Strangers To Ourselves by Rachel Aviv

The author of this book, which explores various aspects of mental health for several patients, has had her own struggles with finding balance and happiness in her life. She grew up in a house with high standards and conflict between her parents that led to her being hospitalized with an eating disorder as a six year old. This book, which looks into the lives of people with extensive hospitalizations for mental health diagnoses, really doesn’t reflect the average patient or the state of the art of mental health care in the 21st century. There is a concept that as a mental health professional I see often in people seeking care, that in taking medication they will experience cure, rather than improvement, and they fail to understand that much of the work of getting better lays squarely with them, that we are more teachers and guides, using what we know from experience with patients and education, but they know themselves and need to be an active participant in the process. There is a profound lack of insight into what happens in mental health on display in this book, as well as a replaying of old tropes and misconceptions that will be unlikely to help anyone who is struggling who reads this, other than to feel like they are not alone in what they feel and experience. I will not be recommending this to anyone, but do think that it is important for fellow mental health professionals to read things that are being recommended—this is on several “Best Books of 2022” lists and is bound to get a broader readership as a result.