Book #2 The Great Pretender

Book #2  The Great Pretender by Susannah Cahalan

This was my November Book of the month!  I just got around to reading it, but I think that it was the perfect timing.  I am in a very good state of mind right now, one in which I am pondering a lot of things.  So... this book was definitely not what I expected when I started.  I thought it would be more of a novel, but instead it is actually more research based.  The author still shared a lot of her opinion, but also gave a lot of her research which I found intriguing.

Psychology has always interested me. In fact I really at one point in time wanted to be a school counselor.  I gave up on that idea awhile back, but it is always in the back of my mind.  I would be a good counselor I think, but I just don't know that I would want to do it in the age we are living in right now.  Kids are not really held accountable, and they have a lot of big feelings.  Not that is wrong, but it is just tough.  Teaching was hard enough... I can't imagine being responsible for the emotionally well-being of hundreds of kids.  Some of which whose parents just don't care or on the opposite end don't want to ever see them get hurt.

Regardless I think we have a huge problem with diagnosing people.  It is a difficult thing, and I do not envy doctors at all.  But I think that we are quick as a society to try to give someone a pill to "help" them.  When really at the core of all the things that we find "wrong" with people, well if we stopped and actually saw them as humans we might be able to get into the depths of the issue, and that might just help more.

What I took away from this book was that we don't get things right a lot of the times.  We have treated people with differences pretty awful, and still do today.  I think we like to sweep things under the rug a lot.  I am using we because even though I haven't done some of the sweeping, in allowing the sweeping to happen, am I not just as much a part of it?

The experiment in the story... getting yourself admitted into a psychiatric hospital... would I ever do that?

Probably not, but do I think that we need to do more of that?  Absolutely.  We need to do more of finding out what is going on behind the scenes of the places that take care of our most vulnerable.  Because there are a lot of things going on that are not okay.  There should absolutely not be people being harmed because of their differences or because they can't defend themselves... but there are.

This book makes me want to do more research for sure.  I'm looking forward to reading more on this subject.... but for now.. I think my next book,  might need to be a fun novel!  This was pretty heavy!