My month of Madness (Audiobook)

Brain_on_Fire_Susannah_Cahalan

This audiobook was going cheap in an Audible sale. So I just nabbed it without looking into it much and got off to a bad start because I’d assumed it was about mental illness, and the whole style was so flippant, that I started to find it quite irritating. My fault, not the book. Though the title is quite misleading for anyone who has decided to read it without any background info.

What it’s actually about is one woman’s experience with a rare autoimmune reaction in the brain called Anti-NMDA receptor antibody encephalitis. Her experiences are a bit mental! but have little to do with mental illness, though some of the symptoms were similar to psychosis, and schizophrenia. Once I realised it wasn’t about mental illness, I could enjoy it for what it was, and it is an an interesting story. 

It also clearly depicts how easy it is to fall prey to negligence, ignorance, and misdiagnosis at the hands of the medical profession, and how sheer luck can sometimes play such a huge part in getting the right diagnosis and treatment.

I also love to coming across nuggets of information that completely dispel mythical tales of woo. In this case the symptoms that she suffered, seen through the wrong eyes, could be perceived as a demonic possession.

Science:1, Superstitious Bullshit: 0.

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