Loved this book :) this was the first medical memoir I have ever read and I really enjoyed it :) it was such a great mix of medical and personal information:) I really liked the stories about the patients and there were a few times I shed some tears :( great read and I hope he writes another book :)

I'm a sucker for any psychology/psychiatry related books as this is the field I practice. I loved Committed. Adam Stern showed an honest and intriguing picture of what it looks like to begin working in the mental health field. He so adequately described the imposter syndrome that affects all of us in those first few years. Adam was the kind of author I wished I could invite to dinner. Highly recommend.

I am not sure what I thought this would be but it wasn't much of a memoir and was more information of the medical field in general. It was not interested to me
At all.

I loved this book. Such an interesting glimpse into Adam's psych residency and training. I was invested in the story and loved following the process he went through to become a psychiatrist.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I particularly liked the approach of trying to detail the experience as it was and not trying to embellish it to make it more exciting or intriguing.

Committed by Adam Stern
Pub Date: July 13, 2021

Thanks to the author, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

I love medical memoirs and this one is a gem. I found it interesting and compelling. I recommend it if you too are like me and enjoy nonfiction books like this.
Sad note: Dr. Stern was diagnosed at 33 with a virulent form of kidney cancer, now incurable. He’s currently a psychiatrist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and writes frequently about his experiences online and in print. May this wonderful man beat this thing so many others can benefit from his grace and healing!

5 star

Dr. Stern reviews his experience as a resident in psychiatry and it reads much like you are sitting there going through his experiences with him. He addresses all aspects of his residency, from feelings of imposter syndrome to experiences with patients to building friendships in his cohort. It was so interesting to read about what residents are tasked with during each year/stage of their residency, how they rely on the residents above them in the process as well as each other, and how confidence is slowly gained. Dr. Stern didn't rely on extreme cases or exploiting patient stories in this book, but rather really turned the focus on his relationships with impactful patients he met along the way (with identifying characteristics removed of course).

DNF at 15%. I’m intrigued by how the brain works. I loved the book Maybe You Should Talk to Someone and was hoping for something that would pull me in the same way that did. Unfortunately - this wasn’t it for me. Maybe this was written too soon after residency and I would appreciate hearing from Stern after more years in practice. But this was a miss for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free advance reading copy.

This was a very interesting perspective on what a med student goes through during their residency. The patients Adam saw vary from entertaining to sad. You'll laugh and you'll cry. You'll feel all the emotions and at the end you'll be proud of the graduates for all their hard work. Gives you a new found respect for psychiatrists and all medical students.

This was not the book I expected from reading the description, but much more. While yes, it is the story of Adam Stern arriving at Harvard Medical School for this psychiatry residency program with a serious case of impostor's syndrome - it shows his journey from idealistic medical student generally "wanting to help people" to a compassionate caregiver discovering his strengths and how he can best use these to do so without losing himself in the process. What I really didn't expect was how Stern's memoir is mostly about relationships - with his family, his patients, colleagues, mentors, dating partners and ultimately spouse - and how his residency program informs all of these, for better or worse. A quick-moving yet insightful and fulfilling read, with a lot of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mariner books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

<b>I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.</b>


<I>Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training</i> is Dr. Adam Stern’s memoir about his residency at Harvard. Coming from a family where his father is a doctor, Adam always knew that was his path in life. While he did not get into a prestigious medical school, he was picked for one of the most elite medical programs in the country for residency. Dr. Stern struggles with feeling as if he does not belong, especially since all of his classmates came from the Ivy League and other elite medical schools. What if I’m a fluke?


Through his four year residency, Stern learns a lot of important lessons while trying to prove to himself he is not an imposter. The story focuses on the real problems Adam and each of his fellow residents face while on the road to becoming doctors.


While Adam focuses on the emotional side of things and the problems faced, there is a ton of stories in here too. From dealing with patients who were forcefully committed, to those in the Emergency Room, and eventually those seeking outpatient care— this book has it all. Not only does this focus on his experiences at the hospital, but there’s a sprinkle of his love life throughout the story.

