The Day Room: A Memoir of Madness & Mending

Kathleen Crowley's, The Day Room: A Memoir of Madness and Mending is a must read. You cannot put it down.

An unbelievable story of hope and strength! I couldn't put it down even though I started it already late at night--thank you for a wonderful book.

THIS TITLE JUST FITS KATHLEEN CROWLEYS BOOK. NO MATTER WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH SHE KEPT THE FAITH AND FOUGHT STRONG! I RELATED WITH HER THROUGH THE WHOLE BOOK. SHE MADE ANOTHER CHRONIC PAIN SUFFERER(MYSELF) FEEL YOUR NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD DEALING WITH THE MEDICAL PROFESSION AND COURT SYSTEM AND MOST OF ALL PAIN BY YOURSELF! I LOVED HER COURAGE AND STRENGTH THROUGH IT ALL. I ONLY WISH I COULD HAVE A WAY OF SPEAKING WITH HER NOW TO SEE HOW SHE IS DOING. IT WAS NEVER MENTIONED IN HER BOOK BUT IT SOUNDS AS IF SHE SUFFERS FROM REFLEX SYMPATHEIC DYSTROPHY ALL HER SYMPTOMS MATCH THAT DX. I HOPE AND PRAY ALL IS WELL WITH HER AND THANK HER IMMENSELY FOR BRINGING HER STORY TO OTHER CHRONIC PAIN SUFFERERS. AND MAKING ALL CHRONIC PAIN SUFFERS NOT FEEL SO ALONE. THANKYOU KATHLEEN CROWLEY!

I found The Day Room to be 80, no 90% terrific. The writer, who suffers with the chronic pain and depression that go along with it, is met with doors shut in her face by one professional after another. She does a nice job of conveying the sense of insanity, and eventually rage, that such treatment invokes. The people who occupy space and time with her along the way -- the spouse, the other patients, and such -- come to life in the book, and in the reader's mind. I was disappointed in the legal process -- in the outcome, in the lack of legal expertise (falsified records, and they weren't challenged with certified copies of the originals?), and a bit in the writing. But, overall, I found it a great read. As with one of the reviewers on the back cover, I wrapped it up in one sitting. Thank you for sharing your heart, your courage.