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Pharmakon by Dirk Wittenborn

"An interesting look at the fields of Psychology/Psychiatry in the 1950s and the startling, ripple effect that the consequences to our actions can have in every aspect of our lives."

3 Stars

Pros: An interesting look at a time when Mental Health was not as prevalent a subject as it is today and it was still very much stigmatized/The generational differences between the fifties/sixties so and so forth. 

Cons: Frightening to think of how unregulated everything was back in the fifties/I wish the author would have gone into more detail as to what exactly it was that caused Casper Gedsic to decline so dramatically/Though Friedrich's reactions are understandable, he's kind of a controlling jerk as a Father. 

Full Review: 

In the 1950s, the field of Psychology was in its infancy. Most people who exhibited possible mental illnesses were quickly locked away into asylums and left to rot. William Friedrich is an untenured Psychology Professor at Yale who is trying to stumble upon that big break that will make him famous. When he begins a study with a fellow Professor to monitor the effects of a natural herb found in New Guinea that are used in tribes to alleviate the stress of battle etc, they think they've found their breakthrough. 

Most of the participants who receive the drug are able to change their lives around and seem to be happier, more fulfilled people. Though no one has such a drastic transformation as Casper Gedsic. Before the study, he was an awkward, quiet, unnoticed, grunt in the offices of the Yale student Newspaper. He's frighteningly intelligent, disturbingly so and its that intelligence and his inability to relate to people on a basic level that makes him miserable. 

He agrees to take part in the study and the transformation is astonishing. But it all comes crashing down. Ten days after the study is concluded and Casper is no longer taking the herb, he has a psychotic break and Friedrich's life is changed forever. The rest of the novel follows the resounding repercussions of Friedrich's actions, Casper's actions and how the consequences will follow Friedrich through the years. It has a profound effect on his wife, children; every aspect of his life. 

Pharmakon, in itself, is a study of how all of our actions have consequences and how we must be so very careful with how we treat others because we don't know what kind of ripple effect it could have in our lives. 

It was an interesting read. It had its good parts, its bad parts, but all in all it was an interesting look at Psychopharmacology in the 1950s and how things have evolved. There are now regulations, Institutional Review Boards, strict guidelines that must be adhered to whenever a study of a new drug is proposed. The lackadaisical attitude Friedrich had towards the possible side effects of his study and its consequences was startling to read but it made me grateful how far the field of Psychology and Psychiatry have come. 

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