Review: The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness

The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Eight completely normal patients made it into mental hospitals as pseudopatients. It leads to an article in Science called Being Sane Insane Places. Cahalan does extensive research and attempts to track down the pseudopatients so she can get the stories from their perspectives. She also uses notes and the manuscript of his unfinished novel to help her decipher as well.

I really enjoyed this book. I had a feeling I would. I read Cahalan's memoir, Brain On Fire. That was a pretty amazing book as well. I will admit that it was a bit terrifying as well. It was well worth the read. I had every bit of confidence that she would make this one well worth the read as well. I was not disappointed at all. I even learned some things. I may have even added some books from this book to my TBR list.

As this book is a nonfiction book, talking about characters would be pointless. It talks about a study that may or may not have been fabricated to coincide with the researcher's thesis. There's no real evidence pointing either way. Either way, Cahalan did a great deal of research. I was both shocked and impressed to learn that she spent five years doing research for this project. That is true dedication right there.

I don't read a lot of nonfiction books. I really hope to amend that soon. My goal is to start reading more nonfiction books. I won't stop reading fictional books. They will always be my go-to reads. I just want to be more well-read. Cahalan really does a great job engaging the reader and keeping them informed and interested. I have never been so impressed.

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