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Thanks to @harperonebooks for an advance review copy of Pathological by Sarah Fay, out today! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Pathological is a mental health memoir: in it, Fay reckons with our broken health care system and her experience with the six diagnoses she’s received in her life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I am 38% of the way in, and have been blown away by the amount of information I’ve been exposed to, including: -the history and evolution of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -the relationship between advertising and prescribing (which reminds me so much of Dopesick by Beth Macy) -the idea that diagnosis is more significant for insurance and billing than it is for actual treatment -how psychiatric diagnosis is complicated because mental illness cannot be quantified in the same way as physical illness ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fay walks us through various points in her life where she has dealt with mental illness and how it has affected her relationships, her work, and her perception of herself. Interspersed throughout is her knowledge of the healthcare system, gleaned after years of frustration with a world that has never seemed to understand her. It is also a memoir of her journey as a teacher: of her relationships with her students and her relationship to punctuation and grammar, which is an apt parallel: Fay is initially afraid to admit her lack of knowledge surrounding punctuation and grammar but later masters it and, understanding the power she now wields, works to empower others to do the same. I didn’t rush through this book for the sake of finishing it before it’s publication date — it’s one I’ve been taking my time to read — but I’m looking forward to finishing it! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ TW: anorexia, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism, hypochondria, depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (check for other TW/CWs) via Instagram https://instagr.am/p/CbIF7_0Lvs_/