Steve
Sobel is a practicing psychiatrist in northern Vermont. "A 500 Pound
Amoeba" is a collection of 10 compelling vignettes of patients with
psychiatric illnesses. These comprise depression, mania, OCD, body dysmorphic
disorder, borderline personality, generalized anxiety disorder, schizophrenia,
acrophobia, psychotic depression, and dementia. The stories are told with great
sensitivity. Each one is divided into two parts. The first describing the
illness as appreciated from the patient’s vantage point and the second explains
the clinician’s approach and touches on the doctor-patient relationship.
We have all known patients like the composites Dr. Sobel eloquently conveys. As physicians, we have all had patients like these. Sobel’s narrative style is easy to read and follow. These tales afford profound insights into the illnesses covered.
This slender volume of less than 130 pages will make compelling reading for physicians, mental health professionals, trainees, medical students and all others with an interest in mental health. Sobel has a gentle, compassionate writing style and the tales are memorable. The narrative form employed also serves as a template for the presentation of similar patients.
We have all known patients like the composites Dr. Sobel eloquently conveys. As physicians, we have all had patients like these. Sobel’s narrative style is easy to read and follow. These tales afford profound insights into the illnesses covered.
This slender volume of less than 130 pages will make compelling reading for physicians, mental health professionals, trainees, medical students and all others with an interest in mental health. Sobel has a gentle, compassionate writing style and the tales are memorable. The narrative form employed also serves as a template for the presentation of similar patients.
Available at Amazon for around $10 and also on Kindle for $7
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