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41st out of 150 books
—
139 voters
Welcome to My Country
Lauren Slater, a brilliant writer who is a young therapist, takes us on a mesmerizing personal and professional journey in this remarkable memoir about her work with mental and emotional illness. The territory of the mind and of madness can seem a foreign, even frightening place-until you read Welcome to My Country.
Writing in a powerful and original voice, Lauren Slater cl...more
Writing in a powerful and original voice, Lauren Slater cl...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
July 14th 1997
by Anchor
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Well-written memoir of work in a home for schizophrenics. The author's experiences with these troubled people are fascinating and her frank and vivid prose is refreshing. The book is an excellent source of information about various mental illnesses. Until recently my hometown never saw unkempt homeless men wandering the streets muttering to themselves. Having read Slater's book, I feel like I understand these men better and can find some sympathy for their struggles.
My favorite part of the book...more
My favorite part of the book...more
Slater's accounts of many of the chronically mentally ill people she's treated--both on a locked ward for schizophrenics and in a clinic. What's unique about her writing is that she reflects on what she recognizes in herself during her process of treating patients. At one point in her life, she was diagnosed as a borderline personality. She has suffered from anorexia and attempted suicide. She talks about how her experiences with pain influence her engagement with patients. She's an interesting...more
Welcome to my Country is a great book that effectively shows what it means to be diagnosed with a mental illness. It is nothing to be treated lightly. To do so would be insensitive. I was quite surprised on the author's use of descriptive language.
I am so used to doctors writing being so frank and succient that Dr. Slater descriptions surprised me. The stories were all heartbreaking in their own right. I felt bad for the schizophrenic who was once a genius and, could sometimes sense, what exact...more
I am so used to doctors writing being so frank and succient that Dr. Slater descriptions surprised me. The stories were all heartbreaking in their own right. I felt bad for the schizophrenic who was once a genius and, could sometimes sense, what exact...more
A fantastic memoir about a psychologist and her experiences working in the dredges of the psychology world with long forgotten in-house patients, troubled out-house patients, and her own shaded past catching up with her. Lauren Slater takes the analysis of the unstable mind to the next level and really gets you to see her patients as real people, inviting you to take a look at the world through her eyes. The best aspect about this book is probably Slater's honesty in her own reactions and the co...more
Couldn't put it down. Lauren Slater's prose is sensually, stunningly poetic. This book is charged with a joyful delight in foods and colors. At the same time, this is a tale of sadness and pain. Again, Lauren's words reveal the color and texture of terror, desperation, self-mutilation. But "Welcome to My Country" is much more than pretty words.
Dr. Lauren spins a web of self-revelation through her encounters with her psychology patients. It's spellbinding and endearing to watch her find, and rev...more
Dr. Lauren spins a web of self-revelation through her encounters with her psychology patients. It's spellbinding and endearing to watch her find, and rev...more
I found this book Intriguing. Lauren Slater a young therapist tells of her stuggles to relate to her patients.She begins working with a group of schizophrenics finding the traditional forms of therapy fruitless.She begins exploring some new ways of relating to her clients that bring remarkable results. This was not an easy read for me because of the honest emoitions she revealed of herself and her patients. The book did reinforce the idea that we need to continue to look for new ways of connecti...more
I have to read this book for my Sociology In Deviance course, literally for a book review. We had to pick a book that was mentioned at the back of one of the chapters in our text book, and after the chapter in Mental Health, I picked this one. So far, it's intriguing, simply being let into a world of schizophrenics, what they truly see, and not what popular culture has defined it as, opens up my eyes to something I have never seen before. I see the world through their eyes, because it is in the...more
A fascinating look at mental illness. I did find Slater's style a little odd - she uses a very florid and poetic style at times, which feels at odds with the subject matter, even as she writes some beautiful phrases.
Most poignant were her own recollections of mental illness, especially in the last section, where she goes to begin work with a patient suffering from bulimia, who happens to be in the same ward in the same hospital where Slater herself was treated.
Most poignant were her own recollections of mental illness, especially in the last section, where she goes to begin work with a patient suffering from bulimia, who happens to be in the same ward in the same hospital where Slater herself was treated.
Slater's early days as a psychologist in an all-male schizophrenic unit in Boston. She writes about her patients and trying to work with them while trying to recognize herself in them. It is a worthy attempt and brings some lovely ideas, but at times the narrator feels too detached and the stories too neat and tidy. Would have rated this higher if I hadn't just finished "Opening Skinner's Box," which was fantastic.
This book was a very interesting look at counseling and mental illness. The author writes about her experiences as a therapist working with the mentally ill and relates her professional experience to her own history of mental illness and treatment that she recieved. I don't know if this book would be as interesting for someone that does not work in the counseling field but I found it to be very interesting.
This is an amazing book for anyone who is thinking about or who is already in the mental health field. Burn-out is a huge concern among mental health practioners, and the author's prose demonstrates the love and kindness she has for her patients which is the ultimate source of healing. Lauren Slater's compassion and empathy shine through her words, which are that of a poet. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs to reconnect with him or herself.
