Falling into the fire: a psychiatrist's encounters with the mind in crisis Paperback – 19 February 2015

Really enjoyed this an easy yet interesting read.

Combining her own personal life experiences as a partner and mother with those of patients she has witnessed as an inpatient psychiatrist on the east coast, gifted author Christine Montross bridges the gap between a book that is illuminating on the one hand and downright disturbing on the other. Most crucial to Montross' story is her ability to present unique patient histories with an insightful mind that is constantly on the lookout for new means of treatment while providing the reader access to historical data on the subject at hand.One chapter not to be missed is titled "Your Drugs Take Away the Love" where Montross examines the world of madness as something stimulating creativity, writing, "Even if madness is at the root of some of the world's great creations, it is hard to imagine that if someone asked each of us to live an entire life of suffering in the service of the arts, we would agree to do so." Such statements are wound around the story of an enlightened man named Colin where Montross provides a scintillating "stop and think" challenge for the reader as to how she can treat Colin's psychotic tendencies.Without doubt a meaningful contribution to her field that is also a learning experience for any reader, "Falling into the Fire" is a terrific follow-up to Montross' first book, "Body of Work." We can only hope that there are many such works to come.

Dr. Montross selects a handful of cases she handled on inpatient units at various points in her career as a psychiatristWhile some of the patients represent fairly rare disorders,including severe body dysmorphic disorder and a woman who engaged in self injury who ate an astonishing quantity of sharp objects for emotional relief, the whole picture of her work is very satisfying.She speaks of these patients with great compassion and a sincere desire to help unravel the reasons for and potential treatments that can ease the pain of sometimes very fragile and damaged people in real need of help.I think this book will appeal to those who work in the field as well as anyone who cares about treatment of people with mental illness.

Beautifully movingly written account by Dr Montross.....a cliche but a "must read" for anyone in the field.Very worthwhile.

A very interesting read.