Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Mar 27, 2010

Elby rated it:

Julie Holland, M.D. is the weekend night shift doctor at Bellevue Psych Ward for nine years. Her job isn't particularly difficult unless there is night where the sheer volume of people coming through the door is overwhelming. By her own admission, she isn't very good at her job. From the stories she relates, you can take her at her word that she isn't very good at her job.

Staying with this book through the first half is difficult because the author is so unlikable. She is much more More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 11, 2010

Wanda rated it:

I will start by saying that this book was a crashing bore. If you go into the reading of this book to learn about mental illnesses, you will be disappointed. If you go into it to take a journey of self discovery by the author, you will be disappointed. I listened to it on CD and several times forced myself not to skip whole sections. For example, the litany of morning report – who came into the ED last night, what their diagnosis is and the circumstances of their admission to Bellevue. Over and More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2010

Chana rated it:

Dr. Julie Holland shares her experiences working the Psych ER at Bellevue Hospital in NYC for 9 years. She also tells us about her medical training and her family life.
This is a quick and easy read, it is interesting and informative. I don't always like her, I don't always agree with everything she says; but she commands respect and some of the things that she said are things that I will think about in my own life. As the parent of a child newly on a psych med the book came to me at an ap More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 02, 2009

Abby rated it:

Dr. Holland tells brisk, engaging tales about the nine years she spent in the psychiatric emergency room at Bellevue Hospital. Her sarcastic, competent tone comes clearly through, which can be distracting or appealing, depending on the reader’s preference. Holland bravely and honestly details the highs and lows of being an emergency room psychiatrist – complete with internal feuds, sexual harassment, and the detrimental effect to one’s own psyche. Holland’s stories move along at a rapid, engross More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2011

Carissa rated it:

This book was somewhat uneven but utterly readable. I even had my sci-fi-only-reading boyfriend pick it up and then keep coming back until he had finished it even before I did. The subject matter alone is pretty interesting, but it's matched with a biting, creative, and unpredictable writing style that really infuses the personality of the author into the work. [return]I do feel like the title/subtitle and synopsis sell the work as more of a series of stories about the hospital and its workings, More...

0 comments like

Dec 08, 2011

Steven rated it:

Fascinating book about a woman who had been in charge of deciding who does, and does not, get admitted to a stay at Bellevue. She did this for nine years. Obviously the book is about many of the patients, but the coolest thing about the book is the sheer number of other things it's also very much about: admitting you're crisped at your job; branching out; moving on with life; the different forms of mental illness; how we're all mentally ill, in varying degrees. Having the courage to switch ge More...

0 comments like

Oct 04, 2011

D rated it:

This particular piece of work is an autobiography from an author of a former psych ER doctor who used to work the renowned Bellevue hospital of New York City. I would say that the book is a mixture of the author’s personal life, mixed in with her time spent as a psych doctor; the mixture being half and half. The patients that are mentioned in this book are sad, but what is even sadder and scarier are the times when this doctor describes her care of these patients. There are times when she is c More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Jessica rated it:

For some reason, I couldn't settle on a book to enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas, and I've no idea why. Maybe because I'd been running around like a crazy person with school and home renovations and holiday preparations? So perhaps I chose Holland's book unconsciously as a way to make sure that I'm not as crazy as I feel. I guess it worked, and so I got my money's worth out of the book. But I don't think I would recommend it to other readers, really.

Don't get me wrong - it' More...

0 comments like

Oct 28, 2010

Chibineko rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Sep 08, 2010

Jonny99 rated it:

A staid view of Crazytown. In today’s reality-soaked media, the true-life tales of the crazies who drift or are dragged into the world capital of crazy – Bellevue Hospital in New York City – sounds like it would offer compelling stories and purulent fascinations. Turns out not so much. Julie Holland’s text keeps the spotlight mostly on her life during weekends at the hospital rather than those parts of the lives carried out by the drug addicts and schizophrenics its serves during their time i More...

0 comments like

Aug 08, 2010

Alice rated it:

This is a serious departure from my usual pleasure reading. There are no teenagers, neurotic New Yorkers, scrappy dystopian societies, or fashionistas to be found. It's not even fiction! I picked this up at random from the New shelf at the NYPL and enjoyed it quite a bit. Holland has a good solid voice that reminded me of Kelly Cutrone, except I gave her book one star. Same sort of ballsy, macho, butch straight girl vibe. Julie does a rockstar job processing intakes at Bellevue, the most famous More...

