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Friday, February 4, 2022

The Lobotomist's Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff

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.

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