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A review by nicolem_young
The Lobotomist's Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff
5.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 Stars= It was an excellent and near perfect read. I would read it again.
TRIGGER WARNING: LOBOTOMIES, MENTAL ILLNESS, SUICIDE (off page), MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUATIONS IN THE 1930s,1940s, and 1950s
POV: Multiple, Third Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Part of an series: No
Safe or Dark: Overall safe but with sensitive subject matter
I am having a hard time putting this review into words. So, if I start to ramble, please forgive me, primarily because of how personally connected I felt to the story. I found myself on the verge of crying multiple times when reading this book, and one time I did outright cry. As someone who has suffered from anxiety and depression for more than 50% of my life, this tale brought out true, raw emotions in me. What would have happened to me if I had been born at a different time when mental health medicine was still not well known? If we hadn't come as far as we have in the field of mental health (even though we still have a long way to go), and if I didn't have the undying love and support of my family, would I too have become a victim of this "miracle" procedure? I shudder just thinking about it.
I devoured this book in under a week. Samantha Green Woodruff does a beautiful job of taking the true story of Dr. Walter Freeman and Dr. James W. Watts and turning it into a powerful fictional tale. Although things were changed here and there for creative reasons, the story of both doctors' invention of the lobotomy (which eventually became the transorbital "ice pick" lobotomy) and their patients is a moving one.
It really takes you back to a time when people with mental illness were almost always institutionalized and had to suffer treatments that are now deemed barbaric. Hydrotherapy, metrazol convulsion, and insulin shock therapy, to name a few. Hell, this was a time when people who were not mentally ill were institutionalized and given the same treatment, mainly homosexuals and even "unruly" children. Granted, this was a time before anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and such were discovered. And once they were, many of these medieval treatments were put on the backburner.
This story really shows you that even people with the best of intentions can become victims of their own ego and spiral out of control. People who truly want to help others can become so wrapped up in getting recognition for their work and leaving a legacy they can become convoluted and harmful to those they worked so hard to help.
Although this is a dark time in the history of American medicine, it is still one that needs to be talked about. How awful it would be if history were to repeat itself due to a lack of information on this subject.
5 Stars= It was an excellent and near perfect read. I would read it again.
TRIGGER WARNING: LOBOTOMIES, MENTAL ILLNESS, SUICIDE (off page), MENTAL HEALTH INSTITUATIONS IN THE 1930s,1940s, and 1950s
POV: Multiple, Third Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Part of an series: No
Safe or Dark: Overall safe but with sensitive subject matter
I am having a hard time putting this review into words. So, if I start to ramble, please forgive me, primarily because of how personally connected I felt to the story. I found myself on the verge of crying multiple times when reading this book, and one time I did outright cry. As someone who has suffered from anxiety and depression for more than 50% of my life, this tale brought out true, raw emotions in me. What would have happened to me if I had been born at a different time when mental health medicine was still not well known? If we hadn't come as far as we have in the field of mental health (even though we still have a long way to go), and if I didn't have the undying love and support of my family, would I too have become a victim of this "miracle" procedure? I shudder just thinking about it.
I devoured this book in under a week. Samantha Green Woodruff does a beautiful job of taking the true story of Dr. Walter Freeman and Dr. James W. Watts and turning it into a powerful fictional tale. Although things were changed here and there for creative reasons, the story of both doctors' invention of the lobotomy (which eventually became the transorbital "ice pick" lobotomy) and their patients is a moving one.
It really takes you back to a time when people with mental illness were almost always institutionalized and had to suffer treatments that are now deemed barbaric. Hydrotherapy, metrazol convulsion, and insulin shock therapy, to name a few. Hell, this was a time when people who were not mentally ill were institutionalized and given the same treatment, mainly homosexuals and even "unruly" children. Granted, this was a time before anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, and such were discovered. And once they were, many of these medieval treatments were put on the backburner.
This story really shows you that even people with the best of intentions can become victims of their own ego and spiral out of control. People who truly want to help others can become so wrapped up in getting recognition for their work and leaving a legacy they can become convoluted and harmful to those they worked so hard to help.
Although this is a dark time in the history of American medicine, it is still one that needs to be talked about. How awful it would be if history were to repeat itself due to a lack of information on this subject.