up in a hospital, afraid, is needed to understand the patient experience.

⭐️⭐️⭐️: Really interesting perspective on how Susannah‘s life was turned upside down with a genetic autoimmune disease.

Thanks for the tag, @Chrissyreadit !

1. Fiction, if I have to choose
2. Tagged!
3. Algebra 1 & 2
4. Early Modern England: (Shakespeare & Tudor Court literature 💕)
5. If you haven‘t done this one yet, consider yourself tagged!

#frideas #saturdayedition @SailorMoon

This is an amazing first-person account of the journalist who seemingly went psychotic out of nowhere, who was later diagnosed with a treatable illness. The author does an excellent job of describing what it felt like to descend into madness, and she also does a wonderful job of explaining the scientific and medical concepts in a very clear and understandable way.

I went into this #audiobook thinking it would be an intriguing medical mystery and it is, particularly part two. But as a woman with an autoimmune disease, I was taken aback by how similar our experience of getting ill (part one) and recovery (part three) were. Like Susannah, I still sometimes struggle with coming to terms with the lost time of my illness and how the experience profoundly changed me.

Possibly TW - hospitals, illness, psychosis

I found this fascinating to read. The thought of losing memories, days and oneself seems to me like a nightmare scenario. The author balances her experiences with simple medical terminology, cites doctors notes and watches hospital footage of herself in an attempt to chronologically regain her lost month and the interactions she had with family, friends and work colleagues.

So early in the year to be reading one of my 2 annual nonfiction books! 😆 This was really good as an audiobook, and wow that reader can really rattle off her eventual 18-syllable diagnosis. Seriously, I counted. The second half is like a real-life episode of House, which is good in that I don't feel obligated to keep up with the medical talk since they're inevitably wrong but also bad in that it was easy to tune out. Still, would recommend!

A fascinating (and frightening) medical mystery. I can only hope this saves a lot of lives.

I've been enjoying this, but it's starting to feel like an episode of House, where I tune out all the new medical theories because the book is only 50% done and I'm just waiting for the reveal closer to the end.

Fascinating story but a bit unnerving to read. I like the book but I can‘t wait until it‘s finished. 🧠

While sorting through/erasing old phone pictures, stumbled upon this one from an old read... Gotta love how life sends you reminders of the things you need at just the right times or when you didn‘t think you need it at all.

I avoided this book like the plague since it came out. I was convinced I wouldn‘t find it interesting. But it was on sale last week and I picked it up and oh my word. This story is terrifying and incredible and I devoured it.

This story is so eye opening and as much fascinating as it is frightening. Susannah Cahalan is a fantastic writer. I enjoyed that her medical explanations were informative and easy to digest, and she reveals all of the important information true to the timeline of when and how it all happened. It was a really fast read for me, I could hardly put it down.

This was such an interesting and scary read. If you like a medical mystery then this is the book for you but what got me the most was just how damn lucky the author was. She acknowledges this but if she hadn‘t had her family around her being strong advocates for her we wouldn‘t in all probability have this book at all.
The medical stuff is made easily understandable for the lay person and I can‘t say much other than wow knowing that it‘s true.

Great book!

This is an incredible story that will leave you whispering “Jeez...” to yourself at the end of nearly every chapter. It‘s both terrifying and interesting A few chemicals out of balance, some blocked receptors, and it all completely changes. Because of her unique situation, Cahalan manages to write an autobiography with both distance and closeness, keeping readers in the moment while also sharing an outsider view. You haven‘t read anything like it.

My newest acquisitions.

Finally got around to watching this on Netflix. It was good. #booktomovie

I may have bought some stuff.

The existence of forgetting has never been proved: we only know that some things do not come to our mind when we want them to. - Friedrich Nietzsche

I dunno about this book but I got it on some sale a while ago and I needed a book to listen to. I have to open tomorrow but I‘m too restless to sleep so I‘m trying some #audiomarmalading with my new love: yuzu. Dang these little guys are beautiful. Yesterday Roommate and I had some yuzu and honey tea and it was proper gorge.

“I have a gift. I can age people with my mind. This is who I am. And they cannot take this away from me.”

Driving to Augusta to watch my son play basketball. This book is so good so far!

I love learning about the brain. Psychology was my favorite course in high school, and I took three courses in college. I remember learning about H.M., and it being one of my favorite cases to study. A man lived his whole life believing he was only 27... It sounds blissful and absolutely terrifying all at once.

An empty inbox = reading time. 👀📚

September wrap up. I loved Brain on Fire and Faithful Place. The rest ranged from meh to good.

Book mail 1/3 came in 😬

My currently reading and tbr #bookstack. Brain on Fire is on my kindle and is for my book club.

#readingresolutions @Jess7

Took a break from #MakeMeReadIt to finish my book club pick from July! 😂😂

This story was so compelling. The author did a great job of explaining the medical concepts in a very accessible way. I can‘t imagine what she went through, even after following her journey. It is so easy to write off your own symptoms & not push for more answers. Kudos to her family for not simply accepting diagnoses. Wonderful read!

I didn't even know this was turned into a movie. I loved the book; this movie seems kinda terrible so far though.

A great read! I was able to keep up with what was going on. Not too technical.