Brain on Fire
In her memoir, Brain on Fire, Susannah Cahalan undergoes psychosis, seizures, and hallucinations. She describes her condition as “an existence in purgatory between the real world and a cloudy fictitious realm made up of hallucinations and paranoia” (p. 41). Doctors, her family, and she herself are unaware of what is causing these symptoms and what should be done to treat them, but they are determined to get her back to the intelligent, vibrant woman she was before. Under this condition, Cahalan was no longer in control of herself; what her body was going do next was unpredictable. Not only was her health at risk, but also the loss of her soul: “We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it” (p. 43). Without a treatment or cure, the disease would prevail and possibly cost her her life. The mystery of her insanity was resolved eventually with a …show more content…
Cahalan’s recovery would not have been possible without the perseverance of her family and the doctors. In my own life, I have persevered in working to achieve personal goals. For example, one year I desperately wanted to swim on the relay team at the championship swim meet. In order to earn a spot on the relay team, I would have to beat a teammate in the backstroke event. I practiced on my own every day for weeks, in addition to attending regular practice, to try to improve my time. While I was ultimately not able to beat my competitor, my disappointment was somewhat reduced by the satisfaction I felt at having given it my best shot. Looking back, my perseverance helped me develop “grit” and determination which remains with me to this day. While the journey that Cahalan’s family endured was excruciating to say the least, her eventual recovery and the knowledge that they did everything they could for her were the ultimate
In her memoir, Brain on Fire, Susannah Cahalan undergoes psychosis, seizures, and hallucinations. She describes her condition as “an existence in purgatory between the real world and a cloudy fictitious realm made up of hallucinations and paranoia” (p. 41). Doctors, her family, and she herself are unaware of what is causing these symptoms and what should be done to treat them, but they are determined to get her back to the intelligent, vibrant woman she was before. Under this condition, Cahalan was no longer in control of herself; what her body was going do next was unpredictable. Not only was her health at risk, but also the loss of her soul: “We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it” (p. 43). Without a treatment or cure, the disease would prevail and possibly cost her her life. The mystery of her insanity was resolved eventually with a …show more content…
Cahalan’s recovery would not have been possible without the perseverance of her family and the doctors. In my own life, I have persevered in working to achieve personal goals. For example, one year I desperately wanted to swim on the relay team at the championship swim meet. In order to earn a spot on the relay team, I would have to beat a teammate in the backstroke event. I practiced on my own every day for weeks, in addition to attending regular practice, to try to improve my time. While I was ultimately not able to beat my competitor, my disappointment was somewhat reduced by the satisfaction I felt at having given it my best shot. Looking back, my perseverance helped me develop “grit” and determination which remains with me to this day. While the journey that Cahalan’s family endured was excruciating to say the least, her eventual recovery and the knowledge that they did everything they could for her were the ultimate