A review by kwhitt78
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I’m mad about it, honestly. 

The ending was predictable from the start. The only thing that wasn’t was how long it had been. And even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still disgusted when it was revealed. It felt like we were idolizing this clearly fucked up person. Don’t even get me started on the anti-medication stance this book takes. It kept talking about how psychotherapy is the way patients should and deserved to be helped. Medicine can be a valid part of the healing process for mental health and in some cases is necessary. I hope people young people reading this don’t start to think their meds are bad for them. They are not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence