Difference between revisions of "You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse"
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I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. | I was tempted to read ''You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here'' after enjoying Adam Kay's first book {{amazonurl|isbn=1509858636|title=This is Going to Hurt}}, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. ''You Don't Have to be Mad...'' promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding. | ||
| − | Names have been changed to protect the vulnerable. Worryingly, I found many of the problems rang uncomfortable bells from real life. Even more worrying was that I'd never considered that someone with outlandish beliefs needed help rather than laughter. I've not encountered a woman in a wedding dress convinced that she was on her way to St Paul's Cathedral for her wedding to Harry Styles, whom she'd never met. It's that point where daydreaming and harmless fantasising tip over into mental illness. I would think that most of us have been part way down that road. | + | Names have been changed to protect the vulnerable. Worryingly, I found many of the problems rang uncomfortable bells from real life. Even more worrying was that I'd never considered that someone with outlandish beliefs needed help rather than laughter. I've not encountered a woman in a wedding dress convinced that she was on her way to St Paul's Cathedral for her wedding to Harry Styles, whom she'd never met but I have been presented with similar beliefs. It's that point where daydreaming and harmless fantasising tip over into mental illness. I would think that most of us have been part way down that road. |
I thought that the case of the lorry driver with schizophrenia who believed that he had a coronavirus cure was less outlandish. After all, an American president was keen to take credit for ''his'' suggestion that bleach would solve the problem. Some might have thought that his sanity was questionable but nothing was ever done about it. | I thought that the case of the lorry driver with schizophrenia who believed that he had a coronavirus cure was less outlandish. After all, an American president was keen to take credit for ''his'' suggestion that bleach would solve the problem. Some might have thought that his sanity was questionable but nothing was ever done about it. | ||
Latest revision as of 09:10, 27 May 2024
| You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here by Benji Waterhouse | |
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| Category: Popular Science | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A darkly humorous look at the life of a psychaitrist working in the NHS. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: May 2024 |
| Publisher: Jonathan Cape | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1787333178 | |
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I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding.
Names have been changed to protect the vulnerable. Worryingly, I found many of the problems rang uncomfortable bells from real life. Even more worrying was that I'd never considered that someone with outlandish beliefs needed help rather than laughter. I've not encountered a woman in a wedding dress convinced that she was on her way to St Paul's Cathedral for her wedding to Harry Styles, whom she'd never met but I have been presented with similar beliefs. It's that point where daydreaming and harmless fantasising tip over into mental illness. I would think that most of us have been part way down that road.
I thought that the case of the lorry driver with schizophrenia who believed that he had a coronavirus cure was less outlandish. After all, an American president was keen to take credit for his suggestion that bleach would solve the problem. Some might have thought that his sanity was questionable but nothing was ever done about it.
For me, the saddest case was the depressed man who hid his profession from his GP because he feared that he would be stigmatised. It was hardly surprising when a decision to specialise in psychiatry is described as a waste of a perfectly good doctor - by a medical consultant. It didn't help for the profession to be defined as a social worker with a stethoscope. The job seems to be about saving bed space rather than sanity.
Benji Waterhouse, unlike Adam Kay, is still a practicing doctor and the concern he has for his patients shines through every page of the book. Adam Kay left me with a feeling of dark desperation for the NHS: Waterhouse left me with hope.
I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy. As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio download (which I bought myself) narrated by Waterhouse. The removal of an extra layer of interpretation provided by author narration added to the experience and it's a book I'll return to.
You might also enjoy:
Diagnosis: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Medical Mysteries by Lisa Sanders
Doctor Lark: The Benefits of a Medical Education by Bill Larkworthy
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh
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