#BookReview: You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Work Here by Dr Benji Waterhouse @doctor_benji @JonathanCape @mia_qs @vintagebooks #YouDontHaveToBeMadToWorkHere #DrBenjiWaterhouse #PsychiatristMemoir #5Stars #HighlyRecommended

Book Synopsis:

A woman with bipolar flies from America in a wedding dress to marry Harry Styles.
A lorry driver with schizophrenia believes he’s got a cure for coronavirus.
A depressed psychiatrist hides his profession from his GP due to stigma.

Most of the characters in this book are his patients. Some of them are family. One of them is him.

Unlocking the doors to the psych ward, NHS psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse provides a fly-on-the-padded-wall account of medicine’s most mysterious and controversial speciality.

Why would anyone in their right mind choose to be a psychiatrist? Are the solutions to people’s messy lives really within medical school textbooks? And how can vulnerable patients receive the care they need when psychiatry lacks staff, hospital beds and any actual cures?

You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here explores these complicated questions from both sides of the doctor’s desk.

This is the perfect read for fans of This Is Going to Hurt, Unnatural Causes and The Prison Doctor.

Out 16th May 2024

My Review:

You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Work Here is a fascinating and insightful look into the life of a psychiatrist. It’s one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read and I’ll be urging everyone to read it.

Firstly I thought I knew a little bit about mental health as we touched on it whilst doing my degree but I was wrong, and really wrong. Throughout this book the author takes us on a journey with him through his professional life as a psychiatrist in various NHS settings. Through him we get to meet the patients he’s helped and learn a little bit more about the different mental health problems people can face. I found this utterly fascinating and I really enjoyed learning more about them especially when, through his own experience or case studies, Benji debunks a myth about mental health that is commonly believed.

Dr Waterhouse, or Benji as he likes to be called, comes across as a very warm and honest character that I enjoyed following throughout the book. I really liked that he includes his real experiences in the NHS and includes his mistakes in the story which makes him seem very human though these often had me laughing out loud as I read. He includes some of his personal struggles in the book too which made me realise how much being a doctor can impact on your personal life too.

I thought this book was easy to read and I soon found myself absorbed into Benji’s life. The book is divided into short chapters each detailing a different patient and a different part of Benji’s job. There always something interesting happening which made the book very hard to put down as I wanted to find out what would happen to him next. The author also lays bare what it’s like working for the NHS and the struggles that the NHS are having to keep up with the patient load.

Overall, as you can probably tell, I loved this book and will be recommending it to everyone. I think it would make a great book club read as I think there would be lots to discuss. I’m really hoping this isn’t the last we hear of Benji as I’d happily read another book from him.

Huge thanks to Mia from Vintage Books for sending me a copy of this book. If you’re after an insightful, entertaining memoir then you need to read this book.

About The Author:

Dr Benji Waterhouse is a front-line NHS doctor specialising in psychiatry. He is also an award-winning stand-up comedian who performs sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has written for theGuardian and Independent,and was included in a list of ‘Inspiring Psychiatrists’ by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. You Don’t Have to Be Mad to Work Here is his first book.