The neuroscientist who lost her mind : a memoir of madness and recovery

'Oliver Sacks-meets- When Breath Becomes Air ... Barbara Lipska's remarkable story illuminates the many mysteries of our fragile yet resilient brains.' Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice and Every Note Played When renowned neuroscientist Barbara Lipska's melanoma spread to her brain it started to play tricks on her. The expert on mental illness - an expert in how the brain operates - experienced what it is like to go mad. All we think, feel and dream, how we move, if we move, everything that makes us who we are, comes from the brain. So what happens when we lose our mind? Analyzing the science of the mind and the biology of the brain alongisde Dr Lipska's own extraordinary story, this is a powerful account of what happens when the brain fails. 'Completely compelling and powerful, and hard to put down.' Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, prize-winning author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain All we think, feel and dream, how we move, if we move, everything that makes us who we are, comes from the brain. We are the brain. So what happens when the brain fails? What happens when we lose our mind? In January 2015 renowned neuroscientist Barbara Lipska's melanoma spread to her brain. It was, in effect, a death sentence. She had surgery, radiation treatments and entered an immunotherapy clinical trial. And then her brain started to play tricks on her. The expert on mental illness - who had spent a career trying to work out how the brain operates and what happens when it fails - experienced what it is like to go mad. She began to exhibit paranoia and schizophrenia-like symptoms. She became disinhibited, completely unaware of her inappropriate behaviour. She got lost driving home from work, a journey she did every day. She couldn't remember things that had just happened to her. Small details like what she was having for breakfast became an obsession, but she ignored the fact that she was about to die. And she remembers every moment with absolute clarity. Weaving the science of the mind and the biology of the brain into her deeply personal story, this is the dramatic account of Dr Lipska's own brilliant brain gone awry 'Completely compelling and powerful, and hard to put down.' Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, prize-winning author of Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain - Who are we if our brain fails? - How do we think? - How do we feel? - How do we move, if we move at all? - What happens when we lose our mind? When renowned neuroscientist Barbara Lipska's melanoma spread to her brain it started to play tricks on her. The expert on mental illness - a specialist in how the brain operates - experienced what it is like to go mad. Analyzing the science of the mind and the biology of the brain alongisde Dr Lipska's own extraordinary story, this is a fascinating account of what happens when the brain goes awry. 'Oliver Sacks-meets- When Breath Becomes Air ... Barbara Lipska's remarkable story illuminates the many mysteries of our fragile yet resilient brains.' Lisa Genova, bestselling author of Still Alice and Every Note Played