Lauren Slater has the most beautiful, poetic prose... Her descriptions and figurative language permeated right through my pores, and for the rest of the day after reading this book, I felt nothing but mindful awareness of my connection to life around me. Her words are revitalizing in that way. She also serves not only as a poet and brilliant therapist, as evidenced by the accounts in her book, but also as an objective anthropologist and sociologist, daring to look at her own field through a crit...more
I was very disappointed in this novel - I thought it would be an account of this physician's patient interactions yet I found it more an outlet of her own neuroses. At the end I found it was written in 1995 and I wonder if the author revisited her career now 15 years later, what would be different.
poet works in a psych ward. i have a similar work situation going on & it was really validating to read this book, written by someone who is sensitive & observant. this shit hits us hard sometimes. the details are wonderful & the overall effect is extremely resonant. get it!
Aug 28, 2009
Dani Golomb
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
psychology-related-literature,
jungian-themes
Really fast read. On the cover, a review compares Lauren Slater to Oliver Sacks -- it is a really easy and true comparison. Both treat their respective patients who suffer from severe pathologies with compassion, patience, creativity, and humanity. Also, I thought her prose was really beautiful.
A bit of the flowery language could've been toned down just a tad. Other than that, I'm in love with this book. Her experience seeing people with schizophrenia grapple with larger existential questions mirrors what I see at the hospital I work at.
I loved the way this book gave insight into therapy, but I didn't like the sickly sweet flourishes on every single sentence. It just seemed to be too much. I would have liked to know more about her interactions without the kind of excessive imagery. That said, it was written well, and I learned a lot.
Before we medicate and catalog people's symptoms, we must connect with the actual person. This book was a powerful reminder of what can be healed thru human connection and compassion.
Jan 30, 2013
Kimberly Hetherington
added it
I absolutely loved this book. I recently graduated with my BA in psychology and have always wanted to know what it would be like to be a psychologist since it is a career choice I am considering. It was fascinating to read her story and learn about all the different cases of people she dealt with throughout her career. It wasn't even all technical writing, it was beautifully written like a novel. I love the way she explained things and I loved how she exposed herself so honestly . Truly excellen...more
Oh Lauren Slater! ((face palm)) What have she done with this book? I loved Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir. I adored it. Her writing was delicious and whimsical and daring and it was a swirling dream-like experience to read. And Prozac Diary was a fascinating and well written chronicle of the early years of anti-depressants.
What happened here?
She has the same beautiful prose and yet it annoyed me. Why?! Maybe she came across as condescending about her patients. Maybe she overly romanticized the s...more
What happened here?
She has the same beautiful prose and yet it annoyed me. Why?! Maybe she came across as condescending about her patients. Maybe she overly romanticized the s...more
I read this years ago, have rec'd it, and given away my copy. I found it powerful, evocative, and memorable. Really worth a read.
While occasionally overwrought, Slater's memoir of her experiences as a therapist is mostly beautiful and moving-- a poetic exploration of severe mental illness. Rather than a technical manual, Welcome to my Country is rather a collection of short remembrances of patients whose struggles moved Slater on a level much deeper than doctor/patient. The ,most powerful in the final, in which Slater weaves in her own experience of mental illness. This memoir, and particularly in this chapter, is an emot...more
If you have ever worked in residential or with people who are underserved you will love this beautiful true stufff!!!
She reminds me of Oliver Sacks, but with a feminine perspective. Really lyrical, human, and haunting writing.
Her writing is beautiful, but I think the beauty of her writing both fictionalizes her patients as well as reveals the beauty of her patients.
Another less-showy Slater book. Just case studies about mental illness that are often well-written.
hard to read at times due to the "gross" factor, but well worth the read -- particularly for those in the "helping" professions. The last chapter is worth reading by itself.
Slater’s stories about her work with schizophrenics and others with sever mental problems. I started the book thinking “Sacks-wanna-be,” but her endearing writing and her tender treatment of her patients won me over. She’s a psychologist who spent time in a mental institution herself – as a patient. The last chapter about her returning to the same institution to see a patient is quite moving. I was curious to see if she makes any reference to her childhood epilepsy (the subject of her other book...more
Dec 09, 2012
Jaime
added it
This book was amazing. Want to read more like this.
Really beautifully written insightful therapy stories of people with severe mental illnesses, including schzopherenia, depression, and conduct disorder. I love stories by therapists who connect with their clients on a very human level breaking down the fasade of doctor/patient and seeing the continuum of pain and beauty in everyone. The writer herself had prior hospitalizations for her own mental health before becoming a psychiatrist. She shares this openly and shows how it helps her to connect...more
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Lauren Slater is a psychologist and writer. She is the author of numerous books, including Welcome To My Country, Lying: A Metaphorical Memoir, Opening Skinner’s Box, and Blue Beyond Blue, a collection of short stories. Slater’s most recent book is The $60,000 Dog: My Life With Animals.
Slater has been the recipient of numerous awards, amongst them a 2004 National Endowments for the Arts Award, and...more
More about Lauren Slater...
Slater has been the recipient of numerous awards, amongst them a 2004 National Endowments for the Arts Award, and...more
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