The World's Best Book Summaries
Who were Susannah Cahalan’s parents? How did the parents of Susannah Cahalan keep pushing until she was properly diagnosed? Susannah Cahalan’s parents are divorced, but they came together to fight for their daughter. When doctors wanted to say she was mentally ill or alcoholic, they refused to accept that answer. Read more about Susannah Cahalan’s parents and how they helped her during her illness.
Who was Dr. Siegel, the neurologist who couldn’t diagnose Susannah? How did he try to help? Dr. Siegel is a neurologist that joined Susannah’s medical team and reassured her mother. He suspected brain inflammation and pulled Dr. Souhel Najjar into the case. Read more about Dr. Siegel, neurologist, and his contributions in Brain on Fire.
What are the Brain on Fire themes that you need to know? How do these themes reflect Susannah Cahalan’s journey? The Brain on Fire themes are positivity, loyalty, fear, and memory. Each reflects an important component of the story. Read more about the key Brain on Fire themes that are essential to understanding the book.
How did doctors finally reach a diagnosis in Brain on Fire? What was the Brain on Fire diagnosis? The Brain on Fire diagnosis was anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis. After many tests, including a brain biopsy, doctors were able to give Susannah Cahalan an answer. Read more about the Brain on Fire diagnosis and how doctors got there.
What are the most popular diets? What claims are made by all the plans on the list of fad diets? Fad diets promise results fast, and are often restrictive. Unfortunately, they usually don’t work in the long term, and can lead to weight loss plateaus or re-gaining the weight you lost. See a list of fad diets that all promise big results, but may disappoint.
Do you know how to read food labels? What should you be looking for in a list of nutrition facts? Food labels are important sources of information, but you need to know what to look for. If you know how to read food labels, you can make better choices. Read on to learn how to read food labels and what ingredients should be red flags.
What does it mean when you are seeing things that are not there? What happened when Susannah Cahalan started having visual hallucinations in Brain on Fire? Seeing things that are not there was a common experience for Susannah as she developed anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis. She had a variety of visual and auditory hallucinations. Read more about how and why Susannah experienced seeing things that are not there.
What is the anti NMDA receptor encephalitis clock test? How did it help diagnose Susannah Cahalan? The anti NMDA receptor encephalitis clock test is used to diagnose the condition. Patients can’t properly draw a clock face due to the inflammation in their brains. Read about the use of the anti NMDA receptor encephalitis clock test and how it helped diagnose Susannah Cahalan.
What is pseudopsychosis? How does it differ from true psychosis? Pseudopsychosis is a symptom of an underlying condition. In Brain on Fire, Susannah Cahalan appeared to be having a psychotic break but was suffering from an autoimmune disease. Read more about pseudopsychosis and what caused it in Susannah’s case.
How do we form memories? Is the process of memory formation impaired by autoimmune encephalitis? Memory formation is the process by which the brain stores knowledge and experiences. It is an essential process for regular functioning. But diseases like autoimmune encephalitis can get in the way of this process. Read more about how Susannah’s memory formation in the brain was impaired when her brain was on “fire”.