SLEEPING BEAUTIES: AND OTHER STORIES OF MYSTERY ILLNESS (PB)

In Sweden, refugee children fall asleep for months and years at a time. In upstate New York, high school students develop contagious seizures. What unites them is that they are all examples of a particular type of psychosomatic illness. Inspired by a poignant encounter with the sleeping refugee children of Sweden, neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan travels the world to visit other communities who have also been subject to outbreaks of so-called 'mystery' illnesses. O'Sullivan hears remarkable stories from a fascinating array of people, and attempts to unravel their complex meaning while asking the question: who gets to define what is and what isn't an illness?