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Weekends at Bellevue Audiobook Summary

Julie Holland thought she knew what crazy was. Then she came to Bellevue. For nine eventful years, Dr. Holland was the weekend physician in charge of Bellevue’s psychiatric emergency room. Deciding who gets locked up and who gets talked down would be an awesome responsibility for most people. For her, it was just another day at the office…

In an absorbing memoir laced with humor, Holland provides an unvarnished look at life in the Psych ER, recounting stories from her vast case file that are alternately terrifying, tragically comic, and profoundly moving. As Holland comes to understand, the degree to which someone can lose his or her mind is infinite, and each patient’s pain leaves a mark on her as well–as does the cancer battle of a fellow doctor who is both her best friend and her most trusted mentor.

Writing with uncommon candor about her life both inside and outside the hospital, Holland supplies a fascinating glimpse into the inner lives of doctors, struggling to maintain perspective in a world where sanity is in the eye of the beholder.

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Weekends at Bellevue Audiobook Narrator

Julie Holland is the narrator of Weekends at Bellevue audiobook that was written by Julie Holland

Julie Holland, MD, is a psychiatrist specializing in psychopharmacology, with a private practice in New York City. Her book Weekends at Bellevue chronicled her nine years running the psychiatric emergency room as an attending physician on the faculty of the New York University School of Medicine. Frequently featured on Today and in CNN’s documentary series Weed, Holland is the editor of The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis and Ecstasy: The Complete Guide. She is the medical monitor for several clinical research studies on treating post-traumatic stress disorder, one using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and another examining the effects of various strains of cannabis. Her New York Times bestselling book Moody Bitches has been translated into eleven languages.

About the Author(s) of Weekends at Bellevue

Julie Holland is the author of Weekends at Bellevue

More From the Same

Weekends at Bellevue Full Details

Narrator Julie Holland
Length 10 hours 53 minutes
Author Julie Holland
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date October 06, 2009
ISBN 9780061967399

Subjects

The publisher of the Weekends at Bellevue is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Biography & Autobiography, Medical

Additional info

The publisher of the Weekends at Bellevue is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780061967399.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Andres

July 22, 2009

I should point out two things that may influence my 5-star review: 1) medical narratives fascinate me completely, and 2) I've grown up hearing the kinds of stories found in this memoir from a family member who has worked in a similar setting. So right from the start this book grabbed my attention and just 2 days later left me looking for other similar titles.The author shares her almost decade long experience working at the Bellevue Comprehensive Psychiatry Emergency Program (CPEP), which is the "regular" emergency room equivalent for those who are mentally distressed or unstable. The bulk of the story focuses on her years working the weekend overnight shifts, chronicling the patients she encounters and tries to help, and how it affects her over time. This is warts-and-all account and the inclusion of some sexual peccadilloes is in line with her honest reporting of all her personal battles, including growing frustrations with patients and the start of professional burnout. The patients she writes about are always interesting but limited to the time she spends with them, which is minimal because as she points out toward the end of the book, she only cares for them in a triage setting, helping them get better enough to go elsewhere for (hopefully) longer term care. It is this lack of extended care that eventually wears on the doctor because with the typical severity of the disease afflicting her patients she comes to learn it's better to imagine they've gotten better after leaving the emergency room than to be weighed down with knowledge that, more often than not, they haven't.This is a very illuminating work about mental health and how it affects patients, doctors, and their families. It is also a telling example of the battle doctors face when they have to have just enough compassion for the patients to care for them but also balance it out with just enough detachment so that they don't get burned out when patients are too difficult or impossible to care for completely. Throw in hospital politics, changes in staff, and a family to the mix and you'll have a good idea just how complicated working in this field can become, and in Weekends at Bellevue you'll see how the author deals with and overcomes these obstacles.

JoAnn

September 09, 2009

This is a bluntly honest and most candid reflection of a doctor who holds a mirror before herself. We see first hand, as Dr. Julie Holland, MD, provides a running commentary about working at one of the most famous psychiatric hospitals in the nation. Dr. Holland attempts to provide a view of her world from arms length as she shows the world life inside the ER at Bellevue.Julie is candid, while also seemingly doing a self report on her own issues, as she delves into the hearts and minds of those derranged and disturbed souls before her. Few doctors today have the ability to be as reflective and as introspective as this young woman. She is straight talking and moves with agility as she maneuvers thru this complex ER.Bellevue, despite its poetic name, is no walk in the park. Certainly not for the squeamish or the faint of heart. However, those who provide for this population give the reader a whole new appreciation for the care and concern given.Sometimes irreverant and often quick with the lip and fast on the hip, Dr. Julie seldom loses a beat as she assesses her patients, while keeping a firm eye on those whom she becomes fond of in her environment.This is a book that shows how seriously we are able to fall as humans when life becomes too much or that we are no longer able to cope. Or, that we genetically cannot deal with that which is before us.This book is a marvelous opportunity to reflect on what is important and how much each of us can contribute as the world spins on. This book could be the basis for a new television series! Well done!

