The Painted Bridge - Wendy Wallace

The Painted Bridge was one of those books that spoke to me as soon as I saw it on the shelf - a gorgeous evocative cover, a setting in Victorian England (one of my favourite reading/historical periods) and a topic area covering women's mental health and the treatment of women in asylums.
The book starts by introducing the reader to Lake House - "a private asylum for genteel women of a delicate nature" as the back cover blurb tells us. A resident of the asylum is having her photograph taken as a method of diagnosing and treating her particular  "illness" by a young and experimental doctor, Lucas St Clair. The reader is taken from this scene to one where the main character, Anna Palmer is first bought to the asylum - without her knowledge or consent - by her husband.
The book follows Anna's journey through the various treatment models used by the asylum and it's staff and her determination to prove her sanity and be released. Along the way many other characters are introduced, some in quite a lot of detail, and I felt this was one of the down falls of the book. There were so many different characters and back stories to take into consideration it was hard to know where your focus as a reader should lie.
Anna interacts with the other residents of the asylum and comes to know their stories for being there and she also begins a tentative friendship with the young daughter of the owner of the asylum which leads to one of the main adventure scenes of the book. We are also taken into Anna's childhood (much as a psychiatrist or therapist might take a client) and learn of the important events of her life including the death of her father and her marriage to a man who is not what he first seems.
The book is definitely a page turner - there is plenty to keep a reader interested and occupied but, as I have said above, Anna's story probably could have been a lot tighter without the distractions of so many others competing for the reader's attention.

Your Voice in my Head - Emma Forrest

Your Voice in my Head was probably a strange choice of reading for a day when I was home sick from my job as a mental health worker but I am trying to read a lot of memoir styles for my university work at the moment so I thought I would give it a try.
I had heard Emma Forrest speak at the Sydney Writers Festival earlier this year and I was really impressed and intrigued hearing her talk about the process she went through in writing this book - and the fall out from it being published.
Your Voice in my Head is Emma's story of her experience with bipolar disorder, depression and suicidality. Emma writes very openly and honestly about her experiences with alternating low moods and mania and the times in which things have become so desperate she has attempted to take her life. Following one serious suicide attempt Emma begins a therapeutic relationship with Dr R - it is a relationship that, as she states, will help to save her life.
This book is often self indulgent in its style and content - but I was expecting that from a memoir about such a deeply personal and affecting experience and in this case I think it only added to the genuineness and authenticity of the book. There are some lighter, and very funny, moments in the book too and this helped to break up some of the deep reflective segments. At the end there is a definite strong sense of hope - Emma continues to battle with her illness but she now has on board significant skills and resources to help her.