But Inside I'm Screaming

Rating:
Summary: Dark, insightful and flooring
Review: But Inside I'm Screaming enthralled me from beginning to end. I literally dropped everything to read this from cover to cover.

News anchorman Isabel Murphy has a nervous breakdown in front of millions of viewers. She arrives at Three Breezes -- a.k.a. the "nut hut" -- with the hope to regain some normalcy in her life. When her past begins to unravel, she wonders if she's ever lived a normal life.

This novel reminds me of Girl, Interrupted. There are various similarities between the two books, but this novel touched me in a profound way. The characters are vivid, the dialogue is crisp and the story is as intense as it is insightful. Isabel's battle with depression floored me. Her realistic, unflinching honesty touched me. Book club members would devour this! I am buying a copy to all my friends. I urge you to give this wonderful literary offering a whirl.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: I belong to a "chapter-a-day" online book club, and this was one of the selections a few weeks ago. The book club took me through the first two chapters, and instantly I was hooked. I can relate to so many feelings Isabel had. Although I have never actually been to a "nut hut", I could understand her fears, frustrations, sadness. I have not been diagnosed with clinical depression, but I do have bouts with it quite frequently. This book was like therapy to me, and inspired me to do even more to fight the depression. I lauged every time Ben commented about "Wellbutrin"- I have been taking that lately to quit smoking! If I'm successful in quitting, I too can one day say... "Wellbutrin saved my life!"

If you liked Girl, Interrupted, you will love this book.

One warning though, to language-sensitive readers- there is some harsh language scattered throughout the book.

Rating:
Summary: Absoring and Powerful
Review: I belong to a "chapter-a-day" online book club, and this was one of the selections a few weeks ago. The book club took me through the first two chapters, and instantly I was hooked. I can relate to so many feelings Isabel had. Although I have never actually been to a "nut hut", I could understand her fears, frustrations, sadness. I have not been diagnosed with clinical depression, but I do have bouts with it quite frequently. This book was like therapy to me, and inspired me to do even more to fight the depression. I lauged every time Ben commented about "Wellbutrin"- I have been taking that lately to quit smoking! If I'm successful in quitting, I too can one day say... "Wellbutrin saved my life!"

If you liked Girl, Interrupted, you will love this book.

One warning though, to language-sensitive readers- there is some harsh language scattered throughout the book.

Rating:
Summary: Book Club Choice
Review: In NYC, Isabel Murphy is a rising anchorwoman at the American News Network (ANN). However, voices in her head keep telling her that her family feels she is worthless and her catastrophic marriage adds to her lack of confidence and emotional belief that her parents are right when they call her a disappointing failure.

Isabel has a chance to prove otherwise when she is the only newsperson at the station when the death of Diana Princess surfaces. She goes on the air to report the breaking news, but freezes and is unable to say a word as her brain just drums to the beat of failure. Knowing her broadcast career is over and how she has disappointed everyone, Isabel opts for suicide, but fails at that. She enters Three Breezes Psychiatric Facility where she finds the lunatic asylum worse than anything she ever imagined. She will only fly above the cuckoo's nest when she accepts that she can't please everyone so she should try to please herself.

This is an insightful character study that looks extremely close into the psyche of someone whose mental breakdown and depression places her over the edge. The bleak yet at times amusing well written story line focuses on Isabel whose collapse will stun the audience even while we follow her thoughts and actions. Isabel's disintegration with a frightening glimpse of the goings-on at the psychiatric facility is not for everyone, but readers will agree that Elizabeth Flock provides a powerhouse.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Very realistic...
Review: Isabel Murphy is a hot anchorwoman, until she has a meltdown on live television as the story of Diana Princess of Wales' death breaks. Unable to cope, Isabel even goes to the extent of attempting suicide, but fails.

She finds herself in a mental hospital, robbed of all semblance of privacy in a world few can imagine. Dignity and reality are only distant dreams on the road to healing. When drug therapy fails, shock is used. Isabel witnesses true horrors, more awful than anything she ever reported. She has to hit absalute bottom before being able to find her way back to life.

***** This is a starkly real novel, one that can be terrifying, not for the reason something like Stephen King would write would be, but because Isabel could be you, or me, or your neighbor so very easily. The only thing separating her from us is a thin line. This is a powerful book that will disturb and shock you at times, but will not fail to move you. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore

Rating:
Summary: She Nails It
Review: Isabel Murphy's life is falling apart as "But Inside I'm Screaming" begins. She's probably blown her career by freezing on-air during a breaking news story. Her marriage is collapsing and even her plant has died. Author Elizabeth Flock takes us through the suicidal emotions and struggles of a woman who uses her career as a network journalist to fill up the holes in her heart. And Murphy's journey through a mental institution strips away her successes as well as her failures and forces her to examine her choices and their consequences.
I read this book in two and a half hours because I simply couldn't put it down. Flock nails exactly the newsroom lingo and life. And her exploration of Isabel's psyche should make all of us think about our motivations for achievement. Bravo to Liz for having the talent and guts to write what we all think and never say.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling- A Must!
Review: This book was a very quick read- but, what an impact it had! Sad, funny, and overall, very engrossing.

Even though this book is written in third person, the reader actually feels like he or she is taking this journey with Isabel. We do not know the truth about her friends at the "Nut-Hut." We do not have any outside information. The revelations about her fellow 'inmates' are shocking and sad...yet, also serve as dramatic foils to Isabel herself.

By the end of the book, I found myself completely forgetting that Isabel had tried to kill herself on more than one occasion because she was so normal in almost every other way..."But Inside I'm Screaming" is amongst the most descriptive phrases and/or titles I have come across, and perfectly sums up this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Absoring and Powerful
Review: This is one of the best books I've read in a while. I was immediately absored by the main character, Isabel. This is a brutally honest portral of hopelessness and depression. Anyone who has struggled with even mild depression will be able to relate to Isabel. This is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This was a FABULOUS book. What I loved most,since I work in the mental health field, it was acurate portrayals of the people that I have worked with in the past. The author knew her illnesses, characteristics of the mentally ill, and what meds were used to treat them. I also felt that the novel gave me an inside view of what one is feeling who is not mentally healthy. Once I started this book, I could not put it down. I loved the main character's development throughout the novel.