Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

has a special knack for explaining abstractions; Dr. Chris Morrison at the New York University Medical Center, who was so crucial to my understanding of the brain’s “glitches”; Dr. Vincent Racaniello at Columbia University, who shared his knowledge of the awesomeness of viruses; Dr. Philip Harvey at the University of Miami, who showed me how my disease fits within the study of schizophrenia; Dr. Robert Lahita at Newark Beth Israel, who spent hours on the phone bantering about phagocytes; Dr. David Linden at Johns Hopkins University, who patiently explained to me the role of NMDA receptors in the brain; Dr. Joel Pachter at the University of Connecticut, who revealed how the blood-brain barrier works; and, finally, Dr. Henry Roediger III at Washington University in St. Louis and Dr. Elizabeth Loftus at the University of Washington, for explaining false-memory research.

I am grateful to the librarians of the library at the New York Academy of Medicine and at the New York Public Library, and to my fellow science writers at Columbia’s NeuWrite group who helped me accurately navigate through the more intricate scientific passages.

To the incredibly brave survivors and families who have so generously made me a part of their lives: Nesrin Shaheen and her daughter Sonia Gramcko; Emily, Bill, and Grace Gavigan; Sandra Reali; Cheryl, Tony, and Jayden Liuzza; Kiera Givens Echols; Angie McGowan; Donna Harris Zulauf; Annalisa Meier and her parents; and so many others.

To Paul McPolin, my straight-shooting Post editor, you are, as I said, a brilliant editor, and your work and generosity show in these pages. To my Post neighbor Maureen Callahan, who spent many nights listening to me babble over martinis: your insights show on these pages as well. And to Angela Montefinise, who told me the book was “great” when it was far from it, who brought me a cheeseburger in the hospital, who rescued my blue-haired stray, Dusty: I am forever in your debt. And thank you to the extraordinary Julie Stapen not only for bringing some needed levity (with her now infamous “poop” picture) but also for spending two hours patiently shooting me in search of the perfect author photo.

Thank you to Katie Strauss for the stuffed rat, Jennifer Arms for the pumpernickel bagel, Lindsey Derrington for visiting me all the way from St. Louis, Colleen Gutwein for those gorgeous pictures of Cambodia, Mackenzie Dawson for her Sartre quote, and Ginger Adams Otis and Zach Haberman for taking care of Dusty when I wasn’t able to.

To the New York Post, and especially the Sunday staff, which has been so supportive during my illness and throughout the writing of this book. The Post’s cast of characters are among my closest friends. Thank you to the following who have helped in one way or another with the writing of this book: Jim Fanelli, Hasani Gittens, Sue Edelman, Liz Pressman, Isabel Vincent, Rob Walsh, and Kirsten Fleming. Thanks to Steve Lynch, who edited the article “My Mysterious Lost Month of Madness,” on which this book is based, and to my first editor, Lauren Ramsby, who taught me the value of asking that extra “why.”

To the friends and family who offered up their valued perspectives: the Goldmans, the Fasanos, Rosemarie Terenzio, Bryan Cirelli, Jay Turon, Sarah Nurre, Frank Fenimore, Kelsey Kiefer, Calle Gartside, David Bernard, Kristy Schwarzman, Beth Starker, and Jeff Vines. And thank you to Preston Browning, who offered me a place to write at his charming Wellspring House, which has become my second home.

And, finally, thank you to the “purple lady,” whose name I still don’t know.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

Illustration by Morgan Schweitzer: pages 1, 42, 73, 117, 173, 235, 251

Medical record: pages 75, 90, 92, 119

Illustration by Morgan Schweitzer and Susannah Cahalan: page 132

Images from Dr. Josep Dalmau, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Neurology: page 148

Images from Dr. Souhel Najjar, NYU Medical Center, Departments of Neurology and Neuropathology: page 219

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

^{AUTHOR PHOTO BY JULIE STAPEN}

Susannah Cahalan began her investigative reporting career at the New York Post when she took an internship in her senior year of high school. She has now been there for ten years. Her work has also been featured in the New York Times and the Czech Business Weekly, where she worked when she studied abroad during her junior year of college. She was the recipient of the Silurian Award of Excellence in Journalism for Feature Writing for the article “My Mysterious Lost Month of Madness,” on which this book is based. She lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.

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NOTES

CHAPTER 1: BEDBUG BLUES

1 those suffering from parasitosis: Nancy C. Hinkle, “Delusory Parasitosis,” American Entomologist 46, no. 1 (2000): 17–25, http://www.entuga.edu/pubs/delusory.pdf (accessed August 2, 2011).

2 releasing millions of virus particles: Vincent Racaniello, “Virology 101,” Virology Blog: About Viruses and Diseases, http://www.virology.ws/virology-101/ (accessed March 1, 2011). Robert Kulwich, “Flu Attack! How the Virus Invades Your Body,” NPR.org [blog], October 23, 2009 (accessed March 1, 2011).

CHAPTER 4: THE WRESTLER

3 “I used to try to forget about you”: Robert D. Siegel, The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky, Fox Searchlight, 2008.