"One of America's most courageous young journalists" and the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Brain on Fire investigates the shocking mystery behind the dramatic experiment that revolutionized modern medicine (NPR *).*

Doctors have struggled for centuries to define insanity--how do you diagnose it, how do you treat it, how do you even know what it is? In search of an answer, in the 1970s a Stanford psychologist named David Rosenhan and seven other people--sane, healthy, well-adjusted members of society--went undercover into asylums around America to test the legitimacy of psychiatry's labels. Forced to remain inside until they'd "proven" themselves sane, all eight emerged with alarming diagnoses and even more troubling stories of their treatment. Rosenhan's watershed study broke open the field of psychiatry, closing down institutions and changing mental health diagnosis forever.

But, as Cahalan's explosive new research shows in this real-life detective story, very little in this saga is exactly as it seems. What really happened behind those closed asylum doors? **

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of November 2019: Susannah Cahalan’s first book Brain on Fire documented her experience with a treatable autoimmune disease that masqueraded as mental illness. The disease did so by causing inflammation on her brain, and after being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, she was given antipsychotic drugs and nearly transferred to the psych ward. Luckily, an insightful doctor saved her from being committed to a very different life than the one she is living now. Diseases like that are called the great pretenders, because their symptoms mimic the behaviors of psychiatric illnesses. Cahalan’s personal experience led her deeper into the study of mental health, where she learned of a groundbreaking 1973 study called “On Being Sane in Insane Places.” In that study, a Stanford psychologist named David Rosenhan, along with seven other sane people, volunteered to get themselves committed into asylums by repeating the words “thud, empty, hollow.” That was pretty much all it took. Eventually, they had to find their way out. The Great Pretender is a panoramic look at the mental health industry, but at its center is a mystery. As Cahalan, who is a journalist, sets out to learn more about Rosenhan’s study, her work uncovers as many questions as it does answers. The result is a book that broadens our understanding of a system that many feel is broken, at the same time that it deepens our relationship to the people who are affected by that system (those who are admitted and those who are administering). It may also serve as a reminder that it’s not always good for us to meet our heroes. The more we read about Rosenhan, the more we begin to wonder if he wasn't a different kind of pretender than people thought him to be. --Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review

Review

Named One of the Top 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 by TIME Magazine
Named a Best Book of the Month by the New York Times , Washington Post , O Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle , Houston Chronicle , Business Insider , Refinery29 , Bustle, CrimeReads, Popsugar, and *PureWow*

Named a Best Book of the Fall by Kirkus , Bookish, and *LitHub*

"[A]n impressive feat of investigative journalism--tenaciously conduct, appealingly written... as compelling as a detective novel."― * *The Economist**

"A sharp investigation into how human self-interest, weaknesses, and egos can shape the way that science proceeds."― * *Undark**

"A fascinating, potent, and crucial read."― *Buzzfeed*

" A stranger-than-fiction thrill ride exposing the loose screws of our broken mental health system."― * O Magazine, Best Books of December*

"Cahalan's passionate and exhaustive reexamination of the famous research 'On Being Sane in Insane Places' by Stanford psychologist David Rosenhan is a riveting read... A terrific piece of detective work [with] fascinating insights into the mental health controversies that have swirled ever since the study's publication."― * *Forbes**

" The Great Pretender reads like a detective story, with Cahalan revealing tantalizing clues at opportune moments so we can experience the thrills of discovery alongside her...What she unearthed turned out to be far stranger, as documented in her absorbing new book, The Great Pretender. It's the kind of story that has levels to it, only instead of a townhouse it's more like an Escher print. On one level: A profile of Rosenhan and his study. On another: Cahalan's own experience of researching the book. And on a third: The fraught history of psychiatry and the pursuit of scientific knowledge."― * *New York Times**

" Cahalan's research is dogged and her narrative riveting , leading us from red herring to clue and back with the dexterity of the best mystery novelists. Then she builds her case like a skilled prosecuting attorney."― * *New York Journal of Books**

" A thrilling mystery --and a powerful case for a deeper understanding of mental illness."― * *People Magazine**

"A thrilling and lively work of investigative journalism... This vital book, full of intelligence and brio, is a must-read for anyone who has mental illness issues somewhere in their life -- i.e., everyone."― * Marion Winik, *Minneapolis Star Tribune**