Thank you to Netgalley and Amplify publishing for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about the current medical system, and how it can so easily lead to misdiagnoses and medical malpractice. This follows the life of the author, as a misdiagnosis led him to a vicious cycle of taking meds he didn't need that triggered psychosis coupled with his untreated sleep apnea, with the psychosis leading to more misdiagnoses, and more meds that made the situation worse.

Furthermore, this book also delves into the failures of not just the medical system but also of the judicial system and police when it comes to dealing with mentally ill people. One such example is conservatorship, which is still lacking enough safeguards to prevent potential abuse.

Another important part of this book is the rationale of the author as he progressively falls into paranoia and psychosis. And although he can look back on it now and say that he was acting in an unhinged way, the thought process that led to these actions? It made sense to him at the time, and we can see how he got to that point. Which makes this a great book to understand psychosis, and to remember that at the end of the day, we're all human, regardless of mental illness, and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

I can only hope that this book will become a bestseller, because this is something that more people need to know about. So that it doesn't happen to them. So that they can intervene if it happens to their loved ones. So that the people that can prevent this from occurring altogether, such as medical staff, are more careful. Because if it can happen to a doctor, it can happen to anyone. And as a disabled person, I certainly wish that I had been able to read this years ago, because I would likely have been more willing to push my doctors to just listen to me, and I would have switched doctors much earlier, avoiding a slew of misdiagnoses.

An interesting book about misdiagnosis and its harmful effects, all exacerbated by a medical system based on profits not patients. Most disturbing is that this patient was a doctor but he didn’t bother to investigate his mistreatment and the improper medications he was prescribed. This really proves that we must advocate for ourselves and not be blinded by white coats.

A wow of a memoir about a physician misdiagnosed, put on meds that led to psychosis, psych hospitalizations, and a career and life collapse. A cautionary tale about what can happen when healthcare goes really really wrong.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a terrifying story! To think that so many doctors (and pharmacists) misdiagnosed and mismanaged the author's health is appalling.
I had a very rare major illness (Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis) but thankfully got the correct diagnosis right away. I still have to live with a lot of damage to my body but to think of how easily things could've gone wrong is scary.
The author brings up a lot of important elements to medical care overall, especially the money aspect of facilities trying to cut costs at the expense of good patient care.

Thank you NetGalley and Amplify Publishing for the ARC. As a professional in healthcare this book was a really interesting read into doctors treating other doctors and the negligence and appalling treatment of Dr Standage. I do not work in the mental or behavior health speciality in medicine so I cannot fully understand the complete failure of care, but it is so important in healthcare to take a good history and ask questions relevant to the patient's medical history if it is appropriate. I read this book in just a few settings as I was interested in the catastrophic failure of the medical system at the hands of Dr Standage's care. Healthcare professional or not this is a good non fiction read into the life of someone who had a mental health crisis and was not treated properly.

I received a free copy of, White Coats and Black Swans, by Scott Standage, MD, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Its ironic that even a doctor get misdiagnosed. Why are so many people getting misdiagnosed? This book also proves how invaluable it is to have some fighting for us.

This is Scott Standage’s story of being misdiagnosed with a rare movement disorder when what he actually had was a sleep disorder, and the catastrophic turmoil that resulted from his taking inappropriate medications for years as a result of that misdiagnosis. Though a doctor himself, Standage trusted a supposedly highly regarded specialist who gave him the harmful diagnosis, albeit in a slapdash way with inaccurate information. The inappropriate medications induced paranoia in Standage that had ruinous effects on his life. This book is a stark cautionary tale of misplaced trust in medical opinions, and a clear undercurrent of resentment runs through it—this is understandable, though I might have wished Standage had attained a little more mental distance before writing this book.