Helpful Score: 1
The book is at its best when Dr. Seager explores the mental health care history and current system, explaining why things work (or don't) and what can be done to change the system. The melodramatic, bombastic writing gets in the way. The patient stories seem picked for shock value, and while it is effective for layman readers, it is tedious. I was hoping for more systems information and discussion about change. I also didn't see a disclaimer that patient names were changed; I hope they were, as it seems opportunistic if they were not. Some of the medication references are off (Neurontin is not used as monotherapy in bipolar disorder), but this was written seven years ago, so he deserves some slack. It's an interesting read and would have been much better had it been more about the American Mental Health Tragedy and less about Dr. Seager's countertransference, family issues, and titillating case stories.
