No matter where I was on Sunday, this book was with me. Between canning marinara sauce, and pickles (not together, of course, and not something I will ever do again), reading on my half finished deck between raindrops (half finished is a story for another day!), and even while staring G.B. into a corner to capture her for a much needed cleaning - this book was with me.
Susannah Cahalan was twenty-four when two small bites appeared on her arm. Thinking they were bed-bug bites, she dismissed them. This was the first in a long series of questionable incidents - were the bites ever really there? Over the coming weeks, she intermittently experienced a number of puzzling and often debilitating symptoms. Her thinking became fuzzy; she flip-flopped between depression and euphoria, and eventually, she was hospitalized in a near catatonic state.
Weeks of tests, both invasive physical tests and challenging mental exams, led to a myriad of diagnosis, treatments, and medications along with the looming thought that the best placement for Susannah might be in a mental institution.
Susannah recalls much of what took place during that dark month through hospital paperwork, and the memories of family, friends and medical professionals. She herself has little memory of the horrifying month in the hospital when, according to one doctor, her brain was on fire.
This is an intense book, and because she regains her journalist chops and writes about her struggle, we don't have to hold our breath for a positive outcome. My only criticism with the book is that it is structured like a mystery. I rushed to the end to learn the final diagnosis. Had I been informed from the start, I may have read the biological and neurological information with greater intention. Still, she handles them in understandable terms, using analogies and without talking down to her readers.
According to the cover, a movie version is on the horizon. I am not sure about witnessing this struggle. I am also unsure of how the powerful, first person account can possibly be translated to a film with the same integrity and terror without becoming melodramatic. We'll see....
Thanks for stopping by.
No post next week...Labor Day!
