I was a medical student in 1962 when I got a summer job working in a VA psychiatric hospital doing routine physicals on the inmates. They were all men and some had been there for years. They were all "chronic hospital cases," as described in this excellent history. Mr. Cramer gives a very thorough history of psychiatry leading up to the introduction of psychiatric drugs that actually worked and the social upheavals of the 60s that led to the emptying of the state mental hospitals. At the time I had my personal experience with the chronic schizophrenic, the deinstitutionalization movement was just getting started. My own days with these patients were similar in many respects to Mr Cramer's experiences with his brother, Ron. Fortunately, none were my relatives and I could go home every night and leave their troubles behind. Still, the experience of talking to them all day was exhausting. My job was to do annual physicals since the psychiatry residents did not want to do so.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Six Reviews on Amazon Now
And all of them five star reviews. Some are by people with professional expertise:
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A buck fifty really is too cheap for all your hard work. I can say that now that I have my copy.
ReplyDeleteThe goal wasn't to get rich on this book. (I'm not delusional--if I wanted to get rich writing a book, it would have to have a title like, Who Stole Britney Spears' Panties? or Why Sarah Palin is the Antichrist.) But the pricing was more than just getting the word out--it was also making the book into an impulse buy.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job. There is nothing in the book, and I have now finished it, that I could disagree with. There aren't many books I could say that about. Great job !
ReplyDeleteMichael K: Thank you! I hope to see you write a review on Amazon of the book. Positive reviews really help.
ReplyDeleteIt was mine you quoted.
ReplyDelete