The Ceiling Outside: The Science and Experience of the Disrupted Mind (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781541600874)

As her mother slips into the fog of dementia, a philosopher grapples with the  unbreakable links  between  our bodies and our sense of self. 

A diabetic woman awakens from a coma having forgotten the last ten years of her life. A Haitian immigrant has nightmares that begin bleeding into his waking hours. A retired teacher loses the use of her right hand due to pain of no known origin.

Noga Arikha began studying these patients and their confounding symptoms in order to explore how our physical experiences inform our identities. Soon after she initiated her work, the question took on unexpected urgency, as Arikha's own mother began to show signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Weaving together stories of her subjects' troubles and her mother's decline, Arikha searches for some meaning in the science she has set out to study. The result is an unforgettable journey across the ever-shifting boundaries between ourselves and each other.

Author: Noga Arikha
ISBN-10: 1541600878
ISBN-13: 9781541600874
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 05/03/2022
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.40d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2022