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cirw11's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book a few years ago and I'm just now getting to the review for a few reasons… The first is that this book completely changed me. I have a new understanding of empathy and pain. The horrific torment that Lori went through and is still battling very few people can really grasp. I’m not one of those people. I physically cannot truly relate or completely understand.
The second reason is because I haven’t been able to find the right words. I still don’t think I’m conveying the right words.
I read this book because a family member of mine fights the same battle as Lori and I wanted to better understand her struggles.
Lori took me on a journey through the intricacies of her disease that changed her forever.
Suddenly one night many years ago Lori’s life was uprooted and sent down a forever life-altering path that she did not choose .
Even though it’s been a few years since I read this book a few emotions stick with me today when I think about The Quiet Room: the most poignant is fear. Lori and Amanda painted a picture that appeared so clear in my mind it would’ve been impossible not to imagine myself there.
I’m not sure what else to say about this book (a rare and positive thing for me) so I’ll leave you with this: Please give this book a fair shot. This is a true story, so whatever you think you know to be true and whatever you disagree with, it doesn’t matter. This is her story to tell. Lori poured her heart and soul into this and I have a deep and never-ending respect for her.
The second reason is because I haven’t been able to find the right words. I still don’t think I’m conveying the right words.
I read this book because a family member of mine fights the same battle as Lori and I wanted to better understand her struggles.
Lori took me on a journey through the intricacies of her disease that changed her forever.
Suddenly one night many years ago Lori’s life was uprooted and sent down a forever life-altering path that she did not choose .
Even though it’s been a few years since I read this book a few emotions stick with me today when I think about The Quiet Room: the most poignant is fear. Lori and Amanda painted a picture that appeared so clear in my mind it would’ve been impossible not to imagine myself there.
I’m not sure what else to say about this book (a rare and positive thing for me) so I’ll leave you with this: Please give this book a fair shot. This is a true story, so whatever you think you know to be true and whatever you disagree with, it doesn’t matter. This is her story to tell. Lori poured her heart and soul into this and I have a deep and never-ending respect for her.
alita24's review
3.0
Eye-opening, educational story about fighting for one's life. I find autobiographies quite amusing and intriguing. Specifically if their life is completely different than mine. It triggered a lot of emotions for me. I thought how lucky I am to have my conscience agree with me, and I have a better understanding of how schizophrenia affects the human mind. I'm in awe how Lori had the courage to stand up against the Voices with the help of numerous people. They too are heros in my head.
alita24's review against another edition
3.0
Eye-opening, educational story about fighting for one's life. I find autobiographies quite amusing and intriguing. Specifically if their life is completely different than mine. It triggered a lot of emotions for me. I thought how lucky I am to have my conscience agree with me, and I have a better understanding of how schizophrenia affects the human mind. I'm in awe how Lori had the courage to stand up against the Voices with the help of numerous people. They too are heros in my head.
sunflowerjess's review against another edition
5.0
Courageous, heart-rending and heart-warming memoir. As a former psychiatric nurse, this book touched me deeply. Thank you Lori Schiller for sharing your story.
noteyjoanie's review against another edition
5.0
Great perspective on psychophrenia. Very enlightening for all those who work with or have someone in their lives with this illness.
gabriellabjorklund's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
mermaidkatie's review against another edition
4.0
I was sucked into Lori's world and was completely engrossed by her struggle and ultimate triumph over schizophrenia. What a scary, scary affliction it was for her and what clear insight it offered me into a disordered, ill mind. The power of positive thinking is illustrated along with a combination of the right drug treatment and therapy as being the tools that successfully pulled her through hell and out the other side into a practically normal existence. Practically normal in her case is a true miracle.
marblemenow's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
3.0
bartendm's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! What a powerful memoir! Lori's life story is so moving, and, unlike most schizophrenic and schizo-affective patients, she is able to describe her journey through mental illness so well that we can see how terrible it is for the patients. We may see silence, but inside they are living in hell.
I love that viewpoints are added in from Lori's family, friend and therapists, as this disease affects many people around the patient. Lori comes from an affluent family, and she was headed for a bright, happy future. People liked her and she was lots of fun. Schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder disable individuals in a serious way, so that they cannot achieve the same types of goals they had before. Lori was so lucky to find a bright and happy life in her future (and I hope it continues that way), but it took a lot for everyone around her to accept the change, as well as herself. Amanda Bennett, as co-author, does a great job melding all of these stories together into an entirely readable and useful whole.
