Stranger Than Fiction: When Our Minds Betray Us [Hardcover]

Marc D., M.D. Feldman (Author), Jacqueline M., M.D. Feldman (Author), Roxenne Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0880489308 | ISBN-13: 978-0880489300 | Publication Date: January 1998 | Edition: 1

Stranger Than Fiction: When Our Minds Betray Us is a spellbinding invitation into the world of the human mind that will change our perceptions of mental illness forever. Despite the growing body of scientific discoveries into the nature of the human mind, the stigma attached to mental illness remains deeply entrenched in the general publicAs consciousness, the product of inaccurate information and centuries of mystery. In a simple conversational style, two distinguished clinicians, Drs. Marc and Jacqueline Feldman, discuss the complexities of mental disorders and their treatment. Using the metaphor of the lie of the mind, a disorder in which a personAs thinking becomes unintentionally distorted, the authors approach mental illness from the perspective that these disorders are merely extreme variations of universally shared thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Stranger Than Fiction removes the artificial division separating the mentally ill from the general public and demystifies symptoms that often seem bizarre. On this journey through the human psyche, the Feldmans use vivid, enlightening, and often poignant cases from their own professional experience that dramatically illustrate how psychiatrists help patients liberate themselves from the mental conditions that imprison them. The reader is invited into therapy sessions and hospital rooms and receives an insiderAs view of the difficulties that each therapist confronts when treating disturbed patients. The authors show how clinical decisions often rely more on educated hunches than medical certainties and reveal that the practice of psychiatry is as much an art as it is a science. After finishing this unforgettable book, readers will better understand the true nature of mental illness and witness the joy that even the smallest triumph produces in patients and caregivers alike.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Stranger Than Fiction is intelligently written and well documented with valuable references. It is balanced, sober, and richly displays the depth of the authors' knowledge of their subject -- Richard A. Gardner, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York

Stranger Than Fiction is required reading not only for psychiatric consumers and their families, but for anyone who has sought to understand how our minds can go awry -- Rogene W. Parris Founding President, Alabama Alliance for the Mental Ill

Stranger Than Fiction will be useful to people who want to learn more about mental illness, especially in its more dramatic forms -- Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic

This thoughtful book will help to break down the barriers of misunderstanding, fear, and contempt that many people feel when they hear the word 'mental illness -- U.S. Senator Richard C. Shelby

Using vivid examples, Drs. Feldman clearly depict how the mind can distort reality, especially for those who suffer from mental illness U.S. -- Senator Pete V. Domenici

With excellent case material, buttressed by an easy and understandable flow that could be a source of intriguing and interesting reading to laypersons and professionals, it is packed with keen observations -- JAMA

About the Author

Marc D. Feldman, M.D., is Vice Chair for Clinical Services in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He is also Medical Director of the UAB Center for Psychiatric Medicine and is a recipient of an Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Jacqueline M. Feldman, M.D., Director of the Division of Public Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is also Executive Director of the UAB Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center and Medical Director of the UAB Community Psychiatry Program. She has received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Amer Psychiatric Pub; 1 edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880489308
• ISBN-13: 978-0880489300
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book of its kind on the market., September 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger Than Fiction: When Our Minds Betray Us (Hardcover)

The Feldmans have brought an epidemic into the light of public scrutiny, but this book is not a "heavy read." You cannot miss the honest affection that lies beneath the surface in their interactions with patients. By drawing from a wealth of anecdotes and clinical experience, they compellingly describe a wide range of mental disorders.

Psychiatrists such as these are hard to find. They are remarkably attuned to the needs of the human spirit. I was particularly intrigued by their assertion that in order to communicate with a psychotic patient, it is often necessary to go along with his delusion. When I read the story about Moses, a schizophrenic patient of "Mrs. Dr. Feldman", it all made perfect sense. Few psychiatrists would be willing to publicly endorse this practice, but the Feldmans are willing to do whatever it takes to heal their patients, and I admire their chutzpah.

This book made me laugh, cry, and think. Reading and re-reading it sure beats the cost of a therapy session. I loved it.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible descriptions of how people think, November 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Stranger Than Fiction: When Our Minds Betray Us (Hardcover)

This reading of this book is not to miss. For any health professional interested in understanding more about the people behind their patients, please pick up this book and read it until the end. It really helps you understand the distortions people have usually in the more severe ways. However, as a physician you are able to understand how and why your patients may act and react. Personalities are very difficult to understand until you have read this book. It even allows the practioner to understand one's ownself in terms of personality. It delves into a majority of psychiatric conditions which seem to be more and more prevalent in our society. I feel they are more prevalent because people, practitioners and patients have a better understanding. Why does someone think in a certain way- read this book. It is easier to understand why people do certain things. It also proves to me that psychiatrists are being truly underutilized. I am so glad that I found and read this book. Bravo to Dr and Dr. Feldman for a truley great book.