It's author David B.'s story of his brother's battle with epilepsybut it turns into a penetrating and sometimes lacerating self-examination on the author's part, as he delves into his own complex emotions and his family's troubled history, as well as his own youthful fantasy life.

Originally published in French as: Ascension du haut-mal. "Originally published in France in six volumes as L'ascension du haut-mal, by L'Association, Paris, 1996-2004. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 were or[i]ginally published in a single volume in English as Epileptic 1, by L'Association, Paris, in 2002"--Verso t.p.