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The Sleep Room: A Sadistic Psychiatrist and the Women Who Survived Him
The shocking account of the women tortured by a legendary psychiatrist in his infamous “sleep room,” and the survivors fighting for change in the system
The Sleep Room is thriller novelist Jon Stock’s investigation into one of the most revered figures in British postwar medicine, the private world of the Sleep Room in Ward 5, and the science of the psychology that produced it. Building on the testimony of eight survivors, Stock looks at the problem of the limited tool kit psychology has at its disposal, and the shadowy interface between medicine, the intelligence community, and dangerous charlatans.
Dr. William Sargant ran a lucrative private practice and published multiple books on psychiatry, and he was awarded the Starkey medal and prize by the Royal Society of Health for his work on psychiatric medicine. But what he was best known for was the apogee of his the Sleep Room in Ward 5.
This was a dark gallery where patients selected by Sargant were, often without their consent or that of their families, subjected to deep narcosis, sleeping for more than 21 hours per day for weeks at a time, and roused only for sessions of electroconvulsive therapy.
There, Sargent practiced his enthusiasm for now-discredited treatments such as lobotomy and electroshock therapy with zeal. Inspired by the work of Pavlov on conditioning in dogs, and by the post-Freudian revolution in psychiatric pharmacology, Sargant believed in aggressive interventions. When his patients finished their treatment, they had lost not only memories of trauma, but also any sense of who they were or why they were there.
At least four of them died in the room. Between 1964 and 1972, hundreds of women were treated in the now-shuttered ward of the Royal Waterloo Hospital for Women and Children.
A group of survivors, now in their 60s and 70s, have come forward to share their stories and advocate for change.
The Sleep Room is thriller novelist Jon Stock’s investigation into one of the most revered figures in British postwar medicine, the private world of the Sleep Room in Ward 5, and the science of the psychology that produced it. Building on the testimony of eight survivors, Stock looks at the problem of the limited tool kit psychology has at its disposal, and the shadowy interface between medicine, the intelligence community, and dangerous charlatans.
Dr. William Sargant ran a lucrative private practice and published multiple books on psychiatry, and he was awarded the Starkey medal and prize by the Royal Society of Health for his work on psychiatric medicine. But what he was best known for was the apogee of his the Sleep Room in Ward 5.
This was a dark gallery where patients selected by Sargant were, often without their consent or that of their families, subjected to deep narcosis, sleeping for more than 21 hours per day for weeks at a time, and roused only for sessions of electroconvulsive therapy.
There, Sargent practiced his enthusiasm for now-discredited treatments such as lobotomy and electroshock therapy with zeal. Inspired by the work of Pavlov on conditioning in dogs, and by the post-Freudian revolution in psychiatric pharmacology, Sargant believed in aggressive interventions. When his patients finished their treatment, they had lost not only memories of trauma, but also any sense of who they were or why they were there.
At least four of them died in the room. Between 1964 and 1972, hundreds of women were treated in the now-shuttered ward of the Royal Waterloo Hospital for Women and Children.
A group of survivors, now in their 60s and 70s, have come forward to share their stories and advocate for change.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2025
115 people are currently reading
767 people want to read
About the author
Jon Stock
11 books7 followersJon Stock is a novelist who writes spy and psychological thrillers. The Sleep Room, his first non-fiction book, was published in the UK on 3 April 2025 (Little, Brown). It was published in the US on 22 July 2025 (Abrams).
After reading English at Cambridge, Jon became a freelance journalist, writing investigative and arts features for the Observer, Private Eye, the Telegraph and the Times. For two years, he was a foreign correspondent in New Delhi before returning to become Weekend editor of the Telegraph in 2005 and to write espionage novels. Dead Spy Running, part of the Daniel Marchant Spy Trilogy, was optioned by Warner Bros. with a screenplay written by Oscar-winner Stephen Gaghan.
In 2015, he became a full-time author, writing psychological thrillers as J.S. Monroe. Find Me has been translated into fourteen languages. Jon is currently a Royal Literary Fund Bridge Fellow and is a vice chair of the Marlborough Literature Festival in Wiltshire, where he lives with his wife, the photographer Hilary Stock. They have three adult children.
