Wide Awake

Praise

“By writing about sleep Morrisroe tells an important story, providing a specific example of a profound social and political question: the relationship between medicine and money.”—Robert Pinsky, The New York Times Book Review

“Cheerfully anecdotal…a journalistic stunt-a-thon full of deadpan funny adventures…a fine firsthand look at insomniac eccentricities.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times
 
“Reading Wide Awake it’s clear Morrisroe is well-versed in the scientific background of sleep. She intelligently breaks down jargon-filled research articles found in academic journals to educate readers about various sleep disorders and treatments.”—Sleep Education Review/American Academy of Sleep Medicine

“Morrisroe has livened up what could have been a wearisomely fact-heavy read by venturing into the field and embracing the spirit of adventure…As with Fast-Food Nation, the book neatly points up the way technology has altered our lives and our health. But far from being earnest, Morrisroe’s romp through the sleep industry is often very funny and full of fascinating examples.”—The Globe and Mail

“Morrisroe’s sparkling writing carries her through. That her journey ends happily, with her discovery of Qigong, means readers will be as encouraged as well as informed, with as much on overcoming insomnia as avoiding snake-oil salesmen.”—Publishers Weekly

“A weird, wonderful journey in search of a good night’s sleep.”—Kirkus Reviews

“As someone who cherishes sleep almost as much as my kids, I found Wide Awake a fascinating romp through all aspects of insomnia. Stumbling onto this underground nation of sleep deprived people was like discovering a whole new sector of the population. I never quite understood the magnitude or the desperation until I read Morrisroe’s personal, humorous, and well-researched memoir about the one thing we can never seem to get enough of.”—Lee Woodruff, author of In an Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing

“Patricia Morrisroe sets out to cure her insomnia with help from America’s booming sleep industry, which peddles everything from Ambien to dental appliances. What she discovers along the way will aid anyone who worries they aren’t getting enough rest.”—Melody Petersen, author of Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs

“Patricia Morrisroe is such an entertaining writer—smart, honest, bitingly funny—that you’ll be riveted by her eye-opening tales of the waking world of insomnia. Anyone looking for a read that will put them to sleep won’t find it here. This is both a page turner and a head turner. You’ll learn everything you ever wanted to know about the multi-billion dollar sleep industry, and in the process, you might even learn to sleep.” —Lucy Danziger, Editor-in-Chief, SELF magazine and author of The Nine Rooms of Happiness

“Patricia Morrisroe tosses and turns her way through the landscape of insomnia, taking us along on a guided tour so rich in literary allusion, sleep lore, and uniquely personal insight that I stayed up all night reading it.  At once poetic, intimate, and surprisingly informative, Wide Awake is a self-portrait of the insomniac as author—a story full of nuance, revelation and surprise that might just as easily be subtitled, Alice’s Adventures In Slumberland. As for the title itself—I’m proud to share it!”—Alan Berliner, director of the HBO documentary film, Wide Awake.

“Bursting with fresh revelations, Wide Awake is a mesmerizing exegesis on sleep and its discontents, written with wit, charm, and, above all, wisdom born of Morrisroe’s triumphant struggle with insomnia.” —A. Roger Ekirch, author of At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past

“Wide Awake manages to be both witty and informative, an absolute must-read for anyone looking to get the bottom of why Americans spend 20 billion a year trying to get a better night’s sleep.  Morrisroe’s hard-won conclusion might just change your life.”—Alexandra Fuller, author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight