Während einer Rede zu Ehren ihres kürzlich verstorbenen Vatera, wurde Siri Hustvedt von einem Anfall erschüttert: zitternde Beine, um sich schlagende Arme , doch trotzdem war sie in der Lage, mit klarer Stimme ihre Rede zu beenden. Auf der Suche nach den Gründen für die wiederkehrenden Attacken, stieß sie auf eine interdisziplinäre Gruppe von Wissenschaftlern, die die Idee der Neuropsychoanalyse entwickelten. Hustvedt erhellt in diesem autobiographischen Buch die Fragen nach der Beziehung zwischen Körper und Geist.

FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WHAT I LOVED AND A WOMAN LOOKING AT MEN LOOKING AT WOMEN ''Provocative but often funny, encyclopedic but down to earth . . . an extraordinary double story'' Oliver Sacks ''It is Hustvedt''s gift to write with exemplary clarity of what is by necessity unclear'' Hilary Mantel , Guardian While speaking at a memorial event for her father, the novelist Siri Hustvedt suffered a violent seizure from the neck down. Was it triggered by nerves, emotion - or something else entirely? In this profoundly thought-provoking and revealing book, Hustvedt takes the reader on her journey through psychiatry, philosophy, neuroscience and medical history in search of a diagnosis. Conveying the often frightening mysteries of illness, she illuminates the perennially mysterious connection between mind and body and what we mean by ''I''. ''She has an enviable ability to digest and reframe her discoveries into clear, accessible prose'' Sunday Telegraph PRAISE FOR SIRI HUSTVEDT: ''Hustvedt is that rare artist, a writer of high intelligence, profound sensuality and a less easily definable capacity for which the only word I can find is wisdom'' Salman Rushdie ''It is Hustvedt''s gift to write with exemplary clarity of what is by necessity unclear'' Hilary Mantel ''Her novels have received a deserved acclaim. But to my mind, she is even more to be admired as an essayist . . . in this regard I feel that she resembles Virginia Woolf '' Observer ''Few contemporary writers are as satisfying and stimulating to read as Siri Hustvedt'' Washington Post

Fascinating...what gives the book its originality is that she wavers on the edge of the various disciplines, preferring her own imaginative, deeply personal reflections to the potential certainty that might be offered by doctors...Although a desire for clear-cut answers is understandable, Hustvedt suggests that this is often far from possible. And she leaves the reader thinking about his or her own bouts of illness in a thoroughly fresh way.

Vorwort
By the bestselling author of WHAT I LOVED, an intimate and enlightening account of her search for the key to her mysterious nervous disorder, which brilliantly illuminates the connection between mind and body.

Autorentext
Siri Hustvedt is the author of seven novels, five collections of essays, a poetry collection and a memoir. Her books have been listed for major prizes, including the Booker Prize, the Women's Prize and the PEN America Literary Award. She holds a PhD from Columbia University and has been awarded honorary PhDs from Johannes Gutenberg University, Stendhal University and the University of Oslo. She is a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and has written on art for the New York Times and the Daily Telegraph. Born in Minnesota, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Klappentext

While speaking about her father, Siri Hustvedt found herself a victim of the shudders. Was it a hysterical seizure or a bizarre form of panic attack? Her exploration unearths theories and stories from the annals of medical history, contemporary brain research, as well as literature and philosophy. This is a book about the mysteries of illness and the complexities of diagnosis. In THE SHAKING WOMAN Hustvedt synthesizes her personal experience into a seamless narrative that investigates the age-old dilemmas of the mental and the physical, the mind and the body and what it means to be human.