This book is an eye opener. Dr. Holland spent nine and a half years as the attending physician at Bellevue on the psych ward. The stories she tells about the patients she encounters are true and raw and real. She also addresses the lapses in the system and how her patients and the Bellevue population impacted her own growth and development. Spending every weekend for nine and a half years confronting those who are so often ignored and pushed aside because they reflect our worst would change anyone. Dr. Holland manages to tell the stories with compassion and also manages to get out before she becomes immune to human suffering. A must read for anyone who works with or loves someone with mental illness and also for those who have been lucky enough to live in the bubble. Real life is not always pretty but it does give one depth and if lucky compassion and gratitude