After reading English at Cambridge, Jon became a freelance journalist, writing investigative and arts features for the Observer, Private Eye, the Telegraph and the Times. For two years, he was a foreign correspondent in New Delhi before returning to become Weekend editor of the Telegraph in 2005 and to write espionage novels. Dead Spy Running, part of the Daniel Marchant Spy Trilogy, was optioned by Warner Bros. with a screenplay written by Oscar-winner Stephen Gaghan.
In 2015, he became a full-time author, writing psychological thrillers as J.S. Monroe. Find Me has been translated into fourteen languages. Jon is currently a Royal Literary Fund Bridge Fellow and is a vice chair of the Marlborough Literature Festival in Wiltshire, where he lives with his wife, the photographer Hilary Stock. They have three adult children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
July 23, 2025
A Difficult but Essential Read
This is a tough book to rate. There are certainly flaws—some of the final chapters feel rushed, and I would have appreciated more insight into Sargant's personal life, as well as perspectives from those who believed his work had merit. Including photographs might also have added helpful context.
That said, this is still a meticulously researched and compelling book. The reason I’m giving it five stars is because it tells a story that absolutely needs to be told. Much of what Sargant did—apparently with little to no oversight—was deeply disturbing, even sadistic. The most powerful and haunting sections are the accounts from his former patients. Their stories make it painfully clear how much damage was done under the guise of psychiatric care.
Sargant operated in a time when authority figures, especially medical professionals, were rarely questioned. His elevated status seems to have allowed him to act with impunity—even, allegedly, to the point of sexually abusing patients. In that kind of environment, it’s no wonder the vulnerable suffered. This book is a stark reminder of why accountability and transparency in medicine are so crucial. With psychiatrists like Sargant in charge, it was long overdue for the so-called 'lunatics' to take back control of the asylum.
This is a tough book to rate. There are certainly flaws—some of the final chapters feel rushed, and I would have appreciated more insight into Sargant's personal life, as well as perspectives from those who believed his work had merit. Including photographs might also have added helpful context.
That said, this is still a meticulously researched and compelling book. The reason I’m giving it five stars is because it tells a story that absolutely needs to be told. Much of what Sargant did—apparently with little to no oversight—was deeply disturbing, even sadistic. The most powerful and haunting sections are the accounts from his former patients. Their stories make it painfully clear how much damage was done under the guise of psychiatric care.
Sargant operated in a time when authority figures, especially medical professionals, were rarely questioned. His elevated status seems to have allowed him to act with impunity—even, allegedly, to the point of sexually abusing patients. In that kind of environment, it’s no wonder the vulnerable suffered. This book is a stark reminder of why accountability and transparency in medicine are so crucial. With psychiatrists like Sargant in charge, it was long overdue for the so-called 'lunatics' to take back control of the asylum.
July 25, 2025
Narrated by Richard Armitage, Celia Imrie, Antonia Beamish
Presented by Tantor Audio
This was interesting but the swerve into conspiracy theories threw me a bit.
An interesting account of Dr William Sargant, a psychiatrist who kept a bunch of 'troublesome' women drugged up and asleep so he could give them continuous bouts of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Now sure, it was a different time, but there is so much wrong with what this guy did. There are some interesting discussions of consent (or lack thereof) and how much was for the good of the patient versus how much the research would benefit the doc and his ego.
It does focus more on Sargant than the women, as most of the women have sparse memories of their time in the facility. So instead we learn more of Sargant's biography, and how he justified doing horrible things in the name of science.
I found the inserts from patients quite interesting, and at the start they blended well though by the end they began to feel out of place. This book seemed concerned with the women only up to a certain point, but they end up being reduced to something of a footnote to the rest of Sargant's scientific exploits. That didn't sit too well with me.
I listened to the audio and as much as I love Richard Armitage I did have to speed him up to x1.75 and then eventually x2. He spoke eloquently but left such long pauses I found myself getting impatient. Otherwise, though, his narration was perfectly serious and well suited to the job. The female narrators were okay, but I found them sounding too - for lack of a better word - sane. They spoke very well as they discussed all manor of struggles and it didn't quite fit for me. I know that seems like a weird complaint, but ultimately it comes down to the narrator not seeming to match the written voice.
