Brainstorm

Detective Stories From the World of Neurology

Suzanne O'Sullivan author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Vintage Publishing

Published:4th Apr '19

Should be back in stock very soon

Brainstorm cover

The brain is the most complex structure in the universe. Accompany one of the UK's top neurologists as she tries to puzzle out some of the most eye-opening symptoms medicine has to offer

Brainstorm is testament to O'Sullivan's unshowy clarity of thought and her continued marvelling at the mysteries of the brain’ GuardianBrainstorm examines the stories of people whose symptoms are so strange even their doctor struggles to know how to solve them.

True neurological mysteries from the consulting room.

A man sees cartoon characters running across the room. A teenager comes home with inexplicably torn clothes. One girl’s world becomes Alice in Wonderland; another collapses like a ragdoll whenever she thinks about moving.

For neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan, such symptoms are clues. Brainstorm follows patients whose experiences are so unusual that diagnosis becomes a form of detective work, requiring close attention to tiny details of behaviour, sensation and memory.

Feelings of déjà vu can point towards the hippocampus; apparently unrelated movements or fears can lead a neurologist towards particular regions and processes in the brain. O’Sullivan takes readers through that reasoning while never losing sight of the people whose lives depend on getting the diagnosis right.

Written by the bestselling, prizewinning author of It’s All in Your Head, Sleeping Beauties and The Age of Diagnosis, this is a journey through neurological medicine and the extraordinary variety of human experience, showing how much the brain can reveal precisely when it begins to behave strangely.

‘I loved it. She is in my view the best science writer around – a true descendant of Oliver Sacks’ Sathnam Sanghera

Powerfully life-affirming... Brainstorm is testament to O'Sullivan's unshowy clarity of thought and her continued marvelling at the mysteries of the brain -- Colin Grant * Guardian *
A fascinating attempt to draw the lay reader into understanding more about the function and malfunction of the brain by using real-life stories... O'Sullivan is a good, clear writer, lacks pomposity and avoids cliché -- her first book, It's All in Your Head, won the Wellcome Prize -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *
O'Sullivan writes beautifully and is full of wonder... a pleasure -- John Preston * Mail on Sunday *
A tremendously interesting work of medical humanity... The main effect of this fascinating collection of clinical stories, by the end, is to make any reader without brain dysfunction exceedingly grateful for the fragile miracle going in inside their own skull every second -- Steven Poole * Daily Telegraph *
I loved it. She is in my view the best science writer around - a true descendant of Oliver Sacks * Sathnam Sanghera, author of The Boy with the Topknot *
Eye-opening...her case histories alert us to the endless variety of human experience -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *
Engaging and diverse... Brainstorm isn't just a good read. It's full of interesting science, clearly described... In a literary scene now overrun with books by doctors, many of them bald exercises in self-aggrandisement, this one stands out. Brainstorm is an engrossing book written by a doctor whose primary interest is in her patients -- Gabriel Weston * Lancet *
Full of fascinating insights... As one would expect from a neurologist in the Oliver Sacks tradition, O'Sullivan is a sure guide to these maverick brains -- Mark Honigsbaum * Observer *
Brainstorm is an engaging collection of neurological case stories interwoven with lucid scientific asides. It offers keen insights into the disturbing and fascinating condition of epilepsy, and thereby the ever-elusive workings of the brain. It will undoubtedly appeal to clinicians and students across a range of disciplines but deserves a much wider readership -- Paul Broks
Tender, moving and fascinating… This is a book about neurology, and how the function of our brains affects everything. But it is much more than that. Suzanne O’Sullivan’s real detective work is found in the gaps and spaces between doctor and patient, where she gets to the heart of who we are -- Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness

ISBN: 9781784704995

Dimensions: 197mm x 129mm x 22mm

Weight: 249g

352 pages