Brain on fire : my month of madness
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references.

The story of twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan and the life-saving discovery of the autoimmune disorder that nearly killed her -- and that could perhaps be the root of "demonic possessions" throughout history. In 2009. the author woke up alone in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. Her medical records chronicled a month long hospital stay of which she had no memory at all; the records showed psychosis, violence, and dangerous instability. Yet, only weeks earlier she had been a healthy, ambitious twenty-four-year-old. Susannah's astonishing memoir chronicles the swift path of her illness and the lucky, last-minute intervention led by one of the few doctors capable of saving her life. Neurologist Souhel Najjar recognized the symptoms of a newly discovered autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks the brain, a disease now thought to be tied to both schizophrenia and autism, and perhaps the root of "demonic possessions" throughout history. This is the account of one woman's struggle to recapture her identity and to rediscover herself among the fragments left behind.