Paperback
Unruly molecules unravel minds, sparking gripping tales of brain disease and discovery.

A Molecule Away from Madness

Tales of the Hijacked Brain

$38.81

  • Paperback

    224 pages

  • Release Date

    17 February 2023

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Summary

Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are gripping accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake.

A college student cannot remember if she has eaten breakfast. By dinner, she is strapped to a hospital bed, convinced she is battling zombies. A man planning to propose marriage instead becomes violently enraged, gripped by body spasms …

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781324050544
ISBN-10:1324050543
Author:Sara Manning Peskin
Publisher:WW Norton & Co
Imprint:WW Norton & Co
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:224
Release Date:17 February 2023
Weight:207g
Dimensions:15mm x 140mm x 211mm
A-Format
B-Format
A Molecule Away from Madness by Sara Manning Peskin - ISBN: 9781324050544
140 × 211 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Sara Manning Peskin’s elegant, empathic portrait of the vulnerable brain is both absolutely terrifying and wonderfully optimistic.–Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind

“Peskin writes…with a grace and humanity that recall Oliver Sacks. [She is] a dazzling stylist and a compassionate observer.” – Annie Murphy Paul - New York Times Book Review
“Peskin provides the reader with an acute and evocative demonstration of the fragility and interchangeability of mental, emotional and behavioral states, and shows how they may be affected by the misbehavior of the molecules defining them.” – Adrian Woolfson - Wall Street Journal
“Gripping accounts…scaffolded in clear explanations of their causes, and neuroscientific opportunities towards possible cures.” – Harvard Magazine
“Sara Manning Peskin is remarkably skillful at breaking down complex neuroscience into easily digestible components and explaining the mysteries of the brain with profound elegance. Rarely has a writer been able to depict the devastating consequences of neurologic illness through such poignant patient stories. Like Oliver Sacks before her, she is sure to inspire a generation of future neurologists, neuroscientists, and students of the brain.” – Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, president of the American Academy of Neurology
“Sara Manning Peskin’s elegant, empathic portrait of the vulnerable brain is both absolutely terrifying and wonderfully optimistic.” – Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
“Readable and well-researched… with added appeal for anyone with a loved one suffering from brain disease. Fascinating popular science.” – Kirkus
“Neurologist Peskin debuts with an impressive account of the search for cures for a number of neurologic diseases including dementia and psychosis…There’s much to savor in this powerful survey.” – Publishers Weekly
“Captivating and convincing…should bring hope and confidence to general readers as well as general practitioners, and to the millions living with neurodegenerative illness and their families. An exemplary work.” – Library Journal (starred review)

About The Author

Sara Manning Peskin

Sara Manning Peskin is an assistant professor of clinical neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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