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ellen1's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
kathrynjonesreads's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Glass House is a book about a trainee psychiatrist, the difficulties and challenges, but also how huge the wins can be. The book also shows how important the work is for the patient, for everyone who knows them, and for the community.
More importantly, it's a book about people and their mental health. That's the people who are working on it professionally, personally, or both. It's a good book with realistic characters and (given the authors' backgrounds) realistic settings and situations. And this is what makes it an important book.
I can't say it was a fun read, but it was enjoyable as medical fiction, and I did like reading it. I found the depiction of acute mental health services, and the different professions that can be found, quite interesting. It would certainly be useful for someone considering working in the area, and also for those directly or indirectly dealing with mental health issues.
Many thanks to Hachette ANZ and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
More importantly, it's a book about people and their mental health. That's the people who are working on it professionally, personally, or both. It's a good book with realistic characters and (given the authors' backgrounds) realistic settings and situations. And this is what makes it an important book.
I can't say it was a fun read, but it was enjoyable as medical fiction, and I did like reading it. I found the depiction of acute mental health services, and the different professions that can be found, quite interesting. It would certainly be useful for someone considering working in the area, and also for those directly or indirectly dealing with mental health issues.
Many thanks to Hachette ANZ and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.
leemac027's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Such a thought-provoking and insightful book.
There is a lot of coverage on emergency medicine on TV, social media, newspapers and magazines - all of the stuff that goes on in Resus, the stress, the decisions that can change a person's life.
What we don't hear about is the emergency or Acute side of mental health care. The same stress, the same decisions that impact people's lives, the devastation when a decision goes wrong - all there. Also, in facilities that need more funding, resources and staff (not unlike the public hospital system especially ED).
The cases covered in this book are all fictional but show the diversity of issues that these health professionals need to deal with daily and quickly. It brings the humanity of this profession to the fore. It is beautifully and respectfully written and conveys the daily struggles that many people have to face each day and how the system they have to navigate is not always straight forward. It also shows the huge workload of the registrars, their supervisors, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists and others that hold everything together.
There is a lot of coverage on emergency medicine on TV, social media, newspapers and magazines - all of the stuff that goes on in Resus, the stress, the decisions that can change a person's life.
What we don't hear about is the emergency or Acute side of mental health care. The same stress, the same decisions that impact people's lives, the devastation when a decision goes wrong - all there. Also, in facilities that need more funding, resources and staff (not unlike the public hospital system especially ED).
The cases covered in this book are all fictional but show the diversity of issues that these health professionals need to deal with daily and quickly. It brings the humanity of this profession to the fore. It is beautifully and respectfully written and conveys the daily struggles that many people have to face each day and how the system they have to navigate is not always straight forward. It also shows the huge workload of the registrars, their supervisors, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists and others that hold everything together.
laurajayne74's review
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
katie_liz's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
The Glass House follows Hannah, a psychiatry registrar working on an acute care ward, as she navigates and reflects upon the experiences of patients, and staff within the hospital.
The story is rich with characters and captures the experience of patients, family and health workers with a frank honesty. At times the number of threads felt almost too much to follow, reflecting the very real experience of navigating mental health care within Australia.
Individual case stories at the start of each chapter appear standalone but gradually weave together, highlighting that psychiatry and psychology is a challenging, necessary and often unknown endeavour. The story highlights the enduring impact of trauma, relationships, loss and suicide, as well as the role of personal choice, and experiences within and beyond therapy and treatment.
The narrative was reflective, and left space for the reader to draw their own conclusions as they followed Hannah. The fictional cases and the behaviour of the various characters felt authentic and genuine. Whilst the subject matter was at times heavy, it was handled with sensitivity and did not feel gratuitous. The authors note summarises significant consultation and collaboration with health professionals and people with lived experience in the development of the book.
Thank you Hachette and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.
kyouwa_today's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.5
‘Acute psychiatry is the emergency medicine of mental health: for the stuff nobody saw coming.’
Twenty-seven-year-old Hannah Wright is a registrar at the Acute Psychiatric Ward at the fictional Menzies Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Hannah is hoping to be accepted into the psychiatric training program despite having been rejected once. It’s a difficult task Hannah has set herself: impossible hours, in a medical system strained to breaking point complicated by politics and differing views about effective treatments. Hannah and her colleagues are all working under pressure.
In this novel, the authors take us into the worlds of both therapists and patients. We are with Hannah as she negotiates challenges of her own. We meet several patients fighting their own battles. Three who have remained with me are Chloe, with life-threatening anorexia nervosa; Sian suffering postpartum psychosis; and Xavier, an MP, who has attempted suicide. No patient can be treated in isolation. History is key, as is family composition and dynamics. The deeper I read into the novel, the more important these factors become.
I read this novel as someone who has experienced two sides of mental health care. My brief experience as a student nurse introduced me to the complexities of care, while periods as an inpatient over a period of forty years have been both helpful and overwhelming.
This novel reminds me that caregivers are human (and fallible), that mental health issues are rarely straightforward. Diagnosis and treatment can resemble untying a Gordian knot. Not all endings can be happy. The novel finishes with various author acknowledgments, including:
‘The Glass House was inspired by the courage of patients and the dedication of mental health workers who deal with issues which are often poorly understood, inadequately resourced, and for which there are few complete solutions. We hope this book will contribute to a better recognition of the challenges they face.’
As do I. I read, I learned, I remembered.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
piperhath's review
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 stars
We follow our main character, Hannah a couple of weeks into her registry in the Mental Health Unit at Menzies Hospital as she gets experience to get into the psychiatric training program. Throughout we hear many stories from patients going through some of the worst moments of their life and gives us a real insight as to what happens in a mental health unit.
This was quite an eye-opening book! It really shows what goes on behind the scenes at a hospital using diverse characters. The story flowed well and had many subplots which really added to the overarching story.
The only thing I had an issue with was the many, many characters, some of which didn't have a lot of depth and were mentioned constantly but we never got to understand what they were going through/their background.
Overall, it was a really interesting book which I wouldn't have picked up usually so thank you to Netgalley and Hachette for sending me a copy of this one to review. If you're considering picking this one up, please check the trigger warnings as this book deals with some heavy stuff.
We follow our main character, Hannah a couple of weeks into her registry in the Mental Health Unit at Menzies Hospital as she gets experience to get into the psychiatric training program. Throughout we hear many stories from patients going through some of the worst moments of their life and gives us a real insight as to what happens in a mental health unit.
This was quite an eye-opening book! It really shows what goes on behind the scenes at a hospital using diverse characters. The story flowed well and had many subplots which really added to the overarching story.
The only thing I had an issue with was the many, many characters, some of which didn't have a lot of depth and were mentioned constantly but we never got to understand what they were going through/their background.
Overall, it was a really interesting book which I wouldn't have picked up usually so thank you to Netgalley and Hachette for sending me a copy of this one to review. If you're considering picking this one up, please check the trigger warnings as this book deals with some heavy stuff.