Brain on Fire

Twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan is a writer for The New York Post who lives with her new boyfriend Stephen. Susannah becomes ill suddenly, initially showing symptoms of a common flu like a cough and fatigue, but later begins presenting strange behaviour while in a trance state, such as hearing people say things they have not said and hypersensitivity to loud noises.

Over time, her behaviour becomes more and more erratic. Finally, Susannah has a seizure and seeks medical treatment. The doctor consulted is adamant it is down to Susannah partying too much, working too hard and not getting enough sleep. She moves in with her mother Rhona and, after an emotional outburst, has another seizure, and is taken to a clinic where she undergoes an MRI. Susannah also believes she may have bipolar disorder due to her severe mood changes.

Rhona struggles to care for Susannah. Susannah moves in with her father Tom and his fiancée. During dinner one night, she becomes violent towards them while having another outburst, and her parents demand she is hospitalized despite the MRI, EEG, and all other tests showing normal results. There, one of the doctors informs Susannah's parents she could have schizophrenia, and says that if her behavior does not improve, she will be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.

Susannah gradually becomes semi-catatonic, and one of her attending physicians reaches out to Dr. Souhel Najjar to assist in investigating her case. He has Susannah draw a clock; she draws it with all of the numbers (1–12) on the right side of the face, leading him to believe that the right hemisphere of her brain is swollen and inflamed. Najjar has her undergo a brain biopsy for testing. Following the biopsy, it is found that Susannah has a rare disease called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a brain inflammation, which Najjar describes as "a brain on fire". Najjar begins treatment, which leads to a slow but full recovery of her cognitive abilities.

Seven months later, Susannah is back at work. She presents her first wr

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