The Angel and the Assassin, Donna Jackson Nakazawa
The Angel and the Assassin, Donna Jackson Nakazawa
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The Angel and the Assassin
The Tiny Brain Cell That Changed the Course of Medicine

Author: Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Narrator: Melinda Wade

Unabridged: 10 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/21/2020


Synopsis

A thrilling story of scientific detective work and medical potential that illuminates the newly understood role of microglia—an elusive type of brain cell that is vitally relevant to our everyday lives.
 
“The rarest of books: a combination of page-turning discovery and remarkably readable science journalism.”—Mark Hyman, MD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Food: What the Heck Should I Eat?

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY WIRED

Until recently, microglia were thought to be helpful but rather boring: housekeeper cells in the brain. But a recent groundbreaking discovery has revealed that they connect our physical and mental health in surprising ways. When triggered—and anything that stirs up the immune system in the body can activate microglia, including chronic stressors, trauma, and viral infections—they can contribute to memory problems, anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer’s. Under the right circumstances, however, microglia can be coaxed back into being angelic healers, able to make brain repairs in ways that help alleviate symptoms and hold the promise to one day prevent disease.

With the compassion born of her own experience, award-winning journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa illuminates this newly understood science, following practitioners and patients on the front lines of treatments that help to “reboot” microglia. In at least one case, she witnesses a stunning recovery—and in others, significant relief from pressing symptoms, offering new hope to the tens of millions who suffer from mental, cognitive, and physical health issues.

Hailed as a “riveting,” “stunning,” and “visionary,” The Angel and the Assassin offers us a radically reconceived picture of human health and promises to change everything we thought we knew about how to heal ourselves.

About Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist and public speaker. She is the author of The Last Best Cure, in which she chronicled her yearlong journey to health, and The Autoimmune Epidemic, an investigation into the reasons behind today's rising rates of autoimmune diseases.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Morgan on August 15, 2021

Microglia are a type of white matter brain cell that were until recently understood to play a supportive role in brain health. The Angel and the Assassin is science journalist and Donna Jackson Nakazowa‘s popularization of our emerging understanding of microglia’s prominent role in various chronic i......more

Goodreads review by Joy on March 03, 2020

Disclaimer: I am HUGELY skeptical of science journalism (as everyone should be). Journalists often sensationalize scientific findings in ways that are (sometimes extremely) misleading. So, yes, my critical hat is on as I read this, so a few initial thoughts: 1) The author does, at times, acknowledge......more

Goodreads review by P on April 29, 2022

We read this for a neuroscience book club I co-run. Comment if you want our notes 😊 The author of this book became interested in the topic because she developed a serious and disabling autoimmune disorder. She developed a stomach virus, which her immune system took care of, but then it went overboard......more

Goodreads review by Nat on July 07, 2020

This is a very important book, highlighting game-changing research relevant to so many people (anyone with mental illness, chronic inflammatory conditions, autoimmune diseases, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as to medical professionals.) Microglia make up 10% of......more

Goodreads review by Ashlee Bree on December 04, 2019

My first thoughts: Illuminating. Startling. Objectively informative. Emotionally and psychologically resonant. Broad conceptually yet personal in context. Explanatory on the whole without crossing the line into yawn-inducing drudgery that slaps research statistic after research statistic, or fact af......more


Quotes

“A fascinating deep dive into the unsung heroes (and villains) inside our skulls . . . Donna Jackson Nakazawa has a journalist’s eye for story, a scholar’s understanding of the research, and a patient’s appreciation for how high the stakes truly are.”—Susannah Cahalan, New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire
 
“An inspiring account that will provide a game-changing view of health for generations of researchers, clinicians, and citizens for years to come. Bravo!”—Dan Siegel, M.D., clinical professor, UCLA School of Medicine, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute
 
“Riveting, engaging, and visionary.”—Terry Wahls, M.D., author of The Wahls Protocol
 
“Colorful, page-turning, and accessible . . . I have great hopes for the practical application of what Jackson Nakazawa reveals.”—Amy Myers, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of The Autoimmune Solution
 
“Few nonfiction writers can tell the tale of scientific inquiry so vividly that the reader can feel the excitement of discovery with every word. Donna Jackson Nakazawa is one of those writers, and this book tells the tale of one of the most intriguing and groundbreaking discoveries in all of medicine.”—Shannon Brownlee, senior vice president, Lown Institute, and author of Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer
 
The Angel and the Assassin is one of those astonishing medical yarns that you almost can’t believe: how the power of this tiny cell was so long overlooked, how integral it has become to our understanding of neuroscience and immunology, how it has transformed the most basic ideas of who we are as humans. The book is especially essential reading for women, who face depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and autoimmune disorders at higher rates than men.”—Peggy Orenstein, New York Times bestselling author of Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape
 
“Jackson Nakazawa puts forth a revolutionary new way of thinking about the brain’s immune system and its interactions with immune function in the rest of the body. Much of the information here was new to me and has made me more optimistic about the future of medicine.”—Andrew Weil, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Eight Weeks to Optimum Health and Healthy Aging