Review by Booklist Review
New York Times Magazine writer Bergner (Sing for Your Life, 2016) delves into difficult questions surrounding mental health in his sixth nonfiction book. Bergner brings in his own personal stake in this topic: his younger brother had severe struggles with mental health, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and spent significant periods of time living in psych wards. Examining also the stories of Caroline, a woman who battles psychosis, and David, who is dealing with depression, Bergner discusses how mental illnesses are perceived, diagnosed, and treated, as well as how all of those elements have shifted over time. Glimpses into the history of psychiatric care are presented alongside the real-life stories of people who have been on the receiving end of that care--and often quite harmfully so. Bergner pushes readers to question our society's demand to pathologize mental illness as the sole path towards destigmatizing it. Rather, he effectively argues for the need to view mental health through varied lenses, involving sociopolitical factors and centering the perspectives of those most impacted by these issues.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With an unsparing eye and novelist's flair for storytelling, New York Times Magazine contributor Bergner (Sing for Your Life) explores "the chasm between physiology and consciousness... between what we're made of and who we are" in the treatment of mental illness. His brother, Bob, was diagnosed as bipolar as a young adult, institutionalized, and given "major doses" of antipsychotics "that left his hands tremoring." This story becomes the driver, and source of radical empathy, behind Bergner's exploration of the limits of Western medicine. Using the stories of Caroline, a roller derby star who hears voices, and David, a civil rights attorney whose withdrawal from antidepressants is exponentially worse than his initial depression, as moving examples to ground his case, a thesis emerges: drugs have been ham-fistedly prescribed to treat mental illnesses, despite minimal efficacy and little regard for serious side effects. As Bergner picks the brains of neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and others guided by "the ultimate hope not only of treating our conditions but of understanding our minds," he sheds light on the long-running tension between biology-driven psychiatry and psychoanalysis, and lucidly examines alternative treatment options, such as therapeutic farms and peer support networks. It all amounts to a compassionate, genre-spanning narrative that calls for less fixing, and more appreciation of and accommodations for many kinds of minds. This will leave readers with much to ponder. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A personal and studied reckoning with "the cost of our belief in biological psychiatry." New York Times Magazine contributing writer Bergner credits his latest book to his younger brother, Bob, whose struggles with mental health led the author to this undertaking. Were it not for Bob, writes the author, "I would never have met the scientists who study our brains with the ultimate hope not only of treating our conditions but of understanding our minds, of crossing that chasm between…what we're made of and who we are." Bergner interweaves science--historical and current--with narratives focused on a handful of people, Bob included, all of whom were told they would need psychotropic medications for the rest of their lives; additionally, he adds his own insights and quotes a bevy of sources. Two of his subjects, Caroline and David, reveal their battles with psychosis, depression, anxiety, paranoia, and suicidal ideation as well as their experiences on and off medications, including the side effects and brutal withdrawal symptoms. The author unpacks the history of first- and second-generation psychiatric drugs and some of the financially motivated coverups of their manufacturers, and he reveals studies proving the stunning efficacy of placebos in treating depression. Bergner devotes many pages to conversations with and the work of neuroscientists Eric Nestler and Donald Goff, who are searching for new ways to treat depression and psychotic conditions. In a talk with Goff about Caroline, Bergner notes the doctor's language: "has she been tried on was certainly a striking construction, distinguishable from has she tried. She was the object, not the subject, of the sentence, the recipient, not the one deciding." Ultimately, Bergner concludes, "psychiatry cannot fully hear individuality so long as the profession clings to scientific authority. To listen, to truly listen, the profession would have to let go. It would have to embrace the idea of working with patients, of proceeding on footing that is more equal than not, even when with is elusive." An inescapably relevant and resonant journey into the impacts of our limited understanding of the mind. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
