Book 38 – Manic Kingdom by Dr Erin Stair

Could that disheveled young woman – rooting around in the trash for potatoes and clothes – possibly be a med student? The unthinkable becomes reality when you are seduced by the Manic Kingdom. It can upend your seemingly pitch-perfect existence, thrusting you into a world where your inhibitions, intellect, and instincts are powerless to save you. Join Dr. Erin Stair on the journey of a lifetime. Based on a true story, Becka is on the verge of becoming a doctor, immersed in the world of physical and mental illness, while her own mental health was crumbling. Travel with her 3,000 miles away to California, where she fled from her school, her roommate and her life, finding romance and companionship with a mysterious man known only to her as “King.” King was helpful to her in many ways, but was she ignoring warning signs that disaster was right around the corner? Manic Kingdom is a frightening, sometimes humorous, essential reminder of how we can lose ourselves, how dangerous we can be to ourselves, and how fragile stability can be.

Book 36 – Also Human: The Inner Lives of Doctors by Catherine Elton

A psychologist’s stories of doctors who seek to help others but struggle to help themselves.

From ER and M*A*S*H to Grey’s Anatomy and House, the medical drama endures for good reason: we’re fascinated by the people we must trust when we are most vulnerable. In Also Human, vocational psychologist Caroline Elton introduces us to some of the distressed physicians who have come to her for help: doctors who face psychological challenges that threaten to destroy their careers and lives, including an obstetrician grappling with his own homosexuality, a high-achieving junior doctor who walks out of her first job within weeks of starting, and an oncology resident who faints when confronted with cancer patients. Entering a doctor’s office can be terrifying, sometimes for the doctor most of all. By examining the inner lives of these professionals, Also Human offers readers insight into, and empathy for, the very real struggles of those who hold power over life and death.