prettydeadlady's review against another edition
1.0
Not my favorite book. He either needed to stick with her own story or an exposé and she just kept hopping back and forth. I finished because I was curious what happened but wasn't engaged in it at all.
lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition
1.0
I bailed on this book at around page 75. The author had made up her mind about the mental health care system in this country before she began writing and her disdain came through loud and clear. I was interested in reading an unbiased account of being an inpatient on a psych floor.
In the few pages I did read, I did think a lot about the problems with our mental health care system. We haven't found the answer for those who need daily care to keep them safe and off the streets.
The one thought that kept screaming in my head from page one was, "insurance fraud!" I would love to know how the author managed this, or paid for it.
In the few pages I did read, I did think a lot about the problems with our mental health care system. We haven't found the answer for those who need daily care to keep them safe and off the streets.
The one thought that kept screaming in my head from page one was, "insurance fraud!" I would love to know how the author managed this, or paid for it.
allysw's review against another edition
I honestly don't know what to say about this one other than it made me think. A lot. She's very skeptical of drugs and meds in general. I have major issues with that in the first place. She comes from a place of being incredibly wary of Big Pharma. I get that. I do. It's a catch-22, being a person who takes drugs for mental illness. We need them, but they're also a product to be marketed and being aware of that is very healthy. And being aware of the side effects of major tranquilizers and heavy anti-psychotics that are used in hospital settings, sure, that is a good idea. But I'm just not sure if I buy her waxing poetic about how she's unsure of how her brain chemistry has been affected by a decade on Prozac. Come on. You just described half of America. We're fine.
There's a lot of navel-gazing and a lot of fighting on her part the fact that there may have been a med or two that could have shut out the constant, loud, angry symptoms of her depression. But once you get past that, her story and experiences are compelling. And the things she has to say about institutionalization in this country are valid.
Solid and thought-provoking. I think.
There's a lot of navel-gazing and a lot of fighting on her part the fact that there may have been a med or two that could have shut out the constant, loud, angry symptoms of her depression. But once you get past that, her story and experiences are compelling. And the things she has to say about institutionalization in this country are valid.
Solid and thought-provoking. I think.
emiged's review against another edition
3.0
Ms. Vincent, as someone who has fought her mental illness for years, comes across as forthright readable, and above all, credible. Her insights are pointed, searching, and persuasive. While not completely objective – after all, it's her own mental health, how could she be? – she recognizes the merits and drawbacks of each treatment setting and gives each its fair due. And the conclusion she reaches is that at some point the individual involved must make a choice to fight for wellness if the fight is to have any chance at success.
She is utterly, completely, baldly honest, revealing thoughts and reactions that do not always paint herself in a positive light. But her candor compels the reader to examine his/her own thoughts and admit she's got a point. Ms. Vincent's acerbic wit crops up frequently as she faces the contradictions and dilemmas in the system head-on with a refreshing admission that she doesn't have the answers. Her perspective is what she has to offer.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
She is utterly, completely, baldly honest, revealing thoughts and reactions that do not always paint herself in a positive light. But her candor compels the reader to examine his/her own thoughts and admit she's got a point. Ms. Vincent's acerbic wit crops up frequently as she faces the contradictions and dilemmas in the system head-on with a refreshing admission that she doesn't have the answers. Her perspective is what she has to offer.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
jessicabrazeal's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an interesting look at mental health systems in this country. Many of the review seem angry at Vincent for her perspective, and yet it just seems she is writing about her own experiences and I don't know how you argue with that.
As a mental health professional, I found this to be a really interesting perspective to have. I tended to agree with Vincent on the way mental health is conceptualized in this country, the way in which a medical/pathology based model has been running the show, and often to the detriment of the clients. It seemed that the better the relationships with the those in the role of the helping professions, the more progress and mental health that Vincent actually cultivated.
Relationships are key. We were made to live together and where people are isolated, usually as a result of trauma, that is where the difficulty arises.