Chana

February 21, 2010

Dr. Julie Holland shares her experiences working the Psych ER at Bellevue Hospital in NYC for 9 years. She also tells us about her medical training and her family life. This is a quick and easy read, it is interesting and informative. I don't always like her, I don't always agree with everything she says; but she commands respect and some of the things that she said are things that I will think about in my own life. As the parent of a child newly on a psych med the book came to me at an appropriate time. Some of her statements were very comforting to me. I also appreciated her sense of humor. Dr. Holland, you ask, "To murmur the same lines as everyone else - "My heart goes out to you. I am so sorry for your loss." - what does that accomplish?" As a bereaved parent I would like to let you know that it accomplishes a lot. Each person that said it gave comfort, and every card that was received that said it was kept and cherished. But I also want to thank you for saying, "It is the ultimate undoing, the pain of losing a child."I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Luci

March 14, 2014

I absolutely loved and enjoyed this book. As a psych nurse at a state hospital in Colorado, Julie Holland's writing gave me a different view of the mental health system in a busy city. I think the author explains things well so people don't have to have a background in psych or healthcare to get a lot out of the book.

Mary

January 19, 2021

Very interesting book about working at Bellevue psych ward.

Eva-Marie

May 12, 2010

Okay, this may get detailed. This is the type of book that I should have slowly been commenting on while reading, unfortunately I've been busy the past few days and haven't been on-line enough to do that. :( I'll first say that I think Holland takes the whole 'medicate everyone' thing far too seriously. I guess someone in her profession has to but she seems a little overboard with it if you ask me. Something else that goes along with that, I don't agree that everything has to have some underlying reason. Holland seems to think that if such and such happens it's because of something in the persons childhood. Sure, a lot of times that's completely true, but not all the time. I think she might do herself justice by easing off a bit in that arena but then again, I'm sure she doesn't want my opinion. Next, I want to say something to the people who may read this who haven't read the book yet but are wondering if they should because of the negative reviews they've read. You may very well not like Holland (I did) or the book (I did) BUT..... for the most part, I think that maybe the reviews I've seen here haven't been all the way honest. They're actually based in fear IMO. Allow me to explain:No one wants to know that a doctor is human. No one wants to know that a doctor has gotten high in the past. No one wants to know they may treat a patient in an unproffessional way. Who wants to know that a doctor has sex in their call-room on shift?! No one! But.... I challenge anyone out there to find me another doctor who would admit their faults like Holland does here. I suspect no one can. The honesty emanates from this book loudly. LOUDLY. Holland mentions situations where she could have been a much better doctor. She tells of talking to her psychiatrist and trying to overcome the need to be a certain way, to be a better person and doctor. I don't know about everyone else but I have yet to see or hear any doctor yelling out their shortcomings. I was literally shocked at some of what she admitted. But you know what? I'd rather have the truth, as frightening as it may be, than a lie that makes me feel better. Doctors are human just like us. They have bad days, they have things to deall with also. Becoming a doctor takes none of that away. Fears don't magically remove themselves from your psyche when you get your degree. I'd be pleased to have a doctor like Holland and I'll tell you why - because I know I wouldn't get any bullshit from her. I'd get the truth. Yes, I think she turns to medication too easily. (Sadly, from what I've seen most do.) Yes I think she needs to try to turn off the psychiatrist in her and try to realize something, just sometimes, things happen just because. But overall, this book is a very honest account of what any doctor might have to deal with. It's not spectalar writing - did anyone assume it would be going in? I didn't. But it's not bad writing my any means. She's very likable IMO which made it a lot more fun to read and understand her life. I loved the peppered in bits about the patients, however sad most were. Here's my advice if anyone wants it - read it yourself. The negative reviews (I suspect) are coming from fear. From scared people who didn't want to hear about a doctor being human and doing human things. Understandable in a way. But don't let that turn you away from this book - it has a decent message and if you're interested in medicine, this profession, Bellevue itself, plain old memoirs, etc. give it a try. There are few books I'll pay full price for and this is one of them. I bought it on a whim and don't regret it. I wish Dr. Holland the best of luck with her private practice and everything else. She most certainly deserves it.

