Book of David

"An Extraordinary Book by an Extraordinary Man 5 out of 5 stars Psychiatry is a complicated business and Michael Benjamin makes no bones about it. He's dealing with complicated themes and issues and he goes into these in real depth and I have to admit that some of them I'm still getting to grips with, but there are lighter pieces here and some killer jokes, and the book comes alive with his case studies, which he uses to help readers to 'get' what he's trying to say. The profiles and stories he offers are gripping and tap into emotions and fears, showing great empathy for his subjects. And Benjamin is no lover of some of the things that psychiatry has become and done in the name of science. Viz Nitza: 'One such lady was beyond any ability to converse with. Her behaviour was bizarre. She would shaver head or half of it, she refused to communicate... I stopped the medication saying, ""If they didn't help, why give them?"" Then something happened. The lady became perfectly normal, communicative, smiling, and just very sweet, ' Makes you weep, it really does. The book is based around another case study, David, whose father and Benjamin were both in the same class. David asked Benjamin to mentor him, which he agreed to do, but before he could David was run over and spent the next two years unable to talk. I know I couldn't do the sort of things that Benjamin can and I work in mental health, it's a scary place, full of brave people like Benjamin, committed to helping some of the most damaged people in this uncaring society of ours. God bless him. Buy this book and do your bit. Derek Deat Written for the layman or the professional, this is a must read for anyone interested in the world of psychiatry. Based on his decades of experience in hospital and community psychiatry, Dr Benjamin gives a fascinating, in-depth and very wide ranging view of the world of mental health and ill health. However, there many books out there that do this. Where Book of David differs is that it is a very personal account written from a most unusual perspective. Dr Benjamin's writing style is amusing and his views are frequently challenging and controversial. He pulls no punches, certainly where the pharmaceutical profession is concerned. What you get all in one book is a comprehensive view of how our minds develop and how they might go wrong, his views on treatment approaches, the organisation of psychiatric services and the role of the legal profession with regard to patient's rights. As a general practitioner for over twenty-seven years and a doctor in aerospace medicine for seventeen years, I can fully relate to the the story Dr Benjamin has to tell and its relevance. Joseph G."