Title: The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness
Author: Lori Schiller & Amanda Bennett
Year: 1996
Category: Personal Stories
Premise: Lori Schiller is a smart child, but as a teenager things change. Her mind is not what it used to be, she starts to hear voices and experiences multiple attempts to end her own life. The book takes the reader from 1976, when the voices take over, to 1994 when she finally makes peace and no longer requires frequent hospitalizations. Lori describes in as much detail that she can remember, the experience of having been hospitalized and in various programs. There are chapters written by her family, who describe the experience from their perspective.
Review: Lori's journey in some ways reminds me of my own journey (which I have documented in my own book Resilient by Liz Grace) in that it happens across multiple hospitalizations, in multiple places, and experiences multiple treatments which are inhumane but still considered acceptable for mental health patients, like cold-wet-packing. She gives descriptions that put the reader in her shoes, feeling what it is like to be thrown in the Quiet Room or cold-wet-packed. By now (2024), the book is a bit outdated. Chlozapine is no longer an experimental drug, and there are a multitude of other drugs, second-generation antipsychotics, available to try. However, for a good understanding of how it feels to hear voices and be psychotic, this is a great book.
Recommendation: Highly recommended for anyone wanting a detailed, first-person experience of schizophrenia. Some of the hospital and treatment details are now out of date (and I hope no longer used), but for the most part the book is still accurate.
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