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Brain on Fire (2016)
Brain on Fire (2016)
2016 | Drama
Susannah comes down with a mystery illness, first she has flu like symptoms and it is mistaken for being hung over, but once the seizures, paranoia and change of personality kicks in, her parents know something is seriously wrong and demand she is admitted to hospital where she will stay until doctors can find out what's wrong.
Before watching this movie I had never heard of Susannah Cahalan nor her illness. I thoroughly enjoyed it though, it was interesting and highlighted the reality that some things can be misdiagnosed so many times before getting to the bottom of things. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed though, it would have been interesting to watch her recovery and how her family coped with that but I guess that would made the movie too long.
I've enjoyed watching chloe grace moretz movies since the Carrie remake and each time she betters herself, she played Susannah very well and made it feel very real. A must watch movie.
  
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Ben Watt recommended Alone at the Vanguard by Fred Hersch in Music (curated)

 
Alone at the Vanguard by Fred Hersch
Alone at the Vanguard by Fred Hersch
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Fred Hersch is a hugely respected jazz pianist who was diagnosed HIV-positive in the 80s. He didn't talk about it publicly until the 90s. Then in 2008, he got very ill, and fell into a coma, which he stayed in for two months. When he came round he'd lost all his muscle memory, which is obviously devastating when you're a jazz pianist. So he had to learn to play again. This record was only made three years later, unbelievably.

I find this album very emotional. It's partly the music, which is very beautiful, but it's partly about what he went through. Having had a heavy hospital experience myself, I know how that can affect you. I managed to get a contact for Fred after he made this, and I wrote to him to tell him how much it had moved me. We wrote to each other for a while after that, which was really special."

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John Berendt recommended The Earl of Louisiana in Books (curated)

 
The Earl of Louisiana
The Earl of Louisiana
A.J. Liebling | 2008 | History & Politics, Law
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Earl Long, younger brother of Huey Long and a two-time governor of Louisiana, was one of the most colorful politicians in the South. By the time A.J. Liebling came to Louisiana in 1960 to write a profile of him for The New Yorker, Long had compiled a truly tumultuous political career. His addiction to betting on the horses was legendary, his affair with the stripper Blaze Starr had been the stuff of gossip columns for years and, most notably, he had been committed to an insane asylum (by his wife, “Miz Blanche”) while he was the sitting governor. Realizing he still held the reins of power even though incarcerated, he fired the head of the state hospital system, discharged himself from the asylum, and simply walked out. As Liebling’s profile became a series of articles and then finally a book (which I treasure), his regard for Long evolved from one of bemused contempt to respectful admiration for a wily politician."

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