0 comments like

Mar 10, 2010

Kat rated it:

http://tinyurl.com/ntrk3l

I now never want to go see the doctor again.

Yes, I knew doctors were fallible, but like this? The stories she tells (and which are clearly only sidebars related to the main tale) of the sneakiness, anger and most disturbing of all, the pride of these men and women that keep them from providing decent care to patients-- I just didn't want to know this. I want to know that my doctors are well-trained, alert to my problems, willing to listen to me, a More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Mar 02, 2010

Goddess1871 rated it:

This book began with such promise. I was intrigued with Dr. Holland after hearing her on some news show on NPR and decided to give it a go.

While the title, Weekends at Bellvue, and the introductory pages imply case studies of the cases there and lessons learned, I quickly got the feeling that this was more a memoir about Dr. Holland herself and generally her transformation from an eager, curious student, into a narcissistic, self-absorbed doctor who is more interested (despite her protes

More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2010

Colleen rated it:

In this admittedly disjointed memoir, Holland reveals just what it takes to run the weekend shift at one of America's most famous mental hospitals for almost a decade. Not one to sugarcoat reality, Holland paints a disturbing picture of our current mental healthcare priorities, and quite frankly of herself. I'll admit there were plenty of aspects of her life and personality which I found off-putting, but the raw honesty she displays is a testament to her commitment. I'm not sure I'd choose Holla More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 14, 2010

Shawna rated it:

This was an interesting read and I admire the author for showing us who she is, warts and all. That said, she did not come off as all that compassionate. She talked a lot about how sensitive she was, and had to put up defenses against everything she saw at Bellevue--but we aren't really shown that side of her. We hear about her bravado, her flirting, her flippant dismissals of people who she believes are faking, but seem to clearly be in need of some sort of care. She threatens to medicate u More...

0 comments like

Jan 02, 2010

Evan rated it:

I'm giving the good doctor Holland one more star than many reviewers. I liked this book for several reasons. As one points out, it does have more in common with a memoir than a clinical psych text, but why should that matter? Clearly, when working in a psych ward, the person's gonzo perspective is extremely important.
Dr. Holland did a good job explaining life in the ward, and the sprinkling of Beatles lyrics added a personal touch that many writers scrub out of their books. Additionally, I More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2009

Felicity rated it:

OK, first of all, my oft-stated criticism of people in their thirties who write memoirs. And yes, this is a memoir. If you get details of someone's sex life, their psychotherapy, wedding, pregnancies, and journey from freshman year to attending physician, then, yes, it's a memoir. If I think it's a problem, I shouldn't read them, but I didn't realize it was a memoir when I picked it up...and I'm not going to begrudge her that too much (this time). But really, no one's life is that important More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 28, 2009

Tara rated it:

This is my first medical memoir and I enjoyed it immensely. For me, it was educational, as well as entertaining. The world behind the automatic doors of Bellevue hospital is exposed to us thru the eyes and experiences of Julie Holland, M.D. Julie exposes the nitty, gritty, funny, strange, and just plain sad cases that walk in the door either by choice or in cuffs for her to assist, interview, or diagnose. Among the many attempted suicides, there is a lady that walked across the bridge carrying t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 27, 2009

Dorrit rated it:

It's not entirely clear to me why Dr. Holland chose to tell her story, or, at least, to tell it as she did. In a recent NPR interview she sounded a great deal more sensible and grounded than she sounds in Weekends at Bellevue where she comes across as the petulant, aggressive, badly-behaved doctor we all hope never to see. Although she tried to illustrate her evolution from an immature, whiny, insecure resident to a caring, respected healer, she apparently never entirely overcame her aggressiv More...

0 comments like

Nov 23, 2009

Emily rated it:

This is an ultimately disappointing account of the author's years spent as the weekend attending of the Bellevue psych emergency room. In this role she treated the most mentally ill of NYC, including drug addicts and criminals. You'd imagine that the author would have reams of material, but swaths of this book felt forced and irrelevant. It's as if her editor told her that she need more: so write down 20 ideas, now expand each of those into five pages. The author's wedding, relationship with her More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Laura rated it:

I enjoyed Weekends at Bellevue although I was surprised that it focused more on Dr. Holland and her personal experience & therapy vs. that of her patients. It was still interesting to read about how she had to harden herself emotionally, how important it is for psych doctors to have their own therapy so that they don't project onto their patients. The bits of information about the patient side is more generic. While she covers a few out-of-the-norm cases, you are left with the impression that ma More...

