The life you planned vanishes instantly when a devastating illness strikes. Everything you took for granted, the ability to walk, to eat, to talk, is suddenly stripped away. Torrie Nguyen is living a typical middle-aged life when a mosquito bite changes the course of her life. Diagnosed with West Nile Virus, the life she hoped for is suddenly gone as paralysis overtakes her body and swelling infiltrates her brain. The struggle to survive brings interactions with bedside angels, and a doctor, willing to take a chance on a treatment for an otherwise "untreatable" disease. In this astonishing memoir, Nguyen gives us a peek into the dark recesses of the mind and spirit when the body fails. She poses the idea that illness is not merely physical, but a mental, emotional, and spiritual journey. The West Nile Diary is a story of perseverance and the realization that we are more than our bodies or our minds.