I enjoyed it much more at the start but as it started to drift away from the sleep room I found my attention wandering. There were a few questionable inclusions and it seemed a little like the author had an agenda when it came to discussing spies and psychological warfare.
I think this will be fascinating to fans of psychology, though listening to what the women were put through does enrage. It's an interesting study of a sadistic man, but if you want to read it for the stories of the women involved, you may be disappointed.
With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC
Presented by Tantor Audio
This was interesting but the swerve into conspiracy theories threw me a bit.
An interesting account of Dr William Sargant, a psychiatrist who kept a bunch of 'troublesome' women drugged up and asleep so he could give them continuous bouts of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Now sure, it was a different time, but there is so much wrong with what this guy did. There are some interesting discussions of consent (or lack thereof) and how much was for the good of the patient versus how much the research would benefit the doc and his ego.
It does focus more on Sargant than the women, as most of the women have sparse memories of their time in the facility. So instead we learn more of Sargant's biography, and how he justified doing horrible things in the name of science.
I found the inserts from patients quite interesting, and at the start they blended well though by the end they began to feel out of place. This book seemed concerned with the women only up to a certain point, but they end up being reduced to something of a footnote to the rest of Sargant's scientific exploits. That didn't sit too well with me.
I listened to the audio and as much as I love Richard Armitage I did have to speed him up to x1.75 and then eventually x2. He spoke eloquently but left such long pauses I found myself getting impatient. Otherwise, though, his narration was perfectly serious and well suited to the job. The female narrators were okay, but I found them sounding too - for lack of a better word - sane. They spoke very well as they discussed all manor of struggles and it didn't quite fit for me. I know that seems like a weird complaint, but ultimately it comes down to the narrator not seeming to match the written voice.
I enjoyed it much more at the start but as it started to drift away from the sleep room I found my attention wandering. There were a few questionable inclusions and it seemed a little like the author had an agenda when it came to discussing spies and psychological warfare.
I think this will be fascinating to fans of psychology, though listening to what the women were put through does enrage. It's an interesting study of a sadistic man, but if you want to read it for the stories of the women involved, you may be disappointed.
With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC
April 9, 2025
A deeply sobering read following the life of one British psychiatrist Dr William Sargant, a name I’d be surprised many would know but certainly one you all should.
Sargant was one of the leading ‘pioneers’ of global psychiatry from the 1940s through to the mid to late 1970s and boy were his ethics nonexistent.
Stock weaves a brilliant narrative of Sargant’s dark past with excerpts of interviews with various women, and they were largely women, who underwent his highly invasive treatment; both in a physical and mental capacity.
Sargant’s work essentially revolves around ‘curing’ various ‘mental illnesses’ via ECTs or electro shock therapy, ranging from minor consistent bursts to full blown lobotomies. The torture didn’t stop there though. We discover that Sargant was also at the forefront of experimenting with narcotics and enforced narcosis to ‘cure’ individuals too. The titular ‘Sleep Room’ was a ward he used in which patients were kept in a near constant drugged sleep, aided by ECTs, in the hopes of purging them of their conditions.
These twisted and horrifying experiments were of course soon picked up by the intelligence services of both Britain (MI5/MI6) and America (the CIA); with Sargant playing a leading advisory role on the notorious MKULTRA programme established by the Americans in the hopes of creating a model brainwashing programme.
The unwitting test subjects, now more than 60 years on in some cases, are to this day still fighting for acknowledgement and reparations; with the authorities still reluctant to acknowledge Sargant’s horrendous crimes, despite working under the auspices of the NHS.
Raw, emotional but incredibly enlightening; the more conspiratorially minded will be unsurprised how expendable these human guinea pigs were deemed, with one survivor highlighting the trials and subsequent covering up of these cases as akin to Nazi war crimes. Unsurprising then that former Nazi scientists were used prolifically alongside Sargent as part of MKULTRA.
Sargant was one of the leading ‘pioneers’ of global psychiatry from the 1940s through to the mid to late 1970s and boy were his ethics nonexistent.
