Blog Tour: I Don’t Talk To Dead Bodies – Dr Rhona Morrison

*I received a free ARC of this book, with thanks to the author and Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Blurb: Prepare to be intrigued, amazed and astonished as you join Dr Rhona Morrison on an often funny, and at times downright bizarre, thought-provoking and eyeopening rollercoaster ride through some of the most curious encounters of her career as a leading forensic psychiatrist.

Delve into the minds of real people, whose actions may shock and stun you, but whose stories have the power to challenge your assumptions and the stigma that
surrounds mental illness.

Travel directly into their living rooms and see behind the closed doors of hospitals, prisons and court rooms. Lift the lid on Dr Morrison’s jaw-dropping experiences with murderers, stalkers and other dangerous offenders as she attempts to make sense of some highly unusual situations. Discover the true stories of the inspiring human beings who are bravely learning to live with major mental illness.

I Don’t Talk to Dead Bodies shines a powerful, emotional and surprisingly moving spotlight on the fascinating life of a forensic psychiatrist and the people she works with. It goes beyond the sensationalist headlines to show you just what happens in a world where mental illness occasionally makes good people do bad things.

First things first – I apologise to the author and blog tour organiser for the lateness of my posting. Coronavirus hit our household just over a week ago and we have struggled to bounce back.

Now, on with the review…!

I am a sucker for reading anything related to psychology and psychiatry and so jumped at the chance to read this memoir from Dr Rhona Morrison about her career in forensic psychiatry – a specialist field I knew little about previously.

In fact, this book doesn’t just provide a memoir of forensic psychiatry (although anecdotes about those cases do form a small part of the book) but a comprehensive and detailed account of Dr Morrison’s medical training, career, colleagues and personal life too.

There is so much fascinating information here that it is a treasure trove for anyone interested in a career in medicine and/or psychiatry. And none of the anecdotes or examples are lurid, gratuitous or exploitative, as would have been easy with such potentially sensationalist source material. Instead, every story is told with kindness and empathy and the author never forgets (and regularly reminds the reader) that those who experience issues with their mental health deserve dignity and understanding, despite (and indeed, because of) the actions that can result from their unwellness.

Reading this memoir, I marvelled at the varied and fascinating life that the author has experienced during her career in psychiatry and was filled with admiration for her indomitable, optimistic attitude and the changes she has affected to mental health practice on behalf of the individuals she worked with directly, as well as her positive impact on the profession as a whole.

This is one of those medical memoirs that performs the dual function of providing insight into a little-known area of the field whilst also providing an entertaining read for the interested layperson.

‘I believe there are different ways to practise psychiatry. In my head there’s dot-to-dot psychiatry, where you stick to strict diagnostic guidelines and treatments that guide you through diagnosis and care planning, like a dot-to-dot painting. Then there’s the art of psychiatry, which probably describes my style. I tried dot-to-dot psychiatry, but along the way multiple patients didn’t quite meet the diagnostic criteria outlined in ICD10 and DSM-4 manuals and didn’t always respond to recommended treatment and medication. Do we run out of dots and let patients suffer, or do we treat the individual? I view patients rather like jigsaws. First you have to turn over all the pieces, make sure you can see the details on each piece, and then assemble them to form the final version. If there are any damaged pieces, we try to fix them together.’
– Dr Rhona Morrison, I Don’t Talk To Dead Bodies

About the author

Dr Rhona Morrison is a retired Forensic Psychiatrist, who worked
in the NHS for 32 years. Born and bred in Scotland, into a working class family, she has a grounded approach to life, with a generous helping of humour. She learned the importance of being nonjudgemental and supportive through her relationship with her sensory impaired sister, who had learning and physical disabilities.
This prepared her well for working with mentally disordered offenders in custody and in the community, where she often felt humbled by their resilience and privileged to be part of their journey. As a passionate advocate of the destigmatisation of mental illness, she hopes her writing can shine a light on this specialist area of practice, so often impacted by negative attitudes and damaging assumptions.