Julie Holland thought she knew what crazy was. Then she came to Bellevue. For nine eventful years, Dr. Holland was the weekend physician in charge of Bellevue's psychiatric emergency room. Deciding who gets locked up and who gets talked down would be an awesome responsibility for most people. For her, it was just another day at the office...

In an absorbing memoir laced with humor, Holland provides an unvarnished look at life in the Psych ER, recounting stories from her vast case file that are alternately terrifying, tragically comic, and profoundly moving. As Holland comes to understand, the degree to which someone can lose his or her mind is infinite, and each patient's pain leaves a mark on her as well--as does the cancer battle of a fellow doctor who is both her best friend and her most trusted mentor.

Writing with uncommon candor about her life both inside and outside the hospital, Holland supplies a fascinating glimpse into the inner lives of doctors, struggling to maintain perspective in a world where sanity is in the eye of the beholder.

• January 2012 Indie Next List
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