AUDIO

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

by Susannah Cahalan
7 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 8 hrs. HighBridge Audio. 2012. ISBN 9781611749809. $69; 1 MP3-CD. library/retail eds.; digital download. MEMOIR
COPY ISBN
A New York Post reporter whose work has also has been featured in the New York Times, Cahalan, at age 24, seemed launched into life; she was building a successful career as a journalist, had met a man with whom she shared common interests, and seemed perfectly healthy. Until, that is, she woke up in a hospital with no memory of going there or of the previous month. She created this memoir using her father's journal, her medical records, and interviews with family and friends. The book is interesting as a work of reconstructive journalism and as a record of methods the doctors tried and failed to use on her behalf. The author's own reading adds authenticity and poignancy.
VERDICT For those interested in medical memoirs. ["Cahalan's hip writing style, sympathetic characters, and suspenseful story will appeal to fans of medical thrillers and the television show House," read the review of the New York Times best-selling Free Pr: S. & S. hc, LJ 11/1/12.—Ed.]
Reviewed by Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence , Apr 01, 2013
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