As a mental health professional, I found this to be a really interesting perspective to have. I tended to agree with Vincent on the way mental health is conceptualized in this country, the way in which a medical/pathology based model has been running the show, and often to the detriment of the clients. It seemed that the better the relationships with the those in the role of the helping professions, the more progress and mental health that Vincent actually cultivated.
Relationships are key. We were made to live together and where people are isolated, usually as a result of trauma, that is where the difficulty arises.
pinkpengin's review against another edition
5.0
Most people probably would not like this book. I am not most people. I love it. Thank you, Norah, for sharing the story of people like us. Maybe we're weird, maybe we're the most normal of all, but knowing that whichever it is, we're not alone - that's pretty amazing.
beththebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
At first, this book isn't as richly detailed as Self-Made Man. That's actually appropriate as we start out with Norah checking herself into a public mental ward that is pretty blank except where it's squalid.
Norah Vincent's storytelling gets richer in detail and depth as it goes on. Her observations direct and unflinching. For example: when relating the story of a "too good for this ward" middle-class newcomer, Norah acknowledges her own snobbery regarding other patients.
This bright light turned both outward and inward continues to illuminate in the second part, when Norah Vincent checks into a private mental hospital/addiction rehabilitation center for people who have insurance. Ms. Vincent expands even more on her own experiences and opinions about various aspects of mental-illness treatment.
Norah Vincent's storytelling gets richer in detail and depth as it goes on. Her observations direct and unflinching. For example: when relating the story of a "too good for this ward" middle-class newcomer, Norah acknowledges her own snobbery regarding other patients.
This bright light turned both outward and inward continues to illuminate in the second part, when Norah Vincent checks into a private mental hospital/addiction rehabilitation center for people who have insurance. Ms. Vincent expands even more on her own experiences and opinions about various aspects of mental-illness treatment.
specificwonderland's review against another edition
3.0
A little more pretentious than SMM. It was okay.
lanagailani's review
2.0
I had read one of Norah Vincent's other books but completely forgot about it, so when I saw this for $5 at the bookstore, I remembered the author and took a chance. Norah (who has a history of depression) commits herself to three different inpatient programs to see how they handle mental illness, as well as how she handles committed care. Unless you have no knowledge of mental illness or the institutions charged with managing the committed, her revelations are not groundbreaking. This is not an expose, nor is it a cry for reform. Though she does discuss the many problems these programs face, she also acknowledges that there are no easy solutions, especially when dealing with people who lack either a will to change, or an external support network. The solutions she finds for herself made sense to me as someone with experience of depression, and here also there is nothing groundbreaking- the way out is through, and taking care of oneself is a lot of daily, rigorous work. Her experience matches Charles Duhigg's book The Power of Habit- changing cycles of thoughts and behaviors that cause harm or worsen feelings is a lot like breaking bad habits and forming new ones. These things sound easy or simplistic in theory, though in practice the practice is much harder, and Vincent does not gloss over the ugly parts.
I suppose this read was useful in reaffirming what I already knew, and in that sense the book served as a reminder to keep up my own psychological maintenance, but it wasn't anything more than that.
Looking up her other book- Self-Made Man- I remember that I've actually read it, and the premise was much more interesting than the conclusions she was able to draw. With this book, I feel the same way. I understand that it's extremely hard to objectively view the world around you- let alone write about it, or take proper notes- when you're in the throes of depression, so perhaps that had an impact on what she was able to achieve. Hoever, if that's the case then perhaps writing a book about this experience was not the thing to do. A much shorter piece could have accomplished the same ends as this did without revealing so clearly the weaknesses.
I suppose this read was useful in reaffirming what I already knew, and in that sense the book served as a reminder to keep up my own psychological maintenance, but it wasn't anything more than that.
Looking up her other book- Self-Made Man- I remember that I've actually read it, and the premise was much more interesting than the conclusions she was able to draw. With this book, I feel the same way. I understand that it's extremely hard to objectively view the world around you- let alone write about it, or take proper notes- when you're in the throes of depression, so perhaps that had an impact on what she was able to achieve. Hoever, if that's the case then perhaps writing a book about this experience was not the thing to do. A much shorter piece could have accomplished the same ends as this did without revealing so clearly the weaknesses.