That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist Hardcover – November 15, 2005

Actually 3 1/2-4 stars.Was a trip of enlightenment for Ms. Rako and for the reader . Puts a personal touch on what makes someone want to follow a career that has so much pain. To help others, but also help themselves.In

Although this book is a biography on the life of psychiatrist Susan Rako, I found the most moving content to be in the insights and advice of her mentor Dr. Semrad that Susan shares during the last third of the book. Susan's life story does have its interesting moments, but, I have to admit that the details of her childhood days, life choices, and failed marriages were not nearly as compelling as the insights she passed on from her mentor. For me, these hand-me-down perspectives were the light that got in (the book).

overall not what I expected, and not interesting to me. agree with PW in that "the narrative's natural flow is often stopped up with word jams, bumpy prose and sometimes grueling therapeutic jargon"

Susan Rako's memoir, "That's How the Light Gets In," is an intimate look at a thoughtful woman who is not only a dedicated psychiatrist, but also a skilled writer and women's health activist. Rako's mentor, Dr. Elvin Semrad once said, "One becomes a therapist because of his own desperation." As a child, Rako felt a "formless despair" and was never able to connect emotionally with her parents. Although she was an excellent student and an accomplished pianist, she felt unsettled and unsure of the path that she should take in life.She finally decided to attend medical school and study psychiatry. A graduate of Wellesley College, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Harvard's Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Rako, who is in her sixties, still has an active psychiatric practice. She looks back on a life that has had more than its share of great joys and fulfillment, as well as a few fissures, but a crack, says Leonard Cohen, is "how the light gets in."Rako spent her childhood in Worcester, Massachusetts, in a secular Jewish home. She had a large extended family, a workaholic father, and an unhappy mother who eventually became physically ill. Rako recalls her two unsuccessful marriages as well as the birth of her beloved daughter and granddaughter. She derives much solace from nature; she loves walking along beaches, collecting seashells, and sailing in her boat. In addition, she has gained a great deal of self-knowledge and personal growth from her deep exploration of her own spirituality and the intricate workings of the human mind."That's How the Light Gets In" is an entertaining, humorous, and often deeply introspective look at how Dr. Rako became the person she is today. She shares her hard-earned life lessons, exhorting us to confront and then let go of the past when necessary, so that we can tackle new challenges and establish more productive relationships. Of the many quotations that Rako includes in her book, this is one of my favorites: "There are only a few choices in life: to kill yourself, go crazy, or learn to live with what you have." Rako has learned to live very well with what she has, and by sharing her ideas and experiences with us, she enriches our lives as well.

When she was a child, Susan Rako's parents discovered she had an incredible ability to learn the piano. Pushed by her mother, she spends her youth playing more to please her than to fulfill any inborn desire to make music. Susan's a musical prodigy who would rather be dancing. After she begs endlessly for ballet lessons, her mother finally relents but it lasts a very short time. One day her mother simply refuses to take her to class and Susan is devastated, but she resigns herself to continuing her piano studies.By sixteen, Susan is unsure of what path she should take, but she definitely knows she doesn't want to become a concert pianist. The inevitable break from making music upsets her mother, who begrudgingly accepts the decision, but she soon finds consolation in the knowledge that her daughter wants to become a doctor. The fact Susan is dating a premed student also pleases her immensely.Susan becomes a wife, mother, and doctor all before thirty years of age. She's drawn to the field of psychiatry not only to help others but to help free her own psyche from the despair she'd felt since childhood. She eventually learns from her own heartbreaking life experiences, such as being raised by a distant and unhappy mother and two failed marriages, when to let go of the past and what her strengths and limitations happen to be.That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist paints an intimate portrait of one woman's lifelong journey to find herself. Author Susan Rako, M.D. weaves childhood memories together with her adult experiences to illustrate how every trauma can be turned around to teach us something positive. Her self-examination of the joyous times as well as the hardships she's endured is inspirational. It's a message that every women has been put on this earth to learn lessons so she can metamorphose into the individual she's meant to be.I want to thank Dr. Rako for sharing her memoir with me. I would encourage any woman who's struggling with feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, or self-doubt to pick up a copy of this book. It's not impossible to make your desires and ambitions come to fruition.

This book left me befuddled. What was the point? I was expecting thoughtful essays about the meaning of life, as filtered through the experiences of the author, a psychiatrist. Instead, the book had little more depth than a sixth grader's "What I did On My Summer Vacation" essay. I was amazed when Rako spent more time on watching her granddaughter feed birds than she did on the breakup of either of her marrriages.It's a disappointment because Rako's life seems to be a full and vivid one, but little of that wholeness and color made it onto the page. I finished knowing more about her mentor than I did about her.