Aug 27, 2010

The Quiet Room

A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness
by Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett

When Lori Schiller was in highschool, she started hearing voices. Her moods became erratic, swinging from ecstatic highs to depression so severe she wouldn't leave her bed for days. Suspicion and fear of other people eroded her friendships. Eventually, driven by the voices in her head which screamed insults, curses and constant criticism, Lori started using cocaine, and then attempted suicide. Even then her parents denied that she was seriously ill, so it was some time before Lori got an actual diagnoses, and admitted to a hospital for the mentally ill. For years Lori was in and out of hospitals, institutions and halfway houses, while doctors struggled to find out what was wrong. They tried every combination of drugs on her. At first they thought she had bipolar disease, then schizophrenia. Most of the early places she was in saw her wild behavior as a deliberate lashing out, and tried using medication to control her mood swings, without really delving into why she behaved that way. It was a long time before she was able to confide in a psychiatrist what the voices were actually saying to her, to find a drug that would calm her emotions, to learn that the voices really were just inside her head and she could learn to cope with them instead of trying to escape by running away or hurting herself and others. In the end, she improves enough to live on her own and hold down a job. The book wraps up with Lori discussing what things remain difficult and the everday challenges she faces in living with schizo-affective disorder.

What was really interesting about this book is that it wasn't all told from Lori's perspective. Her college roommates, parents, siblings and doctors all shared their views on what was going on, so the reader sees not only what Lori experienced but how her illness affected her family and friends, and the opinion of her doctors. I've read a few firsthand accounts of mental illness before, so the "quiet room", cold packs, heavy medications, use of force and even electroshock therapy in the mental hospitals did not surprise me. I was surprised at how long her family denied the true nature of her illness, especially as her father was a psychologist. And I was shocked to read about how, in between stays at mental institutions, Lori applied for and actually held a few jobs working in mental facilities, caring for and counseling other mental patients. The Quiet Room is a very interesting and personal story, showing how one person managed to overcome her illness against all odds (at one point she was afraid of that her case was considered hopeless, and she would be locked up in a state institution for the rest of her life. Luckily that didn't happen).

Rating: 3/5 ........ 270 pages, 1994

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7 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you - I just finished this book as well and couldn't get over how long her parents were in denial over her illness. It wasn't like nobody had ever heard of Schizophrenia in the 80's - and her father was a Psychologist? Although, when it comes to our own children, sometimes we can be less than objective. Great review!

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  2. Oh wow, this sounds really good Jeane!! Thanks so much for reviewing it and bringing it to my attention! I'll def be checking this one out ;)

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  3. This sounds like a really interesting book, and one I'd definitely like to read. I hadn't heard of it before--thank you!

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  4. Hearing voices must be so miserable. At the crisis hotline where I used to volunteer, I talked to a bunch of people with schizophrenia-type disorders, and the voices never ever say anything nice. It's all "You're crap and everyone hates you." :(

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  5. Reading about mental illness fascinating to me, and it sounds like this book really covers all the bases and does a really good job of investigating the whole story. This one is going to the top of my list. Thanks so much for sharing this review with us!

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  6. Ikorpics- I know! I keep thinking the fact that her father was a psychologist had something to do with it; he couldn't bear to admit what might be wrong with his daughter.

    Chris- I hope you like it!

    Debi- glad I pointed it out for you!

    Jenny- sadly, she said her voices always said nasty things. She did mention a few other patients she met whose "voices" were their friends, and how she wished hers were as nice!

    Zibilee- I'm always fascinated by accounts of mental illness too, and this one was quite different in how it gave so many different viewpoints.

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  7. i am a health and social care student and i a currently studying mental illnesses. i have started to read the book and i find it quite interesting so far. i was wondering if you could help me to identify the longterm and short term effects on her illness.

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