"The power of intrusive thoughts, how our brains can turn against us, and living with obsessive compulsive disorder. Have you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this captivating fusion of science, history, and personal memoir, David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind, and how they drive millions of us toward obsession and compulsion. Adam, an editor at Nature and an accomplished science writer, has suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder for twenty years, and this is his unflinchingly honest attempt to understand the condition and his experiences. What might lead an Ethiopian schoolgirl to eat a wall of her house, piece by piece, or a pair of brothers to die beneath an avalanche of household junk that they had compulsively hoarded? At what point does a harmless idea become a blinding blizzard of unwanted thoughts? A book that will challenge the way you think about what is normal and what is mental illness. The haunting story of a personal nightmare and a fascinating doorway into the darkest corners of our minds. "Have you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this ... fusion of science, history, and memoir, [science editor and writer] David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind and explains how they drive millions of us toward obsession and compulsion"--Dust jacket flap.

Our siege mentality -- Bad thoughts -- The mademoiselle and the rat man -- An emerging obsession -- The OCD family -- Cruel to be kind -- The God obsession -- Animals and other relatives -- Man hands on misery to man -- The runaway brain -- Daddy's little helper -- The helicopter view -- Long live lobotomy -- Politics and prejudice -- A new dimension -- Final thoughts.