This unique histfic novel, written with such assurance that it's hard to believe it's a debut, reveals the truth of a radical treatment for mental illness used in the mid 20th century.

THE STORY
Protagonist Ruth Emeraldine is committed to helping the mentally ill after her brother commits suicide after WWI.

ICE PICK
She meets and marries trailblazing physician Robert Apter, who embraces lobotomy -- an extreme new treatment in which an ice pick is hammered into the brain via the eye socket. The goal: to damage the prefrontal lobes in an effort to tame mental illness. The result: often a vegetative state.

MAD DOCTOR
In the story, Dr. Apter (based on the real pioneering lobotomist Dr. Walter Freeman), does more and more procedures despite terrifying results, hiding the clinical outcome so he could madly continue his work. As his wife learns the truth, she begins to advocate against him. How I cheered her on and said a prayer for all who suffered such inhumane treatment.

MY THOUGHTS
Highly recommended for histfic lovers, fans of mesmerizing yarns, as well as mental health advocates and sufferers. A triumph!

Pub Date Feb 1, 2022.

Thanks to the author, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are mine.

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I firmly believe in taking chances in life and in choosing books to read. I’m so glad I decided to check out the Lobotomist’s Wife!

Ruth Emeraldine is an advocate for mental health ever since her brother took his own life after serving in WWI. Her family owns and runs a hospital and she meets a charismatic doctor, Robert who has a radical new idea for mental health that he’s researching- the lobotomy. They have instant chemistry and marry soon. Ruth and Robert are huge into promoting this procedure that’s seen as a miracle cure for most mental health issues. Robert starts to go rogue in his practice of lobotomy and doesn’t follow up with his patients. Soon he’s traveling the country doing unsafe brain surgery and Ruth wonders if he is even aware of what he’s doing and the harm he’s causing. She has to protect the patients and her family’s hospital even from her own husband.

This book was incredible! I’ve never really read a medical historical fiction, but this was truly fascinating and even more so, since it’s based on true events! I didn’t know much about lobotomies or how they were seen as a cure for common mental issues. If you like the tv shows, the Knick or Masters of Sex, I think you would really enjoy this book.

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours, @samgwoodruffauthor, and @lakeunionauthors for my gifted ebook!

I loved that this was based on a real person and events. I knew a little bit about lobotomy, but I didn’t realize how widely used it was during this time period. The lobotomy was explained in a way that was easy to understand and detailed enough to follow the process without being cringe worthy. It is always interesting to me to see how science has evolved.

I loved how it was told through Ruth’s POV and while she wasn’t directly involved she played a big role. It was engaging and emotional at times. A great thought-provoking historical fiction.

Thank you @samgwoodruffauthor and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy!

Do you have a preconceived notion of lobotomy? Have you read a book or two takes place where lobotomy is performed? Read this book.

Ruth Emeraldine was born into a family that has a known name. She inherits her family's hospital that they pride themselves in the level of care they give to patients with mental illness. When a cute doctor comes to work for her hospital, they fall in love and marry, but their working honeymoon will change the course of both of their lives as they encounter new avenues of medicine for their patients back in New York.

I went into this book with a vague knowledge of lobotomy and large opinions! This book stretched my thinking and really showed the evolution of this type of surgery. The book and its characters reminded me that most times doctors have the patient at the center and are hoping for a cure to make them better, but with a human involved it can go downhill and fast. I don't want to spoil too much, so I will say read this. This book made me want to go find more that take place at this moment in time and read more about how lobotomy worked and how it didn't and those who were affected by an evolving science.

I was excited to read after I finished that it was Samantha's debut, such a knock out of the park and I sure hope she has more up her sleeve!

Wow! Just wow! I've been fascinated by the concept of lobotomies since I read Messing With My Head, a true story about his own lobotomy, written by Howard Dully. And this ranks right up there with that. I can't even fathom that these things were happening in this lifetime. Like when my dad was a kid 😳

While being horrifying and ultimately fascinating, I couldn't put this book down! I was completely immersed in the storyline. Excellent debut!

As a psychology major in college, we learned about the history of psychology and how lobotomy was used to treat patients with mental health. I was so intrigued to read more about this topic in a historical fiction novel as it is not something I have ever read about outside of a college classroom.

Ruth is the assistant superintendent of a meanly health hospital in the 1930s. She marries Dr. Robert Aster who researches and performs lobotomies on patients. This story spanned many years, allowing for new developments within the field to come about.

I felt I connected with Ruth’s character on a deeper level because of my own background in working in mental health. Any worry and fear Ruth displayed in the story, I felt right along side of her. This made the story real, interesting, and kept me wanting to read more and more to find out how it was all going to come together.

This was a very fascinating read into the craze of the lobotomy, based on the true story of the doctor who lost sight of lobotomy in the medical field and became erratic with numbers and documentation, almost as a test to see how many he could preform on a daily occurrence- whether it may have been warranted or not.

This story is told from Ruth, who comes from a well to-do family who has made strides in caring for those who have mental instability. Having seen her brothers downfall, Ruth has made it her mission to try to understand mental illness and to work on saving others in the most humane way as possible. Having never been one to care about a partner, she falls for and marries Doctor Robert Apter, someone her parents can be proud of as well.

The two have similar goals in wanting to help others but it doesn’t take long for Dr. Apter to lose sight of why he originally got into the medical field and that the new radical treatment he has been preforming in record numbers, may not be working as first thought. The after affects and complications that come from these procedures has potentially harmed these people worse than before. Lobotomies may have been a quick fix for the issue, but not a long term and often these patients developed other medical issues later on.

This story follows Dr. Apter on his quest to prove that lobotomies are the way of the future, are the answer to anything and everything – a cure all and a wife whose devotion to the hospital and belief in her husband has blinded her to the after results of these procedures. Out to right a wrong, Ruth gathers what she can to try and prove that this is not the way of the future and that these need to be stopped immediately, and that includes stopping her husband.

This was such a well written novel, I flew right through it. I have read a few memoirs about lobotomies but never knew about the doctor who helped to pioneer and then preform hundreds of these all over the US, and sometimes hundreds in a day. Such a fascinating piece of medical history. I will be watching for more historical works by Samantha.

Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the invite, I loved this one! Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and the author Samantha Greene Woodruff for the free novel. I will be keeping this one on my shelves.

This is an Amazon First Reads choice for January 2022. If you are looking for a great historical fiction read, I highly recommend you choose this.

Ruth Emeraldine couldn’t help her brother during his time of crises so she has dedicated her life to helping others with mental illness. As the assistant superintendent at the Emeraldine Hospital, Ruth is always looking for the best treatments for the residents so they may live a rich life.

Enter Dr. Robert Adler who is working in her hospital completing research in the mechanics of the brain and it’s affects on mental health. Dr. Adler wins Ruth’s heart and he begins completing lobotomies with Ruth’s complete endorsement.

But the years march on and the medical field’s opinion about lobotomies reverse. Ruth must make a choice between her dedication to those in her care
or her devotion to her husband.

This book which is written in four parts and spans the timeframe from 1933-1953 tells about a woman’s desire to help those with mental illness. It also tells about the daily journey of mental health as it follows a young mother of three named Margaret who sinks into depression after the birth of her third child.

The point in which Ruth and Margaret meet takes the book in an unexpected direction and from then on I couldn’t put the book down.

My favorite parts of the book included learning the back drop about why lobotomies were used in the mental health field and the mix of real life events (such as Rosemary Kennedy’s lobotomy) into this fiction story.

I also loved the way the author portrays the main character, Ruth, as both caring and determined as well as a trailblazer for women in her professional position.

Make sure you read the author’s notes at the end because it gives some great background on the real life person that the book’s character Dr. Robert Adler is based on.

Thanks to Lake Union Press for an advanced copy of The Lobotomist's Wife.

The Lobotomist's Wife. was a fascinating and slightly disturbing historical fiction. This was based on real people and loved how the author's note at the end gave more insight into who was real and her inspiration for writing the book.

Ruth has advocated for the mentally ill since her brother came home from WWI changed and she helps run her family's mental hospital . She wanted to be on the cutting edge of treatment so she hires a charismatic doctor championing a radical new treatment -- a lobotomy. After they get married, he takes this miracle treatment and starts to get reckless with his new procedure dubbed the Ice Pick Lobotomy and Ruth starts to question the work they've done over twenty years.

While this starts out a little slow, once you get into the book you can't put it down. I liked the mixing of the 1950s housewife Margaret and the going back t0 the 1930s and seeing the progression to the more modern story. While this was slightly horrifying to read, it's written so well.

If you like medical historical fiction you'll enjoy this one!

This was such a fascinating read!! Based on the real-life story of Walter Freeman, the inventor of the ice pick lobotomy! .
When Ruths brother dies from suicide after suffering from PTSD form the war. Ruth makes it her mission to help people who are suffering from mental illness. Ruth is a successful hospital administrator and she’s working in a mans world. Her life changes when she falls in love with Robert Apter a charismatic doctor whose pushing the use of a radical new treatment, the lobotomy. Ruth believes it may be a miracle treatment especially when her husband has such faith in it. Soon she sees a change in her husband and Robert appears to be operating recklessly and the results are horrifying.
Margaret Baxter is a young mother who struggles just to get out of her bed to care for her new baby. Doctor Apter diagnosis her with “baby blues” and believes what will
fix her is a lobotomy. Trusting the doctor Margaret believes this is the answer. Ruth can’t let her husband hurt Margaret or anyone else and believes she’s the only person that can save these innocent people! I truly enjoyed this book but at the same time was horrified this could happen. Four stars!

This is a fascinating book inspired by a horrifying piece of medical history. This book was a slow build to an inevitable ending. I appreciated Ruth’s compassion and dedication to her ideals, despite the constraints she faced as a woman during her lifetime. I found the author’s notes at the end especially informative and worth reading.

When I hear the word "lobotomy" my skin crawls a bit. I didn't really know the history of the procedure, so I was really interested in reading this book! I felt that the research was amazing, and really gave me great insight into this history.

Ruth is a woman working in a man's world, so already my attention was captured with this one. As she falls in love with Robert, we learn about the new procedure he thinks will revolutionize mental health. As time goes on though, Ruth begins to see concerning behavior and doubts the safety of his actions.

Ruth befriends Margaret a woman with post-partum depression during this story. I really enjoyed their friendship, and the importance of Ruth's strength to help save Margaret. Ruth's character had wonderful development as this story progressed, and her friendship with Margaret really helped to show Ruth's growth throughout the story. Truly all the characters in this were wonderfully written. They were vividly described and given great personalities that made this one hard to put down.

Overall, I thought this was an amazing story, and I would definitely recommend for readers that enjoy historical fiction and medical storylines!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

The Lobotomist’s Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

This was a phenomenal debut. Based on what should be fiction, Woodruff’s amazing attention to detail and impeccable world-building transports the reader back to mid-century, placing them in a story so fascinating – and horrifying – that it’s jarring to think it’s based on real-life events. I loved the fierce independence of Ruth and her devotion to humanizing and respecting patients struggling with mental health – something still so relevant today. Woodruff crafted a suspenseful tale with perfect pacing, weaving together Ruth and Margaret’s story in a believable way and ultimately pushing Ruth to make a decision only few would have the strength to make. I also loved how vividly and realistically she tackled the struggles so many women have with post-partum depression. This was the first non-romance book I read in almost a year, and it has drawn me back into historical fiction for which I’m thankful.

Ruth has always been a strong woman and an advocate for the mentally ill since her brother committed suicide.

When she met Dr. Robert Apter, she thought he had a procedure that could help those with mental illnesses.

Ruth fell in love with Dr. Apter, they married, and worked together. Ruth was onboard until she realized the new treatment - a lobotomy - was harming more patients than helping them.

We learn of what Ruth does in the hospital, and we also meet Margaret who is having post-baby blues. Dr. Apter feels Margaret's only hope would be to have a lobotomy. Ruth was adamant a lobotomy couldn't help Margaret after seeing some of the awful mistakes including death that happened with the procedure.

THE LOBOTOMIST’S WIFE brings to light the extreme treatments that were used in the early 1930’s for treating the mentally ill. Some of the things that were done were shocking, and the lobotomy got out of hand with Dr. Apter's ego getting in the way.

This book was interesting, well researched, intense, and based on real people and events.

If you are a fan of medical treatments and historical fiction, you should enjoy this book. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Samantha Greene has delivered a gripping suspenseful thriller! It really is shocking just knowing the kinds of things that went on back then but to actually read about it makes it even more shocking! But having Could you imagine being in a position thinking you are saving peoples lives only to realize that you have been doing the opposite? Would you be able to stand up and say something? We don’t live in that era anymore but I would hope that I would be able to! I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! From the first to the last page I was hooked!

An enthralling historical novel of a compassionate and relentless woman, a cutting-edge breakthrough in psychiatry, and a nightmare in the making.

Since her brother took his life after WWI, Ruth Emeraldine has had one goal: to help those suffering from mental illness. Then she falls in love with charismatic Robert Apter—a brilliant doctor championing a radical new treatment, the lobotomy. Ruth believes in it as a miracle treatment and in Robert as its genius pioneer. But as her husband spirals into deluded megalomania, Ruth can’t ignore her growing suspicions. Robert is operating on patients recklessly, often with horrific results. And a vulnerable young mother, Margaret Baxter, is poised to be his next victim.

Margaret can barely get out of bed, let alone care for her infant. When Dr. Apter diagnoses her with the baby blues and proposes a lobotomy, she believes the procedure is her only hope. Only Ruth can save her—and scores of others—from the harrowing consequences of Robert’s ambitions.

Inspired by a shocking chapter in medical history, The Lobotomist’s Wife is a galvanizing novel of a woman fighting against the most grievous odds, of ego, and of the best intentions gone horribly awry.