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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Sep 2017, 416 pages
Paperback:
Jul 2018, 400 pages
Book Reviewed by:
Kate Braithwaite
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A razor-sharp debut about a woman who goes so far off the deep end, she might never make it back up…
Sam James has spent years carefully crafting her reputation as the best psychologist at Typhlos, Manhattan's most challenging psychiatric institution. She believes if she can't save herself, she'll save someone else. It's this savior complex that serves her well in helping patients battle their inner demons, though it leads Sam down some dark paths and opens her eyes to her own mental turmoil.
When Richard, a mysterious patient no other therapist wants to treat, is admitted to Typhlos, Sam is determined to unlock his secrets and his psyche. But she can't figure out why Richard appears to be so normal in a hospital filled with madness. As Sam gets pulled into Richard's twisted past, she can't help but analyze her own life, and what she discovers terrifies her. And so the mind games begin. But who is the savior and who is the saved?
In this unexpected and addictive psychological debut, A.F. Brady takes readers into the psyche of a deeply disturbed woman desperately trying to keep her head above water, showing that sometimes what's most terrifying is what exists in your mind.
October 18th, 9:40am
I'm kneeling on the floor in my office, tying the top of the garbage bag into a knot, and squeezing out the excess air as I do it. The maintenance guys always leave extra bags at the bottom of the garbage can, so I can replace this one with a fresh one, and just dump the tied-off bag into the bin. I find this is the most discrete way of hiding the rank stench of alcohol when I throw up in my garbage can. I want to believe that my tolerance is high enough that I never throw up, but the truth is, more often than not, I find myself on my knees in my office the morning after.
My name is Sam. I'm a psychologist, and I work in a mental institution. It's not like the ones you see in Rain Man or Girl, Interrupted. It's in Manhattan. It doesn't have sprawling grassy lawns, and manicured hedges. It doesn't have wide hallways and eleven-foot doors like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It smells like a combination of antiseptic and bubble ...
The abuse Sam suffers at boyfriend Lucas' hands is graphic, almost clinically described. It is in keeping with her voice and character, but not for the faint of heart. As the novel progresses, a theme emerges: Does personal experience with a problem help a therapist be more effective? Brady hints that if this line has been crossed – if a drug counselor has had his or her own drug problems for example – then the therapist might be able to be more effective than another person with no personal experience to bring to bear. As Sam and her patient Richard find out more about each other, this intriguing and controversial question makes The Blind a satisfying psychological read...continued
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(Reviewed by Kate Braithwaite).
Kimberly Belle, bestselling author of The Marriage Lie
Sly, dark, and completely enthralling, The Blind is a knockout debut. Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet and June
Sometimes stark and often startling, The Blind asks important questions about the arbitrary lines we draw between the sane and "crazy" members of our society. Along the way, this quick-paced debut novel pulls its reader into a web of deceit, recrimination, and ultimately, redemption.In her debut novel, The Blind, A.F. Brady, a licensed psychotherapist, has created a memorable narrator, Sam James, who suffers from borderline personality disorder.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the handbook used to describe and diagnose mental disorders, lists ten forms of personality disorder that are further defined into clusters. Borderline personality disorder falls into cluster B, the dramatic, emotional and erratic cluster. The four disorders in this cluster share problems such as impulse control and emotional regulation. They are:
Borderline Personality ...
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