'Brain On Fire' In 2009, a rare autoimmune disease grabbed writer Susannah Cahalan and plunged her into a nightmare world of paranoia, psychosis, and ultimately, catatonia. In another era, it’s likely she would have been permanently institutionalized or given a lobotomy; in another culture, she might have been exorcised for demonic possession.
Yahoo Health: Autoimmune Disease
With taut, horror-movie plotting, Cahalan’s new memoir, ‘Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness’ pieces together her utter physical and mental breakdown, her terrifying lost month in the hospital, and the grueling year it took to recover.
Related: Homes Featured in Amityville Horror for Sale
Before she mysteriously contracted the disease, Cahalan was a bright, outgoing, and ambitious 24-year-old reporter for the New York Post. After exhibiting flu-like symptoms that were initially diagnosed as mono, she suddenly began experiencing delusions and behaving erratically. Within a few weeks, she became increasingly abusive, moody, and
Read More »from 'Brain on Fire’: A Writer Possessed