Brain on Fire reviewed

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness is an autobiography and a memoir written by the American author and journalist Susannah Cahalan. The book published by Simon & Schuster records Cahalan’s experience with a rare form of encephalitis, an autoimmune disease and a brain inflammation affecting anti-NDMA receptors and causing hallucinations, seizures, and ovarian teratoma.

Storyline

Cahalan’s award-winning New York Times bestseller goes into harrowing detail describing her experiences upon waking up in a hospital bed with no recollection of the month that led to her hospitalization.

Cahalan recounts her hospital stay, her tackling of memory loss, and all the trauma she had to face realizing her own body and memory were outside her control.

Equally as terrifying as her violent outbursts and delusional episodes are the diagnoses and opinions shared by the medical system. She is labeled as a party animal who lets loose too much, a schizophrenia patient, and a case of psychosis waiting to explode.

Things start taking a less Victorian turn when Dr. Souhel Najjar, a Syrian-American neurologist, suggests she might be suffering from an autoimmune disease. Najjar’s suspicion is, of course, completely justified, and his treatment sets Cahalan on a journey to recovery.

The book covers Cahalan’s life post-recovery. She gives an honest, nothing-held-back account of her reaction to the treatment in the neurology wing, the diagnoses she was given, and her experiences with the initial symptoms.

Is Brain on Fire an audiobook?

Brain on Fire was released to positive book reviews, and it’s praised for its sincere, candid account of the author’s struggle with autoimmune encephalitis and the mental health issues that follow it. Tackling issues such as the effectiveness of the medical system, the treatment of women in medical institutions, and perseverance in the face of hardship, the book is a must-read for everyone with even a shred of interest in the memoir genre.

The book is available in audio format. In fact, you can listen to it narrated wonderfully by the author herself at Speechify Audiobooks.

Listen to Brain on Fire at Speechify

Are you interested in autobiographies, medical mysteries, and young women’s accounts of their experiences with mental health? Introduce your book club to Speechify Audiobooks, a new audiobook platform with over 70,000 titles, including Brain on Fire.

With Speechify Audiobooks, you can listen to Cahalan’s experiences with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis at your own pace and easily pick up where you left off on any of your devices.

Sign up for Speechify Audiobooks and get your first premium audiobook, such as Brain on Fire, for free.

Who wrote Brain on Fire?

Who is Susannah Cahalan? Who was Susannah Cahalan prior to her sudden illness? Cahalan was a journalist for the New York Post before she was diagnosed, and it was actually her editor who suggested she write about her illness.

Recovering from the illness, Cahalan tapped into her journalistic skills and began working on her memoir. Her approach was that of disassociation, objectivity, and factuality, and she worked tirelessly tracing the events as they developed chronologically.

Cahalan made use of hospital records, witness accounts, and stories told by those closest to her to craft a straightforward narrative that pieced together all the events of the hellish month she spent in NYU hospital’s epilepsy ward.

Writing the memoir, Cahalan says, was a way for her to regain control and face her fears.

Film adaptation

In 2016, Brain on Fire was adapted into a biographical drama film by the Irish filmmaker Gerard Barrett. The movie stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Susannah; Thomas Mann as Stephen, her boyfriend; Tyler Perry as her boss Richard; Carrie-Anne Moss as Rhona Nack, her mother; Richard Armitage as Tom, her father; and Navid Negehban as Souhel Najjar.

During its 95-minute runtime, the movie covers most of the crucial events and milestones on Cahalan’s journey to recovery. However, the movie met little praise, being criticized for its failure to dramatize the shocking events recounted in the memoir. The movie suffers from clichés that detract from the otherwise interesting story, and its characterization fails to engage the audience and present Moretz’s portrayal of Cahalan as relatable.

The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is now available on Netflix, where it was released in 2018.

FAQ

What is the illness in Brain on Fire?

The illness Cahalan suffered from was autoimmune encephalitis.

Is Brain on Fire a real story?

Yes. Brain on Fire is a true story.

Is Brain on Fire about schizophrenia?

Brain on Fire is about one’s experiences with encephalitis, but it does touch on the themes of mental illness in general, including schizophrenia.

What is the treatment for Brain on Fire?

The treatment for Cahalan’s illness is a combination of drugs, such as corticosteroids, intravenous immune globulin, chemo, and plasma exchange.

What causes Brain on Fire?

The causes of encephalitis include viruses such as herpes, bacteria, and parasites, as well as other autoimmune diseases.

Did Susannah Cahalan have schizophrenia?

No, Susannah Cahalan did not have schizophrenia.

What is the importance of the book Brain on Fire?

Brain on Fire is important for several reasons. For one, it raises mental health and encephalitis awareness, ensuring no one suffers the same fate as the twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan. It also sets the bar high for memoirs and similar genres and encourages others to share their experiences with life-threatening illnesses and inspire their readers to stay strong in their own struggles.

The book also represents a unique and first-hand collection of insights into the hardships of encephalitis, providing medical researchers with an indispensable research tool.

What is the treatment for schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is treated with medicine and talking therapy meant to provide the patient with daily support.