Madwives: Schizophrenic Women in the 1950s

First of all, learn what "sociological" means. This is not a psychology or a psychiatry book. If that's what you're looking for, go read the DSM IV or something. This is a sociological book, which means that it's going to explore the connections between some phenomenon and its social (and in this case, historical) context. Warren is going beyong the diagnoses these women received to examine what was REALLY going on with them and their society at the time. Most of these women were NOT really schizophrenic, but were labeled as such because they were "problematic" for their husbands or their society for some other reason. It's great--read it, and then think about how much trust we implicitly put in our doctors and other medical and mental health practitioners just because they are professionals.

As a future clinical psychologist, I see it as my responsibility to not take past abuses of the field lightly. This book is a reminder that, whatever one's motivations, to carry the title of "psychologist" entitles one to a great degree of power over the lives of others. Despite what my fellow reviewer wrote, Warren makes no claims that the field has gone stagnant. Her critique of psychiatry and institutionalization as forms of social control is powerful and insightful. To paraphrase the old adage, those ignorant of the past are doomed to repeat it. If only for this reason, this is a must read for clinicians of any background.