0 comments like

Dec 08, 2009

Matthew rated it:

I heard the NPR interview with Dr. Holland, in which this sounded like a great book with lots of potential. Some chapters deliver on that, some do not. I enjoyed much of the medical aspects of this book, and even would appreciate the 'political' angle, if she had not seemed so immature and threatened. What I did not see a need for was a description of the sexual escapades during medical school, the sexual orientation of several staff members brought to the forefront of the story, and the neveren More...

0 comments like

Jul 22, 2009

Andres rated it:

I should point out two things that may influence my 5-star review: 1) medical narratives fascinate me completely, and 2) I've grown up hearing the kinds of stories found in this memoir from a family member who has worked in a similar setting. So right from the start this book grabbed my attention and just 2 days later left me looking for other similar titles.

The author shares her almost decade long experience working at the Bellevue Comprehensive Psychiatry Emergency Program (CPEP), More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Bellevue Hospital. The epitome of psychiatric care for mental disorders. This book grabbed my attention, since working at the library, I get lots of exposure to a variety of mental illness. I figured since Holland ran the psychiatric ER for 9 years, she would have some good stories. She had some, but not as many as my co-workers! She dealt a lot with the technical aspects of her job, the bureaucracy and the routines. She spent too much time describing the pains of scheduling, and recountin More...

0 comments like

Oct 11, 2010

Khaya rated it:

What I expected to get out of this memoir (and mostly didn’t get, with a few exceptions):

Something along the lines of Just Here Trying to Save a Few Lives: Tales of Life and Death from the ER, with vivid descriptions of psychiatric emergency room life and fascinating stories

Some education about the processes in the psychiatric emergency room, such as how interviews are conducted and decisions made

Experiences I could relate to, especially as a budding psychologist
More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Jennifer added it

I feel like this book is very misrepresented in some of the reviews below. So I would like to clear up a few points while the story is still fresh in my head. First, Dr. Holland did not sleep her way through the entire surgical team. She slept with a few of them, it's true, but so what? It wasn't illegal and it wasn't something that she did to further her career. She was single and had consensual sex. Second, she does not say that talking with a mentally ill person is like talking to a slightly More...

0 comments like

May 18, 2011

Joy rated it:

"There is a diaphanous membrane between sane and insane. It is the flimsiest of barriers, and because any one of us can break through at any given time, it scares all of us. We all lie somewhere on the spectrum, and our position can shift gradually or suddenly. There is no predicting which of us will be afflicted with dementia or schizophrenia, who will become incapacitated with depression or panic attacks, or become suicidal, manic, or addicted. None of these states of mind are uncommon, a More...

0 comments like

Jan 20, 2012

Megan rated it:

I learned about Weekends at Bellevue on NPR. I was excited to finally have the chance to read it because I love psychology and thought it would be fun to hear about all the wacky cases that passed through their doors. However, from the get go I hated the author. Maybe hate is not a fair word. Detest?

She starts off by saying, "I am smart -- more than that, a smart ass". First of all when you're writing a book, the story is supposed to tell who you are. Second, who describes More...

0 comments like

Jan 31, 2011

Ingrid rated it:

When I first got into clinical psychology my brother asked me what sort of work I wanted to do. I immediately responded I wanted to work with the severely ill, and hoped to get a job at Bellevue at some point. He then asked how I knew I'd be able to handle it, and while my heart was in it, I really had no idea how to respond to that. How DID I know that I could manage working with the really pathological and tough cases? I am SO glad I came across Dr. Holland's book because it could not have bee More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2009

JoAnn rated it:

This is a bluntly honest and most candid reflection of a doctor who holds a mirror before herself. We see first hand, as Dr. Julie Holland, MD, provides a running commentary about working at one of the most famous psychiatric hospitals in the nation. Dr. Holland attempts to provide a view of her world from arms length as she shows the world life inside the ER at Bellevue.

Julie is candid, while also seemingly doing a self report on her own issues, as she delves into the hearts and min More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)