Bodies by Susie Orbach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Susie Orbach is fantastic. Spending time with her in this book makes me both want to do more and more okay with myself. Which is amazing because the book is about the hatred of female bodies. I was totally convinced of everything she said, and even though she wouldn't want me to be, I have become a mindless follower of her. Way to go, you!

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Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America by John Earl Haynes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun book, I read it like a thriller. I always saw this generation's focus on the communist witch hunt as awkward. Yes, everything about me hates the idea of accusing people who have no way of defending themselves. I in general don't like any sort of conspiracy theories or idea that someone out there is trying to do us harm. But I always wondered if it was the witch hunts that made sure this country never became a communist country. What if they spent all this energy preventing a problem and when it was over, everyone said, "why did you get so worked up."

This book is exactly that. The soviet union had a very strong interest in spying on the united states and turning the the USA into a communist country. And they were much better at spying on us than we were at them. They also did a great job of getting the American communist party to do the work for them. All those people, like the Rosenbergs and Alger Hiss, who people said were victims of a witch hunt, really were spies. I still don't know if it justifies our response, but it changes the conversation, and it definitely makes me rethink McCarthyism.

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Internal Triangle, The: New Theories of Female Development by Lucy Holmes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The internal triangle is when a child interjects mother and father separate and keep the real parent from destroying the child's interpsychic world. This is seen when a child is pretending to be a mother in her play. She is not just mirroring mother but distancing from her

I love the idea that pregnancy changes the woman deeply from one side to the other. Probably because I am soon becoming a father and the idea that it isn't just the baby that is changing us situationaly but the mother is being transformed and reformed by the act of carrying a baby. It is this act that separates the mother from her own internal triangle of her mother and father

I would have to say that reading this book took consistent effort to out these ideas in the book without judgement or critique because it isn't the most naturally appealing ideas and it doesn't fit with my current framework that I allow myself to live in. But I did really enjoy trying out these ideas.

book review

The Americanization of Narcissism by Elizabeth Lunbeck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would have given it 4 stars after I first finished it, but the aftertaste has moved me down to three stars. I see this book as mostly a critique of a small group of people who believe narcissism was a certain way, mainly weak and dependent. She uses Kohut and Kernberg to argue that Narcissism is more grandiosity and individualism than previously understood. The author is writing about the popular cultural understanding of narcissism and how that affects society, but it is hard to not want to make her view of narcissism just a tad more complex.


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The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease by Jonathan M. Metzl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The schizophrenia rate for African Americans is still 3 times that of Caucasians. If schizophrenia is as heritable of a disease as it has been presented, this statistic should not happen. The author did a great job of showing the importance of structural prejudice in understanding mental illness. He argues that it was not and is not the racist intentions of individual psychiatrists but rather the much larger cultural structural situation that the psychiatrists cannot see outside of.

In my work I am part of a team that is constantly diagnosing schizophrenia and it is very easy to see it as a heritable disease that culture has no say in. But it is also obvious to see that the young schizophrenics are much more likely to be Hispanic than White. And yet I cannot think of a single case where a Hispanic was diagnosed schizophrenic and shouldn't have been. It is only when I take a step back that I can see my racial/cultural bias.

Where the author is weak is his explanation of schizophrenia and symptoms. The people he used as case studies would not be diagnosed schizophrenic unless they were showing signs of psychosis, I.E. talking to themselves or other signs of responding to internal stimuli. He makes it sound like African Americans were being detained because they were angry. While I am sure that happened at times, I imagine most of that population was hidden in jails and not institutions.

Another part of this equation that I don't think got enough attention was the role of illicit substances. Anyone who has worked with the severely mentally ill knows the co-morbidity issue and how it clouds all diagnosis. There are times it is very hard to tell if the psychosis is caused by the drugs, or if the patient is attempting to mask the psychosis with drugs. The issue of chemical dependency treatment and diagnosis with African Americans is a much larger topic again, and it goes perfectly with the author's assertion of the racial/structural blinders that continue to bias decision making in mental health.

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book review of Cuckoo's calling

Jeremy: I felt very accomplished reading it and staying with it, difficult at times but very worth it
Ryan: I rarely enjoy fiction more than nonfiction, and that was true here.  And it didn't seem that different than many other stories, but I definitely wanted to like it
Derrick: I don't know if I can really get into a murder mystery.  It is too hard for me to follow all the characters and also be suspicious here.

Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles Fan Fiction

"Author's Note: Hello, friends! My name is Grace Ann. I'm new to this whole fanfiction thing; but recently, I've encountered a problem that I believe this is the solution to. My little ones have been asking to read the Harry Potter books; and of course I'm happy for them to be reading; but I don't want them turning into witches! So I thought….. why not make some slight changes so these books are family friendly? And then I thought, why not share this with all the other mommies who are facing the same problem? So-Ta da! Here it is! I am SO excited to share this with all of you! So, without further ado-" Addy thinks this is terrible idea. She loves witches. She dressed up as the Witch of Endor for Vacation Bible School. I asked The count. He didn't say anything but sneaked away. That most likely means he is going to poop in Grace Anne's toilet.

Children at the Gate Review

I am currently finishing up Children at the Gate, which I previously read when I was a junior in high school. I have been wanting to reread it for over a decade. Ryan Oliver thinks it is an incredible book, and it is challenging him to love deeply and without viewing the consequences. The book is asking him to change his life, to constantly confront the world with its own stories, to do everything boldly, including sin. Well, at least he likes the idea even if he doesn't do it. Jeremy Gleed thinks this book is a dangerous slippery slope for young impressionable individuals and thinks we should stick to self help books Derrick Fudge wants to know how someone wrote a book about him before he was born

Three perspectives

Mr gleed is very happy i am reading a book about mindfulness in psychotherapy. Ryan is worried I will get my hopes too high about everything I should be doing. Derrick just likes the stories