As a doctor, I say that the sufferer seeks an environment she can control. Such is the clinical take. As a sufferer (and that is the word), I say that agoraphobia hasn’t ravaged my life so much as become it.
-- Narrator (Friday, Oct, 29 — Chapter 6)

Importance: Anna shares with her reader that she has two different viewpoints of agoraphobia. One of these comes from her experience and education as a psychiatrist. The doctor in her says that an agoraphobe wants to remain in an environment he can control. Because she suffers this disorder, Anna disagrees with the positive lilt the psychiatrist in her gives to her disorder. The Anna who suffers agoraphobia believes that her disorder has taken over her entire life.

The number of times parents asked me whether Adderall would benefit their kids, the number of times I turned them down cold — and now I’m angling for it myself.
-- Narrator (Tuesday, Nov. 2 — Chapter 16)

Importance: The doctor and...