I found this book to be very intriguing and I loved how the medical jargon was explained easily for one to follow. I tended to skip over some prescription names, but overall I was never confused as to what was going on. The story focuses on Dr. Stern’s experiences and how he dealt with them, which I found fascinating. He faces real issues and I love how he was even willing to talk about the stigma of Psychiatrists seeking therapy of their own when needed. Adam goes through some tough times, but along the way he finds love— not only with another person, but with his career.

I would definitely recommend this book to someone who likes medical drama shows, who wants to learn more about the experience of medical residency, or who just wants a well told story!

In Committed, Adam Stern tells the story of his four-year psychiatry residency in the Harvard Longwood Medical Area, showing how it changed him personally and professionally. Having done my graduate work in Longwood, I can attest that Stern captures the academic environment of the area very well. It's intimidating to be just starting out, knowing that you are surrounded by highly intelligent people. Most people fall prey to imposter syndrome, like Stern did, before realizing that all of these geniuses are ultimately people too. I enjoyed seeing how Stern grew as a psychiatrist during his residency and how he learned from the patients he encountered. It's clear he is dedicated to making an impact in his chosen profession.

This memoir fell a little short for me in the more personal aspects of Stern's life, including his relationship with fellow resident Rachel. I found that their text messages and banter were a bit distracting from the main narrative arc of professional development. I might have organized the text differently to avoid the back and forth. However, I enjoyed this book and I would certainly read more from Stern as he continues in his career.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an engrossing and deeply personal read, albeit a bit bumpy and unpolished in parts. Following the author through his years as a psychiatric resident, we experience the emotional growth - and the doubts, fears and struggles - he goes through as he is taught and becomes a psychiatrist. This book focuses not so much on the patients and their stories, but on the doctor and (some of) his classmates - not only in terms of the medical side of things, but also how it impacted him/them personally. The only real issue I had was with the ending. One of the residency classmates committed suicide a few years later, and the class gathered to remember her. However, she was not mentioned previously at all in the book - there were at least five classmates who were mentioned prominently as secondary characters throughout. Bit strange then to end the book with her death, but no other context.

Committed is a memoir that follows the author, Adam Stern, through his four years as a psychiatry resident at Harvard Medical School, where he and his fellow classmates were dubbed "The Golden Class" due to their combined rankings and talents. The book is split into three parts: Year One, Year Two, and then a combined Years Three and Four.

Not only are we introduced to some of the patients who influenced Stern throughout his journey, we also get to know many of his classmates and mentors. I enjoyed watching him grow from a cautious intern to a confident doctor throughout the book. I cared about the outcomes of his patients and felt some of his frustrations throughout the process.

Stern did an excellent job of showcasing his own humanity and shortcomings in the book. People often have unrealistic expectations of medical professionals, but they're people too. It was good to see how Stern dealt with his life outside of his residency program, especially relationships. I suspected who he might end up with, but it was still satisfying to see it happen after some disastrous missteps.

I've never watched Grey's Anatomy, so I can't attest to the comparison, but this book DID remind me of some of the darker moments in Scrubs, from the impostor syndrome to the trauma that comes with losing a patient. But that is where the comparisons end. This book is not one to go into if you might find some topics triggering, such as suicide, bullying, eating disorders, and abuse.

Overall, this book was an easy read and definitely one I'd recommend to people who find psychology and psychiatry interesting. With the first two parts focusing on an entire year and the final part covering two years, the conclusion felt somewhat rushed, but I'm not sure there is an ideal way to address that without making the book too long for a memoir. Although this book is nonfiction, the book also feels accessible for people who primarily read fiction.