Stock weaves a brilliant narrative of Sargant’s dark past with excerpts of interviews with various women, and they were largely women, who underwent his highly invasive treatment; both in a physical and mental capacity.
Sargant’s work essentially revolves around ‘curing’ various ‘mental illnesses’ via ECTs or electro shock therapy, ranging from minor consistent bursts to full blown lobotomies. The torture didn’t stop there though. We discover that Sargant was also at the forefront of experimenting with narcotics and enforced narcosis to ‘cure’ individuals too. The titular ‘Sleep Room’ was a ward he used in which patients were kept in a near constant drugged sleep, aided by ECTs, in the hopes of purging them of their conditions.
These twisted and horrifying experiments were of course soon picked up by the intelligence services of both Britain (MI5/MI6) and America (the CIA); with Sargant playing a leading advisory role on the notorious MKULTRA programme established by the Americans in the hopes of creating a model brainwashing programme.
The unwitting test subjects, now more than 60 years on in some cases, are to this day still fighting for acknowledgement and reparations; with the authorities still reluctant to acknowledge Sargant’s horrendous crimes, despite working under the auspices of the NHS.
Raw, emotional but incredibly enlightening; the more conspiratorially minded will be unsurprised how expendable these human guinea pigs were deemed, with one survivor highlighting the trials and subsequent covering up of these cases as akin to Nazi war crimes. Unsurprising then that former Nazi scientists were used prolifically alongside Sargent as part of MKULTRA.
February 5, 2025
I really had trouble reading this book. The writing was so choatic. It kept jumping between timelines within the chapters and seemed disorganized. The writing was like entering the author's stream of consciousness with ideas pouring out without adding any structure. Even the different viewpoints bounced along the timeline within their chapter.
The concept of this book was very intriguing. But it did not need to be stretched out as much as it it did. Information seemed repetitive. I didn't care for the doctors background as it was hard to stay on track with all the tangents that branched off in an attempt to explain characters and events for the reader to gain understanding.
Thank you, NetGalley and Abrams Book, for the DRC of this book. Again, I really like the concept, I just had a hard time getting through it. I love true crime and thought this was an interesting case. However, the writing was very choatic. I have ADD, and I felt like I was reading someone else's sparatic thoughts and had a hard keeping on track of the story and comprehending the information while reading.
The concept of this book was very intriguing. But it did not need to be stretched out as much as it it did. Information seemed repetitive. I didn't care for the doctors background as it was hard to stay on track with all the tangents that branched off in an attempt to explain characters and events for the reader to gain understanding.
Thank you, NetGalley and Abrams Book, for the DRC of this book. Again, I really like the concept, I just had a hard time getting through it. I love true crime and thought this was an interesting case. However, the writing was very choatic. I have ADD, and I felt like I was reading someone else's sparatic thoughts and had a hard keeping on track of the story and comprehending the information while reading.
April 3, 2025
Happy publication day 🎉🥳🎧
3.5 🌟
I desperately wanted to rate a 4 but the writing was a little clunky for my liking. I have to admit to having already known much of what was written about Sargent in the book, however it was great to hear testimony from actual patients and student nurses who worked alongside him,
Regardless how much of his work I had awareness of it’s still incredibly difficult to read and comprehend, it’s incredible to fathom the power the man held. Budding psychology students or true crime enthusiasts will love this title, as did I, I just would’ve liked some more structure.
The audio narration was great.
Many thanks to Hachette U.K. audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
3.5 🌟
I desperately wanted to rate a 4 but the writing was a little clunky for my liking. I have to admit to having already known much of what was written about Sargent in the book, however it was great to hear testimony from actual patients and student nurses who worked alongside him,
Regardless how much of his work I had awareness of it’s still incredibly difficult to read and comprehend, it’s incredible to fathom the power the man held. Budding psychology students or true crime enthusiasts will love this title, as did I, I just would’ve liked some more structure.
The audio narration was great.
Many thanks to Hachette U.K. audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧
June 20, 2025
William Sargant, a prominent British psychiatrist from the 1930’s to 1970’s, was diametrically opposed to psychotherapy. Indeed, Sargant would seem to have had more in common with Mengele than Freud.
