The Sleeping Beauties

By Suzanne O'Sullivan,

Book cover of The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness

Book description

Shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize.

A gripping investigation into an extraordinary medical phenomenon, from Wellcome Prize-winning neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan.

'To compare any book to a Sacks is unfair, but this one lives up to it . . . I finished it feeling thrillingly unsettled, and wishing there…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Sleeping Beauties as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love this book because the writing gripped me from the first story of girls in Sweden falling into a sleep-like state.

I loved the richness of the case studies and the compassionate humanity with which O’Sullivan recounts mysterious psychogenic illnesses from all around the world. I found myself intrigued by some of the exotic locations and fascinating spiritual beliefs of the people she interviewed while, at the same time, clearly recognizing the way we, too, have our own illness narratives that shape our understanding of distress and suffering here in the West.

I couldn’t put this book down!

Want books like The Sleeping Beauties?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 89 books like The Sleeping Beauties.

Browse books like The Sleeping Beauties

Book cover of The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
Book cover of Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche
Book cover of The End of Trauma: How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,188

readers submitted
so far, will you?