Think about what you do. Do you often feel like you’re hanging by a thread, just waiting for someone to find out that you have no clue what you’re doing?
This feeling, often called impostor syndrome, is extremely common among parents, teachers, writers, bakers, lawyers, and even doctors. It’s common among every class of people you can imagine. And that theme, of feeling like you don’t belong in the place where you find yourself (and that it could all fall apart at any moment) is a major theme throughout Adam Stern’s new memoir, Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training. Stern set out to write about his experiences in medical school while training to be a psychiatrist, and he writes in-depth about what it was like for him and for the members of his class of residents at Harvard Medical School. It’s Grey’s Anatomy with a psychology twist if you want an easy description. But it’s so much more than that.
Committed describes Stern’s experiences through all four years of his residency program, and the reader begins to understand two concepts intimately. First, the training that psychiatrists-in-training (and any resident doctors) go through is rigorous and life-consuming. Second, the residents feel like they don’t know what they’re doing, pretty much at all times.
The book’s 320 pages simply fly by as the reader becomes engrossed not only in the residents’ professional responsibilities but also in their personal lives. The focus is on Stern, but you learn about many of his classmates and their internal struggles as well. Even Rachel, the resident least upfront about her feelings, becomes a full character as you quickly begin to see cracks in the veneer. Some of Stern’s patients also become regular presences, and you feel the complex emotions Stern must feel as the patients come back to the hospital for further treatment: glad to see them, but anguished over the reason you must see them again. The reader shares deeply in Stern’s experiences, and that is what makes Committed one of my favorite books of the year so far.

The theme of feeling like an impostor pervades the book, and the reader may be surprised that a resident in a Harvard Medical School program feels that way. You begin to learn that such feelings are almost universal. I heard a story on Dr. Russell Moore’s podcast recently about impostor syndrome. It was one he had heard about Neil Gaiman, the famous author, going to a party of big-wigs all being honored in some way. Gaiman didn’t feel like he belonged, because he felt like everyone there was so much more accomplished than him. But he found this elderly man in the corner of the room and started chatting with him. He introduced himself and the elderly man said “I’m Neil.” Gaiman was amused and said, “Wow, I’m Neil too.” And they strike up a conversation. It turns out this man was feeling the same way: like he didn’t belong in this group of people. So they bonded over their mutual impostor syndrome. It wasn’t until Gaiman was about to leave that he asked what the man’s full name was. He said, “I’m Neil Armstrong.”
Committed likewise brings home the point of how common this feeling of being an impostor truly is. From the very beginning, Stern doesn’t feel like he belongs in his “Golden class”, one of the most accomplished med-school classes ever at Harvard. He doesn’t feel like he knows what he’s doing or that he can be a “Harvard psychiatrist” someday. But later, through seeing a therapist of his own, he learns that everyone in her class felt the same way too in residency. “(We) all started to realize that every last one of us was just trying to get by and figure it out as we went. I’m sure these classmates in your golden whatever have felt just as lost as you do, sometimes, too.”
Stern learns this lesson beautifully, and it’s a testament to all of us (including me) who feel this way. He writes:
I knew I would never be the version of the mythical Harvard psychiatrist that had existed in my mind four years earlier. I had seen too many examples of shared humanity among the patients and those trying to help them to be hung up on formalities. The space where that psychiatrist had once existed in my mind had been filled instead with hard-earned truths about what it means to connect to those people around you, to commit to them, and to purposefully keep moving forward.
Committed will probably be high on my favorite books of 2021. It is every bit as good as Lori Gottlieb’s Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which was one of my favorite books of 2019 and has become a huge bestseller. Committed is full of lessons for everyone, and the world of psychiatrists-in-training is simply fascinating. I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in psychology or medicine, or if you love human stories in general.
I received a review copy of Committed courtesy of Mariner Books and NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

In "Committed," psychiatrist Adam Stern recalls his years as a trainee in Harvard's residency program. He explains that he chose this specialty to help those with mental health issues "find and become the best version of themselves." His goal was to master techniques for giving "people a push forward when they're stagnating and to catch them when they're falling." One crucial lesson he learned is the importance of seeking counsel and support from one's instructors and colleagues. Adam sums this idea up beautifully when he writes, "We're more capable together than we are apart."

In this fascinating, humorous, and entertaining book, the self-deprecating Stern expresses his incredulity that he, a graduate of a state medical school, landed a coveted spot in Harvard's residency program. He was sure that he would be bounced out once his supervisors realized what a mistake they had made in accepting him. He soon realized that he was not the only trainee who felt insecure. As time went on, Stern developed coping mechanisms for handling such challenges as severe sleep deprivation and treating angry patients who repeatedly took out their hostility on him. Adding to his woes, his anemic love life made him feel like a monk-in-training.

