Seduced by Madness: The True Story of the Susan Polk Murder Case

Good reading.

I had to put it down...but only because I did not want to reach the end of this book. The prose by the author is so far above what one typically finds in the true crime or courtroom drama genres. Ms. Pogash has a depth to her writing style that was so compelling I found myself marveling at nearly every sentence. When the superb writing is coupled with the intriguing story of life at the Polk house, the reader is left with a feeling of knowing the parties involved, and even caring about each and every one of them. It was clear to me from watching the news reports during the trial that Susan Polk is a fascinating yet complex and difficult woman. Felix Polk was equally enigmatic. The descriptions of Dr. Polk were interesting to anyone who lived in Northern California during the 1960's and 1970's, especially those who had any contact with the psychotherapeutic community. Felix's professional endeavors exemplified that era and his lack of professional boundaries was never updated or modified to meet current standards (right up until his death). When you read Seduced By Madness, it's like watching sausage being made. The path, the events and the results all make sense, but it feels like something you should not be privy to, and yet you will not want to stop. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This book pulled me in and kept me hooked--such is the talent of its author, Carol Pogash and her subject, Susan Polk. I was fascinated, morbidly so, compelled to keep reading and finally sickened by the horror of it all. While Carol Pogash approaches this story through the lens of a professional journalist, she also provides a clinical case history that raises important questions about the nature of madness and its impact on family, friends and collegues. I am a psychotherapist who has lived and worked in Berkeley for over 30 years. I know many of these people and lived much of this history. Carol covers the trendy therapies and theories of those years, some mostly silly like EST, others more damaging based on stories of Satanic cults, ritual abuse, recovered memories, and multiple personalities. I must say, after reading this book I remain astonished by the inability of highly trained professionals like myself to recognize the difference between fantasy and reality, mass hysteria and delusion when we see it. In, Seduced by Madness, Carol Pogash makes it clear just how dangerous it can be to be attracted to madness--it can kill you. I am now soothing myself by reading "Mistakes Were Made" by Tavris and Aronson. A serious book, it offers documented and helpful explinations of "why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions and hurtful acts." I strongly recommend both books. Shirley Issel

Now there's a cliche, but once again, true. Pogash put some heart into this story. You can tell she's a journalist. The language is spare, but accurate and descriptive. Really takes you into the courtroom, and into the Polk's house. I recommend this to anyone who's interested in psychiatry, the trends and treatments, or in the true crime genre. The Bay Area was hanging on every move in this story and Pogash has wrapped them all up in one great package.

Yeah, this story is a tragedy: the saga of the shrink husband who subscribed to every psychiatric trend in a new agey kinda way, who fell for his young patient, then married her, only later--after three sons born-- to be murdered by his gorgeous, brilliant, much younger and still crazy wife is a portrait of the ultimate dysfunctional family--set in a bucolic Bay Area moneyed burb of sprawling homes and baby green lettuces for dinner. The murder and the subsequent trial as rendered by ace reporter Pogash arouse pity, fear and a sense of the absurd. It's not just the story of some reprehensible people who made some biggie mistakes--including murder. It is a haunting, gripping tale of both sadness,cheesiness and unmitigated gall that sucked me in and made me ultimately a clucking voyeur who could not put the dang book down until I finished. Pogash has narrated a juicy dish to set before her public.

As someone who sat through the entire trial and knew Felix Polk professionally, I have to say that, without a doubt, Carol Pogash's book is the more accurate of the two books on the Susan Polk case. Catherine Crier, while getting a chunk of it right, was not present at the trial and Carol Pogash was. Crier's book is sprinkled with inaccuracies, while Pogash's book is accurate from start to finish. But that's not the main reason for choosing Pogash's book over Crier's. Carol Pogash is an excellent writer who portrays the story of the Polk family with fairness and perspective. She writes incisively of the creative therapy going on in the 1970s, the child abuse scare of the early 1980s, and the repressed memory movement that Susan was swept up in in her increasingly delusional mindset. No blame is put on either Felix or Susan. Instead the story, under Pogash's skillful writing, is allowed to unfold accurately, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. It is a fascinating story, and it is written to not only draw the reader in, but to keep the pages turning. An excellent, suspenseful read.