A review by tanyarobinson
Falling Into the Fire: A Psychiatrist's Encounters with the Mind in Crisis by Christine Montross

4.0

Falling Into the Fire is a tough book to classify. On the one hand it is a collection of medical tales reminiscent of Sach's renowned The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (though I found Montross's book much more enjoyable). On the other hand, it is a memoir of a psychiatrist, learning to "abide with" her distressed and disturbed patients while navigating balance in her role as wife (in a same-gender relationship) and mother. The principle focus is on her patients and their unusual symptoms, but the approach is human rather than clinical. I learned a lot, and feel even greater empathy toward those who suffer with mental disorders.