Ericka

January 22, 2015

I'm not sure what everyone else expected. Perfection? Please. She's human! Not God!This book has excellent examples of mental health issues in the US and the changes that are happening. The discussions of events such as 9/11 are very real and could possibly be triggering, but are good reminders of how they affect society. Even the cancer issue is dealt with in a manner that shows understanding of multiple reactions to the experience. The doctor herself may have started out inexperienced and crude, but who doesn't when they BEGIN their careers. I think reviewers are forgetting this. By the end of her 9 year stint, barely a third of a good doctor's career, she has developed a better understanding of herself and her patients through psychotherapy, motherhood, and work experience. I'd definitely go to her and I have a lot of experience in evaluating psychiatric doctors.

Edith

May 29, 2018

It took me awhile to get into this book. I made it up to 28% (Kindle edition) and put it down for a few months. Then I started back up again yesterday. I finished it at 2 AM this morning. That should tell you something. It is definitely a book worth reading. Initially, I was put off by the author's description of herself and her life at the time when she first began working at Bellevue. She's a tough character to like! However, once I started reading it again, I was swept away by the powerful momentum of the narrative. She discusses all the issues that are impacting mental health care in the United States today, and how the care that is available often fails those who need it. I have been working in the mental health field as a volunteer for 18 years. I also worked as a professional in the field for five years. It's not an easy job, far from it. The story is really about how she grows as a doctor and as a person during the time that she works at Bellevue. Her job exposed her to every kind of human misery, and it takes a toll on her capacity for empathy and compassion. The only way she can find to survive the exposure to human suffering and human cruelty that she deals with on a daily basis is to develop a tough exterior. However, once she realizes that she's losing her ability to relate to her patients, and she's censured for her behavior, she seeks help to change. She starts seeing a therapist who guides her through a process of self-discovery and understanding. She makes changes in her life accordingly, and she carries the lessons she learned at Bellevue into her new life. I really loved this book for the insights that the author has into mental illness and the mental health care system. These are things that more people need to understand about the mental health crisis in this country. We need more authors like Dr. Julie Holland. She's not a perfect human being (who is?!) but she has an important message that people need to hear.

Robi

March 15, 2020

Working with the "Crazies". That would be a great secondary title. This story follows a young psychiatrist learning to perfect the art in Bellevue Hospital in New York City, aka "psych central". It's morbidly interesting to be a "fly on the wall" as we experience the patients plight from the "arrest for person who's "a harm to himself and/or others", waiting restrained in the waiting room, the intake interviews, the Dr's evaluation and finally the residence inside this famous, historical NYC Medical Facility. Lots of discussion about how the mentally ill and disabled community can be better served. Although this story retells a personal history that's not quite current, the timeline is still recent enough to recognize VERY timely ideas . If you want to find out what happens behind the closed doors of your city's mental health system, don't miss this sometimes hilarious, always heart-tugging book. I heartily enjoyed it and read it in record time.

Lars

January 05, 2018

I think there are two important things to mention in my review of this book: 1. The book not only shares some fascinating events at the Bellevue psychiatric emergency room, but it also provides a psychiatrists take on mental health and mental disorders, which is actually quite nuanced and valuable. (It also shares the author's own journey, which is the weakest element of the book, but I even enjoyed that element, on the whole.)2. I read this 300-page book in two sittings, about 240 of it the first time. It's a very easy read, and it's able to fit a lot of weight in for all that.Holland gets a little annoying as a narrator, but she's mostly aware of her flaws, which is impressive. I would highly recommend the book. I think I'm going to read her other stuff, including a book on ecstasy, a book on medication, and a book on marijuana.

Denise

January 31, 2021

Julie Holland is one cool individual. It takes a special person to work with the demographic she did for 9 years; and to love it! Her narrative was engaging from the very beginning of the book all the way through. She talks as though you are sitting at a table drinking coffee together shooting the bull. She also has a very quick wit which brought several laugh out loud moments such as when she had her second son, who was all bald and wrinkled and she felt like she was nursing her father-in-law. I appreciated her raw candor regarding her own need for therapy to deal with issues from her past that affected the way she dealt with patients. Her loss of her best friend/colleague was impactful as well. Maybe if I'm lucky she'll write more someday and I'll be a better person for having been privy to a part of her life.

Lisa

March 01, 2019

I’ve had this book on my list for awhile. I’m a fan of memoirs and this book fit right in. I wasn’t looking for a medical schooling so to speak but there’s much of that included. I enjoyed her story. A few of the other reviews weren’t good. Seems they were looking for something else. While the author seems ‘harsh’ or curt or a bit self centered, I’m not sure she could have gotten through that job any other way. And such is the personality of many MDs. She leaves Bellevue a changed person. Definitely recommend this book!

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