A Mind on Fire: Questioning Madness, Medicine and Life

A Mind on Fire: Questioning Madness, Medicine and Life

A well-known psychologist, WebMD consultant, TV expert and published author, Dr. Patricia A. Farrell, who helped readers with her "How to Be Your Own Therapist," takes the reader inside the world of mental health, murder, mental health care, and medicine, examining the flaws and providing readers with exceptional access to a world mostly hidden. What should readers know to avoid or the questions they need to ask is clearly laid out in no-nonsense language. The book delves into topics of importance in three sections, Madness, Medicine and Life. Madness details the horror, the humiliation and the desperation of those committed to asylums and the cruelty inherent within those institutions. What experiments have given psychological researchers a black eye and who have made their fame and fortunes on them? Read about the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, Spitz' experiments with infants, the disturbing experiments of Davenport Hooker with miscarried fetuses, Milgran's obedience to authority and the damage it may have done to young college men and the famous Little Albert experiment in phobias. Eye-opening certainly and well worth reading.Medicine is intended to uncover the often brutal realities of modern-day medical practitioners, the greed and the departure from the Hippocratic Oath. It is not a pleasant view but prepares medical care consumers for action. Who has made a fortune on cancer-stricken Henrietta Lacks' cells and who tried to patent a patient's DNA? What is in your medical record and is it correct or have you been given a diagnosis for an illness you don't have to ensure the medical practitioner was paid by your insurance. It will follow you for the rest of your life and you need to know what to do about it and who might be twisting the computer records. The final section, Life, gives the reader unprecedented insight into private interviews and interactions Dr. Farrell has had with celebrities like John Lennon & Yoko Ono, Isaac Asimov, Truman Capote as well as behind-the-scenes information on national TV shows. Go behind the scenes with Dr. Farrell as she guests on reality TV and see the true reality that exists there. Written with intelligence and wit, the book is intended to help readers in many areas of their lives without being a strict self-help book. Entertaining and informative, it is written to be both a delight and to provoke thoughtfully reading.