Songs from the Black Chair: A Memoir of Mental Interiors

This is a beautifully written book, poignant without being self-pitying. As a person with OCD, I appreciate how Barber succinctly and clearly presents the condition.

This book is a great read. From the opening scenes of a suicide in a New England farmhouse to the following chapters that tell of youthful adventures and the descent into madness, Charlie Barber knows how carry us through what would have been tortuous material in less skilled hands. This book gives us a personal account of the terrors of mental illness and loss of control over ones thoughts and destiny. The slow path to healing, and the refreshing acknowlegement of how medications brought back his sanity are a welcome departure from the usual rants against the medical industrial complex. I also greatly enjoyed the view of the sleepy college town and the caring yet uncomprehending parents that all of us can identify with, both as teens and as uncomprehending parents. I highly recommend this book.

Songs from the Black Chair was awesome. Admittedly, it was more about the author's own struggles than about any of the people he has helped, but that's not a criticism... it is noted simply because the title, which suggests that the book will be about his patients, is misleading. All the same, it was a story that touched and moved me deeply. As do many primary care providers, I have cared for and treated the mentally ill almost 15 years, and what Barber writes about the need to simply LISTEN - and how the more highly-trained the professional, the less this ability - hits home very hard. Sadly, psychiatry today is no longer about listening to people; it's about categorizing their symptoms and then trying to abolish these with medication. In fact, the content of a sick person's hallucinations, fears, and dreams is no longer important; what the patient has to say to us, to society, is left uncovered, ignored, or derided. What would Freud and Adler and Frankl say? Buy it, read it -- be unsettled by it -- and pass it to a friend.

This memoir was moving, almost beyond words. I was poignantly and thankfully reconnected to the reasons I most wanted to be a therapist many years ago. Mr. Barber's efforts have produced a work of distinction for its openness, sincerity. and fearsome humanity. Kathryn J. Mas, Ph.D.

I purchased this book after reading Charles Barber's essay published in the Spring 2004 issue of the Bellevue Literary Review http://www.blreview.org/issue_spring2004/. I was expecting a book to be a collection of stories told by homeless residents in New York City. To my surprise however, the real focus of the book was Charles' personal journey and his own struggle with mental illness for both himself and his childhood friend Henry. Mr. Barber does a wonderful job of giving us a glimpse into the world of OCD and depression. It truly was a real eye opener for me. I highly recommend this book.