This nonfiction account details Sargants work with shock therapies, many of which were administered without the patient’s consent after being put in a barbiturate-induced sleep under the pretense of narcosis.
The treatments Sargant favored were acutely distressing for patients, particularly insulin shock therapy and hundreds of lobotomies. Many of his treatments were legitimate torture methods used by the Soviets during interrogations, like inducing seizures with cardiazol, presumably to treat schizophrenia. Later, his work would attract intelligence agencies like the CIA, especially for research in brainwashing and mind control for the now-infamous MK-Ultra campaign.
While the subject matter is extremely fascinating, I found the information to be quite densely packed. The language is rather dry and there doesn’t seem to be a cohesive through-line to the narrative, given the nonlinear retelling of events, which can be quite jarring. Details often become cumbersome and confusing as the text devolves into meandering tangents and side stories, many of which don’t include Sargant at all. Personal anecdotes from patients are interesting but feel to be at best tangential non sequiturs.
While I did learn a lot from this one, I hesitate to recommend it as a stand-alone read, unless you’re doing a research project on related material. Still, I’m glad I read it and am shocked, if you can forgive the pun, by the things I’ve learned.
Thank you to Abrams Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This nonfiction account details Sargants work with shock therapies, many of which were administered without the patient’s consent after being put in a barbiturate-induced sleep under the pretense of narcosis.
The treatments Sargant favored were acutely distressing for patients, particularly insulin shock therapy and hundreds of lobotomies. Many of his treatments were legitimate torture methods used by the Soviets during interrogations, like inducing seizures with cardiazol, presumably to treat schizophrenia. Later, his work would attract intelligence agencies like the CIA, especially for research in brainwashing and mind control for the now-infamous MK-Ultra campaign.
While the subject matter is extremely fascinating, I found the information to be quite densely packed. The language is rather dry and there doesn’t seem to be a cohesive through-line to the narrative, given the nonlinear retelling of events, which can be quite jarring. Details often become cumbersome and confusing as the text devolves into meandering tangents and side stories, many of which don’t include Sargant at all. Personal anecdotes from patients are interesting but feel to be at best tangential non sequiturs.
While I did learn a lot from this one, I hesitate to recommend it as a stand-alone read, unless you’re doing a research project on related material. Still, I’m glad I read it and am shocked, if you can forgive the pun, by the things I’ve learned.
Thank you to Abrams Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
December 28, 2024
I had never heard of the sleep room, or narcosis as a treatment at all. And I still feel like I didn't really learn much. This felt like it was lacking depth or a comprehensive storyline - or something I can't quite put my finger on. There were basically two books here that were squished together - a bio of Sargant's psychiatry career pulled from his biographer and some first-hand accounts that are sprinkled in without much anchoring within the overall narrative. I often found my mind wandering while reading Sargant's life story.
**I received my copy from Netgalley.
**I received my copy from Netgalley.
December 27, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is an eye-opening look at psychiatric treatment from the not so distant past. William Sargant was a scary man and it's appalling what he was capable of doing with mostly free reign. When told "no", he often found a way to still get what he wanted.
The chapters from the nurses and patients perspectives were most interesting to me.
This is an eye-opening look at psychiatric treatment from the not so distant past. William Sargant was a scary man and it's appalling what he was capable of doing with mostly free reign. When told "no", he often found a way to still get what he wanted.
The chapters from the nurses and patients perspectives were most interesting to me.
July 20, 2025
Disturbing doesn’t even begin to cover it. The Sleep Room is a haunting deep dive into the real-life horrors that unfolded behind locked doors in London’s Royal Waterloo Hospital. Told through the voices of survivors, this nonfiction account pulls back the curtain on Dr. William Sargant’s unethical psychiatric “treatments,” including drug-induced comas, electroshock therapy, and total memory erasure. It’s baffling, infuriating, and impossible to look away from. Every chapter made me grateful these women had the courage to speak out and are finally being heard.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars — Rated R for disturbing medical content and emotional trauma.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars — Rated R for disturbing medical content and emotional trauma.
