A review by tasmanian_bibliophile
The Glass House by Graeme Simsion, Anne Buist

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