"Committed" is enhanced by Stern's poignant anecdotes. One of them involves a woman in her twenties, Jane West, who suffered from anorexia and kept returning to the psychiatric ward when her weight continued to drop. A heartbroken Adam blamed himself when, despite his best efforts, he was unable to persuade her to eat normally. Another tough case involved fifty-four-year-old Deborah, who had been hospitalized fourteen times with severe bipolar disorder. Experienced practitioners taught Stern to listen to his clients attentively and show that he understands and values them. Furthermore, they urged him not to beat himself up emotionally when, although he did everything possible for the patients under his care, failed to achieve the desired results. In this compelling account, Stern candidly reveals the personal and professional tribulations that could have derailed his career had he decided he could no longer handle the pressure. Fortunately, he persevered, and went on to mentor junior residents who hoped to become psychiatrists someday.

Dr. Stern describes his residency experience as a psychiatrist, covering his intern year and 2nd year with particular depth. He describes the emotional journey he has from fear of messing up and doubts about his specialty at the beginning to his imposter syndome as he reaches the end of his residency. The writing features some creative license, including frequent dialogue exchanges between Stern, his friends, and his patients, making the book more readable and less dry. From Stern's patient interactions, there's very little medical information, more focus placed on character creation and Stern's personal relationship with the patient. I don't know how applicable this dynamic would be to other residencies, where the focus is on learning how to medically treat a patient as opposed to developing this connection. There's, of course, a decent amount of focus on the 20-something's romantic experience and he does end the book happily married, but the entire relationship seemed uncomfortable for much of the book. It felt underdeveloped, understandably so due to the author's wife's more private inclinations, but something that didn't necessarily have to be included with the frequency that it did if it wasn't going to be explored fully. Something I particularly appreciate from this memoir is the author's description of his periodic periods of psychiatric visits to deal with his questions. Maybe it's easier for psychiatrists to talk about this since it's their field and it's moe normalized, but it has broader applications, particularly since Stern comes out of residency with awards, scores, and positions that make him seem like #1 in his classs.

The main gripe I had with this book came at the end. One of the residency classmates committed suicide a few years after the residency ended and the class gathered together again to remember her. However, she was one of the few people in this program (at least 8 of the people in his year of the program were somewhat prominently featured) who was not mentioned previously in any aspect. It felt disingenuous for her to show up without much context, particularly when the moment described did not seem particularly impactful to the author.

Overall, one of the few residency books that didn't leave me feeling that it was impossible.

<i>A free e-copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

I love memoirs and this one did not disappoint! Especially after working in the mental health field, I was anxious to learn what a psychiatrist in training goes through. It was realistic and showed the real struggles Adam faced while being a student and learning in his new role. It's a book that anyone starting a job in a new field or going back to school will relate to!

As a former nurse, I love memoirs from the medical profession. Adam Stern seems like one of the good guys, and his storytelling is spot on. I loved reading about his growth- both professionally and personally.

This one hit different.

Now let me explain, this isn’t really a perspective we get to hear from at all. At most we get to see the glamourous side or if you’re into Grey’s Anatomy, you get some perspective but at most there’s so much unnecessary drama. Overall, the book was also really helpful to see that there is so much that goes into becoming a doctor, psychiatrists. So much sacrifice that has to be put forth, physical, mental and social sacrifice. The medical field is not an easy one.

In Committed, I found it was so authentic and honestly, I think anyone who is in that life period, going to school, the in between if you can relate. Not only that I found Adam, to be extremely relatable. I am myself pursing further education and let me tell you imposter syndrome is very real- and I haven’t even started yet! I am so glad I came across this book and got a chance to read it. I absolutely love this book and I think it will stay with me for a very long time. Thank you so much Dr. Adam Stern for sharing your wonderful and helpful sorry with us! I personally really needed it. Like it said, it just hit different.

Thank You to Adam Stern and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for the digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for a candid review!