July 17, 2025
Jon Stock’s "The Sleep Room" ultimately failed to engage me, despite an inherently disturbing subject (which is something I'm usually all about!).
The idea of exploring the dark practices of a controversial psychiatrist and the women who endured his care has real potential for a gripping nonfiction narrative. Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired.
There were far too many people coming in and out of the story, and the narration (read in audio format) was less-than-engaging. It lacked energy and failed to create a sense of urgency or even empathy for the poor women in the story. It was incredibly difficult to stay invested, and even the shocking revelations felt muted and monotonous.
And as I mentioned already, there were far too many people introduced... patients, doctors, side characters, and more! The book was supposed to be primarily about one doctor, but for a book written about him, he appeared far less than I would have expected. Not to mention, the constant influx of names and anecdotes resulted in confusion, making it hard to follow who was involved in what.
Perhaps my biggest problem with the book, though, was that some portions came across as sensational or difficult to believe. I'm not saying they were outright lies or even misinformation, but they did stretch credulity.
For all these reasons, I struggled to become invested in the lives described; the narration did little to help me connect to the women or understand the nuances of their experiences.
Unfortunately, it felt scattered and slow, making a "shocking" true story almost forgettable. Clearer storytelling and a more engaging narrative style might have made this a far more compelling read. As it stands, I can’t recommend it to readers looking for impactful true crime or investigative nonfiction.
The idea of exploring the dark practices of a controversial psychiatrist and the women who endured his care has real potential for a gripping nonfiction narrative. Unfortunately, the execution left a lot to be desired.
There were far too many people coming in and out of the story, and the narration (read in audio format) was less-than-engaging. It lacked energy and failed to create a sense of urgency or even empathy for the poor women in the story. It was incredibly difficult to stay invested, and even the shocking revelations felt muted and monotonous.
And as I mentioned already, there were far too many people introduced... patients, doctors, side characters, and more! The book was supposed to be primarily about one doctor, but for a book written about him, he appeared far less than I would have expected. Not to mention, the constant influx of names and anecdotes resulted in confusion, making it hard to follow who was involved in what.
Perhaps my biggest problem with the book, though, was that some portions came across as sensational or difficult to believe. I'm not saying they were outright lies or even misinformation, but they did stretch credulity.
For all these reasons, I struggled to become invested in the lives described; the narration did little to help me connect to the women or understand the nuances of their experiences.
Unfortunately, it felt scattered and slow, making a "shocking" true story almost forgettable. Clearer storytelling and a more engaging narrative style might have made this a far more compelling read. As it stands, I can’t recommend it to readers looking for impactful true crime or investigative nonfiction.
July 9, 2025
What I cannot comprehend is how this man is not known in contemporary culture as a monster on a par with Jimmy Saville. He was a predator, callous, and reckless with the health of very vulnerable young women. The testimonies of those women that survived his ‘treatment’ is the most important part of the book.
October 4, 2025
cruelty and medicine just go hand in hand sometimes but this guy was a sick fucker
April 5, 2025
Interesting and nightmare inducing, this look into the life and practices of Dr William Sergeant, said by some to be the father of ECT and other barbaric treatments for mental health in the 30s-80s, has left me reeling.
Hearing the testimonies of ex patients and colleagues about practices which took place within the confines of a NHS hospital (in the main, though he also had his private practice and access to other treatment areas) makes horrific and anger inducing listening as the man, who clearly had a god complex (like many of his ilk at that time) seemed to strive for infamy and self satisfaction rather than actually wanting to help his patients.
The blurred line that seems to have existed between his work to help patients and work to help secret services to control undesirables raises questions about the funding of research and the need for it to be subject to strong ethics and impartiality.
While some of the concerns about Sergeant and others like him may have brought change in the Mental Health Act, mainly about the need for patient consent - it was mind boggling to hear of children being sent to hospital without their parents knowing or young woman being subjected to treatment with no say over their own bodies. It's sad to hear that loopholes may still exist and those who were treated have lost so much and often been left with greater issues than those which initially led to them being sent for treatment.
Richard Armitage excellently narrates the audiobook edition with his clear, precise diction.
