Book tip

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

By Susannah Cahalan

Sure, you could watch the recently released Netflix adaptation of this nonfiction work, but, as in most cases, the book is better. “Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness” was released in 2012, but if you haven’t read it (as I hadn’t until now), you should. It’s a fascinating, fast-moving book about Susannah Cahalan’s struggle with a rare autoimmune disease. She was a 24-year-old reporter for the New York Post when she began having a swift, dramatic physical deterioration — experiencing everything from seizures and numbness to paranoia and psychotic behavior. Cahalan’s writing is powerful without ever becoming overheated, and she has a clear-eyed take on the medical world as well as her personal relationships during that harrowing time.