Julie Rehmeyer spent years battling a mysterious illness so extreme that she often couldn't turn over in her bed. The top specialists in the world were powerless to help, and research on her disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, was at a near standstill. Having exhausted the plausible ideas, Julie turned to an implausible one. Going against both her instincts and her training as a science journalist and mathematician, she followed the advice of strangers she'd met on the Internet. Their theory--that mold in her home and possessions was making her sick--struck her as wacky pseudoscience. But they had recovered from chronic fatigue syndrome as severe as hers. To test the theory that toxic mold was making her sick, Julie drove into the desert alone, leaving behind everything she owned. With only her scientific savvy, investigative journalism skills, and dog, Frances, to rely on, Julie carved out her own path to wellness--and uncovered how shocking scientific neglect and misconduct had forced her and millions of others to go it alone. She describes how her illness transformed her understanding of science, medicine, and spirituality.

Part 1: Descent. Construction and destruction ; Crippled ; Doctors ; The split between the worlds ; The great collapse ; The miracle ; Alone -- Part 2: Solitary. Rage ; A life, limited ; The circus ; An unlikely hypothesis -- Part 3. The womb of the earth ; Death Valley ; The mold tour ; Homecoming ; An embryonic life ; A wake and a baptism -- Part 4: Emergence. Connection ; The devil disease ; Moldy science ; Crazy neurological people ; Timmy the wood elf ; Rebirthday ; Psychic science ; A Shakespearean ending.