Longtime insomniac Patricia Morrisroe went on a quest to find a cure for her sleeplessness.
As a child, Morrisroe remembers being a very light sleeper. "Anything could keep me up," she tells NPR's Rebecca Roberts, even good things like the idea of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny coming.
"The real turning point for me," Morrisroe recalls, "was a couple of years ago. I was so tired, I'd only gotten three hours of sleep, and I went out to cross the street on a red light and nearly got hit by a cab, and the cab driver shouted, 'Lady, what's your problem?'"
At that point, Morrisroe really started to think about what her sleeping problem was, and how to fix it.
She visited sleep specialists. She bought soft pillows and expensive sheets. She sought out new treatments and medications. She tried hypnosis and participated in sleep studies.
In Wide Awake, Morrisroe chronicles her search for a good night's sleep.
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