Here is a quote that exemplifies some of the horror.
There was nothing about my Voices that was friendly. I had tried to make them my allies against the hateful staff. But in reality the Voices terrified me. Sometimes I told the staff they were gone, but I was lying . The Voices were with me when I awoke. They were with me when I got dressed. They were with me when I ate. They were with me when I sat around the day room, trying to think of something to do. I could not even find relief in sleep. The Voices yelled so loud they woke me up, leaving me shaking and frightened.
The closest I ever got to a friendly Voice was that of the Narrator. He described my actions instant by instant, not leaving out even the tiniest, most insignificant thing. A hundred times a day, he commented on my movements.
“She is now walking through the door,” the Narrator said. “She’s wiping her feet, little ass. Wiping her feet on the rug in the entryway. She’s going into the kitchen. Ha! Ha! You fat piece of lard, of lard. Go to hell. Ha! Ha! You look sad. You look like shit. You are shit. She’s now walking into the day room. She’s going to turn down the TV set. To die, asshole. Ha! Ha! Ha!...”
Sometimes I heard one Voice laughing, a single witchlike Voice that screeched and cackled in derision. Sometimes that Voice would be joined by a second, and then a third. Sometimes they chanted the same thing over and over again, like Voices rehearsing for a play.
“To die!” they chanted. “To die!” I must have heard that a thousand times a day.
Sometimes more and more Voices chimed in, until all the Voices jointed into a horrendous crowd, an appalling cheering section that had suddenly turned into a riot. These crowds of Voices were loud, painfully loud. When I heard them coming, I would run for my Walkman. But often it was no use. They would scream and shout over even a rock tape turned up to 10.
But even more than the Narrator and the crowds, the Voices I feared the most were the men who talked to me of hell.
I love that viewpoints are added in from Lori's family, friend and therapists, as this disease affects many people around the patient. Lori comes from an affluent family, and she was headed for a bright, happy future. People liked her and she was lots of fun. Schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder disable individuals in a serious way, so that they cannot achieve the same types of goals they had before. Lori was so lucky to find a bright and happy life in her future (and I hope it continues that way), but it took a lot for everyone around her to accept the change, as well as herself. Amanda Bennett, as co-author, does a great job melding all of these stories together into an entirely readable and useful whole.
Here is a quote that exemplifies some of the horror.
There was nothing about my Voices that was friendly. I had tried to make them my allies against the hateful staff. But in reality the Voices terrified me. Sometimes I told the staff they were gone, but I was lying . The Voices were with me when I awoke. They were with me when I got dressed. They were with me when I ate. They were with me when I sat around the day room, trying to think of something to do. I could not even find relief in sleep. The Voices yelled so loud they woke me up, leaving me shaking and frightened.
The closest I ever got to a friendly Voice was that of the Narrator. He described my actions instant by instant, not leaving out even the tiniest, most insignificant thing. A hundred times a day, he commented on my movements.
“She is now walking through the door,” the Narrator said. “She’s wiping her feet, little ass. Wiping her feet on the rug in the entryway. She’s going into the kitchen. Ha! Ha! You fat piece of lard, of lard. Go to hell. Ha! Ha! You look sad. You look like shit. You are shit. She’s now walking into the day room. She’s going to turn down the TV set. To die, asshole. Ha! Ha! Ha!...”
Sometimes I heard one Voice laughing, a single witchlike Voice that screeched and cackled in derision. Sometimes that Voice would be joined by a second, and then a third. Sometimes they chanted the same thing over and over again, like Voices rehearsing for a play.
“To die!” they chanted. “To die!” I must have heard that a thousand times a day.
Sometimes more and more Voices chimed in, until all the Voices jointed into a horrendous crowd, an appalling cheering section that had suddenly turned into a riot. These crowds of Voices were loud, painfully loud. When I heard them coming, I would run for my Walkman. But often it was no use. They would scream and shout over even a rock tape turned up to 10.
But even more than the Narrator and the crowds, the Voices I feared the most were the men who talked to me of hell.
quicksilver's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This book really helped me through understanding the inner mindset someone in my life and made me appreciate the torment of mental illness.