In this collection of literary essays “reminiscent of Oliver Sacks and the best of medical writing” (Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water), a neurologist reckons with the stories we tell about our brains, and the stories our brains tell us.

A girl believes she has been struck blind for stealing a kiss. A mother watches helplessly as each of her children is replaced by a changeling. A woman is haunted each month by the same four chords of a single song. In neurology, illness can seem as strange as any fairytale, the clues to unraveling these mysteries hidden in both the details of a patient's story and the tells of their body.

Stories are etched into the very structure of our brains, coded so deeply that the impulse for storytelling survives and even surges after the most devastating injuries. But the stories our brains concoct are also malleable, shaped by cultural narratives about bodies and illness that permeate the minds of doctors and patients alike. In the history of medicine, some stories are heard, while others—the narratives of women, of Black and brown people, of displaced people, of disempowered people—are too often dismissed.

In The Mind Electric, Anand reveals—through case studies from her Boston hospital and beyond, alongside history, fable, and memoir—all that the medical establishment has overlooked: the complexity and wonder of brains in health and in extremis, and the vast gray area between sanity and insanity, doctor and patient, and illness and wellness, each separated from the next by the illusion of a different story.

“Hallucinations, convulsions, delusions, and other symptoms shed light on the brain’s obscure machinery, according to this luminous debut from neurologist Anand…At the heart of the book is an exploration of the intimate links between narrative and medicine—how the brain slots confusing impressions into stories to find ‘order in the chaos,’ but also how patients create narratives to understand their symptoms; how doctors selectively cull from that information to shape diagnoses; and how cultural narratives inform the ways patients and doctors view bodies, illness, and treatment. In the process, Anand elegantly transforms the clinical minutiae of neurological disorders into evocative poetry. An engrossing exploration of the brain’s extraordinary powers and terrifying frailties.”

—Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

“Fully charged...an undeniable grace and humanity permeate these pages.”

—Booklist, starred review

“Pria Anand braids together science and narrative in this magnificent exploration of how the mind shapes—and upends—the story of our life. The Mind Electric is as gorgeous and complex and astounding as the brain itself.”
—Laura van den Berg, author of State of Paradise

“The Mind Electric is stunning, full of wisdom, revelation, and poetry. I was continually awed by Dr. Pria Anand’s insight into the darkest shadows of the human experience. I loved every minute of this remarkable book, and I will never think of my brain and body in the same way again.”
—Susannah Cahalan, New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire

“At once epic and intricate, personal and universal, The Mind Electric is a fascinating journey through the curious capacities of our brains. Through Pria Anand's poetic and compassionate narration, the role of the brain in constructing who we are, and how we connect to others, glimmers on every page. A moving and compelling testimony to the importance of telling – and listening to – the stories of what makes us human.”
—Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women

“Pria Anand just might be the heir to Oliver Sacks. Her gorgeous writing and incisive analysis reveal the marvelous neurological underpinnings of our existence. A stunning debut!”
—Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, author of What Doctors Feel

“Vivid and entertaining, The Mind Electric takes us into the strange and sometimes wonderful landscape of neurological impairment. This is a beautifully written book.”

—TM Luhrmann, Professor of Anthropology, Stanford University

“In The Mind Electric, Pria Anand shares the strangeness and sheer wonder of our brains in a testament to the wildness inside us all.”
—New Scientist

“A rich and humane work, compelling in its compassion for the personal stories behind the symptoms that bring people to clinics. Pria Anand deftly weaves her own story of change with those of her patients.”
—Gwen Adshead, author of The Devil You Know

“Anand’s writing is reminiscent of Oliver Sacks and the best of medical writing. I found the tales of her personal experiences and the dive into history fascinating. The Mind Electric is a compelling read."
—Abraham Verghese, author of The Covenant of Water