Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness Susannah Cahalan's Vivid Mix of Memoir and Medical Thriller: "Brain on Fire" By Fred Kasten • Jan 23, 2013 Listen Listening... / 5:30 An interview with the author. Today on The Sound of Books with Fred Kasten, the widely praised new memoir by journalist Susannah Cahalan: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness.