This is my 8th book of the year (2023).

I honestly listened to the audiobook at 2x the speed. That is the speed with which I usually listen to audiobooks. I find that I can’t stand to listen to anything slower. The narrator of this audiobook did an excellent job of expressing the feelings and emotions expressed by the author throughout this book.

As someone who lives with Autism, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, PTSD and OCD, I found this book brought back many memories of hospitals in which I have been placed. My story is a bit different than Sallie’s, as I was hospitalized over 25 times, including a 2-year stay in a state mental institution.

My experience, and the experience I saw in Sallie’s story, is that there are both good and “not-so-good” staff in hospitals. I am glad that Sallie had a chance to get into a wonderful hospital. I also am glad to say that I have overcome my challenges, like Sallie, and I have been able to move forward. The “good” staff have allowed me to express myself, learn coping skills and overall move forward despite my mental illnesses. The “good” staff are golden and sometimes hard to come across. With the right medications and skills, people with mental illnesses can work, and live, and dream.

I like that, towards the end of the book, she talked a bit about NAMI and stigmatization. In college, I was the Vice President of my NAMI college chapter.

I am forever grateful to Sallie for sharing her story, even though some people may not understand. She is a voice to millions of people who struggle with mental illnesses, like me. Her story is very encouraging, informative and inspirational.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars! Well written and informative.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sallie Crotty (the author) and Greenleaf Audiobooks and River Grove Books (the publishers) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sallie Crotty tells her story of struggling with a mental health crisis. Her journey is one that I believe many have struggled with: Getting the proper diagnosis and health care plan. Sallie talks of her spiral into despair and going to a psychiatric ward. There is so much stigma surround mental health, and it really makes it hard to ask for help. Sallie gives us hope.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was actually different than other books i have read like this, well worth the read.

An incredibly moving account of one woman's journey through mental illness. It wasn't always easy to listen to this memoir. At times it was guts wrenching to hear all that she experienced while at the mental health facilities. Thank you to Sallie Crotty for writing this book and thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC.

Working in the mental health field (addictions counselor) I was intrigued to begin discovering Ms. Crotty’s journey concerning her mental health. I want to sincerely thank Sallie Crotty for her bravery and for inviting me in to see her journey. Mental health still holds a stigma in our society. The sad thing is that it puts such limitations on individuals. I was truly appalled by the way she was treated by so many health professionals.

I highly recommend this memoir for both those on their own journey with mental health as well as the professionals who work with mental health clients


Thank you #NetGalley for providing me with a copy

Reviewed on Goodreads and Barnes and Noble

Out of the Ashes
A Story of Recovery and Hope
by Sallie Crotty
Narrated by Kimberly Austin
Pub Date 30 Sep 2022 |
Greenleaf Book Group
Biographies & Memoirs

I graciously received a copy of Out of the Ashes from Greenleaf Book Group for my honest review which is a follows:


Out of the Ashes Is a story of great bravery as well as insight, a powerful tale of a midlife descent into debilitating despair, she brings the reader on a deeply personal journey. She reveals her struggles, time spent in a psychiatric ward, and how lacking a clear diagnosis almost led to her death. She also describes how proper care and receiving the right diagnosis and treatment can provide hope, stability, and a path to happiness.




This book is a no holds barred look at one woman’s struggle with mental health. And serves as a reminder that we need to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness. In this book Sallie Crotty provides hope for the many individuals diagnosed every year, their loved ones, and anyone interested in learning more about the lives of those who live with mental illness.


I give Out of the Ashes five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Book Title: Out of Ashes, A Story of Recovery and Hope
Author: Sallie Crotty
Audiobook Narrator: Kimberly Austin
Publisher: Greenleaf Audiobooks –River Grove Books
Genre: Biography
Pub Date: September 20, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars

I worked as High School Guidance Counselor for many years. Every day as I drove to school, I would say to myself– I wonder what today will bring! As I always expect the unexpected.
Although not an expert on the many issues that are covered in “Students with Disabilities” I took many courses of study and now retired but this true story appealed to me.
It is Sallie Crotty’s personal account of her mental health issues. In some ways it is like walking in her shoes; and her experiences, confusion and fears.

Want to thank NetGalley and Greenleaf Audiobooks – River Grove Books for this eGalley.
Publishing Release Date was September 20, 2022

Thank you NetGalley and Greenleaf Audiobooks (River Grove Books) for accepting my request to audibly read and review Out of the Ashes.

Author: Sallie Crotty
Published: 09/30/22
Narrator: Kimberly Austin
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs

This is advertised as a story of hope and recovery once being diagnosed with a mental illness. Also, the author believes her story will inspire others and removes the stigma attached to the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder. All this is a tall order.

Kimberly Austin performed Out of the Ashes beautifully.

It is not until about 45% into the book does the hint of a diagnosis appear. Prior to that, Grotty chose to tell what her life was like in a closed locked ward, at home, with her children, mother, and husband and no diagnosis. It is incredibly heartbreaking. She would be in treatment and scare herself out of treatment. The irony is not lost on me, those paid to help her, hurt her. The day-to-day things are described in such a fashion I was drawn in. The beauty of these parts, the first half, is how well-written they were. I could feel her panic fear, and anger.

The second portion of the book deals with her receiving the diagnosis, and she goes on to give an array of excuses fighting her treatment. Apparently this is common. Her struggles are now different. She changed facilities and found one relatable to her.

Sallie put a lot work in herself and will work everyday for the rest of her life. She will take medication always, listing on Job applications always her diagnosis.

The bottomline is I like books, any genre, written like this. The state hospitalizations are sad. I do recommend the book for anyone who is looking at how to explain the disease, Grotty took care of that. I have no words to describe how she was feeling. This is a good place to start.

Out of the Ashes is a memoir about the author’s struggle with mental illness. Sallie Crotty’s detailed account of her descent into a darkness that almost took her was powerful and moving. The reader is able to bear witness not only to the despair, but to the hope and the rising. I found it particularly hopeful that she was able to help create and execute her detailed plan of recovery. Inspiring story of what it’s like to spiral into mental illness and most importantly, what it’s like to recover.

Out of the Ashes is written and narrated by Sally Crotty who suffers with mental illness. Her story is at times shocking but hopeful. She tells of her descent into mental illness.

When Sally began to have episodes, she had no idea what was happening to her. Forty years old, a middle school English teacher living in Dallas, Texas, where she was happily married, and the mother of a daughter and son.  Everything was completely normal until she began to experience manic attacks. She would severely lose her temper and began to hyper-function. Then panic attacks started and thoughts of suicide. She failed two times in killing herself. The first time she ingested ammonia and these second she tried by crashing her car.

The doctors struggled to get a handle on what her exact problems were prescribing many different medications, none of which proved effective, in part because she either refused to take them or because she wouldn’t take them regularly. It seemed no doctor could pin point a correct diagnosis. During all this, her husband Mark was trying to manage her and the children, along with his own job. Four people were greatly being affected by her illness.

She finally got treatment Menninger Clinic in Houston after two previous hospitalizations. She experienced a therapeutic model that had proven effective for many people. She has been in remission for 16 years but remains vigilant for any signs of a new onset. She now never misses her medications.

There is a lengthy afterword with suggestions of ways for people to get help if they suspect that they or someone they love is showing signs of mental illness.
I found it surprising and enlightening the stunning numbers provided by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): by 2020, only 46.2% of adults in the United States with a mental health condition received services. Just as bad, only 64.5% of adults with a serious mental illness were in treatment. It stated that one in five Americans have a mental illness

Many thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. The courage and willingness for the author to tell her story about her struggles with mental illness. A very heartbreaking and inspirational read.

Sallie Crotty is both author and narrator of this audiobook. She tells about her very personal and debilitating struggle with mental illness. Sallie tried desperately to hide her irrational thoughts and behaviors for as long as she could, but her family starting noticing how erratic she started behaving and grew concerned.. As her irrational thoughts started spiraling out of control, she soon she fell into a deep despair. She was admitted to a psychiatric ward, where she stayed for a long time. This was not a place of healing, and it brought more trauma to her already confused and broken mind, She finally was moved to a private treatment facility that provided her with a proper diagnosis, medication, and the therapy she needed to get through her mental health crisis. Through it all, her husband stood by her side and showed her that he loved her. Had she not had him as her advocate, she would likely not be where she is today.

Sallie was so brave to share such a personal story about a subject that needs to be talked about more and understood by many who are misinformed. I hope this inspiring memoir will help others who are suffering with a mental illness to seek treatment for themselves, and also give insight to those who have a family member with a mental illness. Thank you to Greenleaf Audiobooks and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC of Out of the Ashes by Sallie Crotty.

Out of the Ashes is such a raw, honest telling of the inner dialogue, the struggles and the journey of a woman dealing with mental illness. This is such an important read and can help many of us understand perhaps just a little of the many battles that those fighting depression, anxiety and other mental health diseases fights against daily. It is not always easy to hear the woman’s struggles in the book and - fair warning- the book jumps right into suicide ideation & long discussions about self harm, but I believe it is important for all of us to have some sort of understanding for how those thoughts can spiral and can become a singular focus for those struggling. We are very lucky the author has so generously shared her thoughts & her journey with us.

This amazing memoir by Sallie Crottie had such a deep impact on me. She tells of her experience of mental illness with such candor and inspiration that I sometimes found it overwhelming. I don't usually get this emotionally involved with my readings but her novel hit very close to home.

Sallie persevered and maintained the stamina to do what she had to do to make it through the day so that she could prove that she deserved to be home with her family. It was no easy feat but she made it through successfully especially when she finally received a proper diagnosis.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to listen to this novel as it showed me what a person with mental health issues is thinking and feeling allowing me to have more patience and compassion when dealing with those that are afflicted.

Narration of this audiobook, done by Kimberly Austin was spot on. Smooth narration with easy listening voice that performed well all the emotions that Sallie was going through from all the highs to the deep, deep lows.

My thanks to #NetGalley and Greenleaf Audiobooks for allowing me the pleasure of experience the talented writing of Sallie Crottie. This opinion is my own.

It’s hard to review a book when it’s such a personal account of one woman’s journey through a mental health crisis and subsequent treatments and diagnoses.
In many ways it gives a good insight into how people with bipolar disorder react to situations & daily life, from thoughts to actions. We travel with Sallie through the confusion, the distress, the fear and the loneliness of living with her disorder.
On the other hand, it was hard to read about the way she was let down by many healthcare professionals who thought her lazy, uncooperative or difficult.
Throughout her struggles, Sallie was willing to work hard, to learn about her illness, to work with the medical staff to find out what would work best for her. She also had the support of her family - I would have liked to hear another viewpoint, perhaps that of her husband, to understand how her actions appeared to the outside world.

I listened to the audiobook and Kimberly Austin was a good choice of narrator. She was able to convey the fluctuating emotions well.
Overall, I’m glad that I have heard Sallie’s story, and I hope that it might give me a little more insight and ultimately compassion into how somebody with a mental health crisis might think/act.

This novel was incredibly inspiring to me. For someone that does have mental health illness, this hit me extremely hard. Listening to this memoir was heartbreaking and raw, it was very brave of the author to write this and I praise her to the highest extent. I enjoyed this entire memoir but I loved her Afterword at the end. As I listened to the audiobook, I realized that there are many resources for people who have mental illness and it's not wrong to give them a try. Thank you for taking the time to write this and letting others read about it, I was very happy with this read and it made me feel better knowing I am not alone. I also enjoyed the narrator that read this because she was fantastic in my opinion.

Thank you #NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook and a thank you to everyone else included that helped pave the way for this wonderful author.

I admire and respect this author so much for sharing her detailed journey through her mental health crisis. There are so many aspects of this story that moved me, but the biggest take away message to me is “mental illness does not have to carry the stigma so many assign to it”.

As a health care professional I was absolutely appalled by Sally’s treatment and lack thereof in the locked psychiatric ward of the hospital. Doctors didn’t introduce themselves, just started firing off questions for her to answer. The audacity of the doctor to say “For God’s sake Mrs. Crotty, you went to Harvard, it’s in your chart from your last stay, you should be able to answer these questions” when Sally was unable to answer the date. Sally recalled an event where a nurse named David blamed Sally for the current storm outside in front of other patients and said it was due to her unwillingness to talk to the doctor, that it was Sally’s darkness causing the storm, which made the other patients fear her. Sally heard the nurses at their desk snickering at the encounter.

When Sally gets transferred to a different facility her entire experience changes and she is finally able to start healing. “We were human beings who happened to be fighting an illness and living with it. The staff did not characterize us by our illness, medications, or types of psychotherapy groups”. Sally describes the environment and the differences in how she has been treated in this new mental health facility. “Deep within me, I knew I was healing because I had never been surrounded by so many people with a depth of caring and expertise as my clinical team”.

This book touched me as a mother, a wife, a nurse and most importantly, someone who also suffers from mental illness. I chose to review this book becasue it beckoned to me as I am currently going through my own journey to healing. It has been eye opening and I truly will do everything in my power to ensure no one has to feel the way Sally did as I care for patients at the hospital I work at. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a mental illness, loves someone who struggles with their mental health and absolutely everyone who works in the medical profession, regardless of their role.