They’ve only been dating a short time, but their relationship is trusting and comfortable. Susannah doesn’t know she’s suffering from Ekbom syndrome, an obsession with bugs that can signal the onset of psychosis. This was the start of Susannah’s brain on fire symptoms.Ī few days later, Susannah wakes up contentedly, alone in her boyfriend’s bed Stephen’s a musician, and he’s already at rehearsal. She’s convinced her apartment is infested, even though an exterminator says otherwise. Uncharacteristic Behaviorĭuring the height of the Manhattan bedbug scare in 2009, Susannah finds two red dots on her arm. Like most 24-year-olds, she thinks nothing can go wrong with her vibrant, happy life. She’s admired by her colleagues and respected by her editors. Onset of the Disease in Brain on FireĪt 24 years old, Susannah Cahalan is an ambitious, dedicated reporter for the New York Post. Read more about Susannah Cahalan and her journey to diagnose the disease in Brain on Fire. It is a rare disease that was difficult to diagnose. The disease in Brain on Fire is anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis. What was the disease in Brain on Fire? How did the disease in Brain on Fire change Susannah’s behavior? Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading. GradeSaver, 18 January 2019 Web.This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of "Brain On Fire" by Susannah Cahalan. Next Section Irony Previous Section Symbols, Allegory and Motifs How To Cite in MLA Format Sexton, Timothy. Will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. You can help us out by revising, improving and updatingĪfter you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. We’re hoping to paint a detailed enough landscape of the elephant.” Update this section! “We’re sort of approaching the elephant from the front end and from the back end in the hopes of touching in the middle. The study of the mind-something which cannot be seen-is, she suggests, quite similar in that: Balice-Gordon uses the parable of blind men touching a different part of an elephant in effort to determine what they are holding as a metaphor for neuroscience. “Often, like today, the newsroom is as quiet as a morgue.” The Elephant in the Headĭr. One particular comparison used in a simile is also a chilling sort of foreshadowing on several levels: The manifestation of symptoms are essential to the story because they reveal the difficult process of making a proper diagnosis of a truly rare condition when those symptoms mimic a host of far less serious and more common problems. Much of the first half of the text uses her workplace as the setting in which to frame how the slowly evolving manifestations of her medical condition transforms her personality. It is while working as a reporter at the New York Post that the author’s brain begins catch fire. The metaphor here refers to that particular aspect of Christmas tree lights which may make this reference obscure to younger readers. At one time, all strings of Christmas lights had one incredibly annoying feature in common: if just one bulb went blew out, the circuit would be broken and maybe some or maybe none of the other lights would work. The string of lights which adorn Christmas trees today are different from their origins. The opening line of the chapter subtitled “Multiple Personality Disorder” presents a metaphor that is dependent upon knowing history. “The mind is like a circuit of Christmas tree lights.” This mummy-like aspect would eventually become quite significant to the process of finally receiving a proper diagnosis. “My arms suddenly whipped straight out in front of me, like a mummy, as my eyes rolled back and my body stiffened.” This already unnerving scene is almost immediately doubled in intensity when: The author’s health problems being to take a serious and notable turn one night when her boyfriend wakes up in bed to find her sitting up straight, eyes wide open but seemingly not seeing. The phrase is a metaphor describing the inflammation of the author’s brain resulting from autoimmune reaction. The phrase is the shorthand that the doctor who finally provides a correct diagnosis uses to explain the complication condition to the author’s parents. The title of the book itself is the very first metaphor the reader encounters. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.
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