A fourth-generation insomniac, Patricia Morrisroe decided
that the only way she’d ever conquer her lifelong sleep
disorder was by becoming an expert on the subject. So, armed
with half a century of personal experience and a
journalist’s curiosity, she set off to explore one of life’s
greatest mysteries: sleep. Wide Awake is the eye-opening
account of Morrisroe’s quest—a compelling memoir that blends
science, culture, and business to tell the story of why
she—and forty million other Americans—can’t sleep at night.
nnOver the course of three years of research
and reporting, Morrisroe talks to sleep doctors, drug
makers, psychiatrists, anthropologists, hypnotherapists,
“wake experts,” mattress salesmen, a magician, an astronaut,
and even a reindeer herder. She spends an uncomfortable
night wired up in a sleep lab. She tries “sleep restriction”
and “brain music therapy.” She buys a high-end sound
machine, custom-made ear plugs, and a “quiet” house in the
country to escape her noisy neighbors in the city. She
attends a continuing medical education course in Las Vegas,
where she discovers that doctors are among the most
sleep-deprived people in the country. She travels to Sonoma,
California, where she attends a Dream Ball costumed as her
“dream self.” To fulfill a childhood fantasy, she celebrates
Christmas Eve two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle,
in the famed Icehotel tossing and turning on an ice bed.
Finally, after traveling the globe, she finds the answer to
her insomnia right around the corner from her apartment in
New York City. nn nA mesmerizing mix of personal insight,
science and social observation, Wide Awake examines the role
of sleep in our increasingly hyperactive culture. For the
millions who suffer from sleepless nights and hazy
caffeine-filled days, this humorous, thought-provoking and
ultimately hopeful book is an essential bedtime companion.
It does, however, come with a warning: Reading it will
promote wakefulness.
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