Brainstorm

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 BroksTender, 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

Dr. Suzanne O’Sullivan has been a consultant in neurology since 2004, first working at The Royal London Hospital and now as a consultant in clinical neurophysiology and neurology at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and for a specialist unit based at the Epilepsy Society. She specializes in the investigation of complex epilepsy and also has an active interest in psychogenic disorders. Suzanne’s book about psychosomatic illness, It’s All in Your Head, won both the Wellcome Book Prize and the Royal Society of Biology Book Prize.