Book Review - Brain on Fire

This book fascinated me.  From beginning to end, I couldn't put it down.  It was hard to believe the story was real.  The illness that started with flu like symptoms and lead to the author's very strange mental symptoms was crazy.  She goes into a lot of detail about how the brain works and what was going on when she was dealing with her illness.  I've done a lot of reading about the development of the brain and the effect of trauma on the brain - plus the kids and I have just finished a unit on the brain as part of our anatomy curriculum - and so I found it extremely interesting.  However, even if you're not interested in things having to do with the brain, this book is still a good read.  I loved how her family stood by her and fought for the doctors to do more when they wanted to just chalk it up to withdrawal symptoms from an alcohol addiction or schizophrenia.  The loyalty and commitment particularly on the part of her parents and boyfriend was remarkable.  The author did a great job telling her story, which is notable considering the fact that she didn't remember a good chunk of her hospital stay.  She clearly did a lot of research and interviews with those involved in her care to be able to present the story in the way she did.  Overall an incredible book.