Hearing the testimonies of ex patients and colleagues about practices which took place within the confines of a NHS hospital (in the main, though he also had his private practice and access to other treatment areas) makes horrific and anger inducing listening as the man, who clearly had a god complex (like many of his ilk at that time) seemed to strive for infamy and self satisfaction rather than actually wanting to help his patients.
The blurred line that seems to have existed between his work to help patients and work to help secret services to control undesirables raises questions about the funding of research and the need for it to be subject to strong ethics and impartiality.
While some of the concerns about Sergeant and others like him may have brought change in the Mental Health Act, mainly about the need for patient consent - it was mind boggling to hear of children being sent to hospital without their parents knowing or young woman being subjected to treatment with no say over their own bodies. It's sad to hear that loopholes may still exist and those who were treated have lost so much and often been left with greater issues than those which initially led to them being sent for treatment.
Richard Armitage excellently narrates the audiobook edition with his clear, precise diction.
March 2, 2025
This book seemed right up my alley. I love reading about the infant stages of psychiatry and all of the missteps and grave errors made along the way. Knowing what we know now, it's hard to believe that a place like Ward Five and the Sleep Room were ever considered an appropriate treatment, but it was very real and some people's last stop before a lobotomy.
The book focuses on Dr. Sargant who seemed like a narcissistic and power-hungry physician. It's fascinating to learn that he too struggled with his mental health--even to the point of being institutionalized. Hearing his patients' and colleagues' experiences with him was stressful.
Unfortunately, the book was really disjointed. There were seemingly random facts dropped into long expository chapters that overlapped information with other chapters. The patient testimonials were the most interesting part of this book. Everything else felt like the author's stream of conscious thoughts which was hard to follow.
The MKULTRA part of the book was a lot of speculation due to the fact that we don't know much about what happened during those years of unethical experimentation on human test subjects. However, the author makes a pretty convincing argument that Sargant was not only part of these experiments but a large contributor to the directives given to the scientists.
All in all, this was an interesting read. I'm glad that I read it even though it was a bit tedious to get through at times. Seeing Sargant's face on the cover after hearing how former patients described him is chilling. The public deserves the cold hard facts on how many people were abused and permanently affected by this psychiatrist with a God complex.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
The book focuses on Dr. Sargant who seemed like a narcissistic and power-hungry physician. It's fascinating to learn that he too struggled with his mental health--even to the point of being institutionalized. Hearing his patients' and colleagues' experiences with him was stressful.
Unfortunately, the book was really disjointed. There were seemingly random facts dropped into long expository chapters that overlapped information with other chapters. The patient testimonials were the most interesting part of this book. Everything else felt like the author's stream of conscious thoughts which was hard to follow.
The MKULTRA part of the book was a lot of speculation due to the fact that we don't know much about what happened during those years of unethical experimentation on human test subjects. However, the author makes a pretty convincing argument that Sargant was not only part of these experiments but a large contributor to the directives given to the scientists.
All in all, this was an interesting read. I'm glad that I read it even though it was a bit tedious to get through at times. Seeing Sargant's face on the cover after hearing how former patients described him is chilling. The public deserves the cold hard facts on how many people were abused and permanently affected by this psychiatrist with a God complex.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!
December 14, 2024
Creepy, to be sure, the image of narcotized patients suspended in the air in the 1978 movie thriller “Coma,” enough to send a shiver down anybody’s spine, but something more than just a passing chill it made for Celia Imrie, who exited the movie with the shakes but with no idea why. Indeed, it wasn’t until much later that she came to understand why the scene in the film had upset her so much – she’d seen its real-life equivalent years before in the “Sleep Room” of the medical facility where she'd been treated for anorexia.
“Dead-looking women lying on the floor on grey mattresses, silent in a kind of electrically induced twilight,” she recalled of the macabre spectacle she took in as she peered through the portholes of the doors leading into the room, where she wasn’t sure if she’d ever spent any time herself (she’d been pretty drugged), but the room was forever imprinted on her memory.
“You went in asleep and you came out asleep,” she said about the regimen administered there by Dr. William Sargant, the principal medical figure of Jon Stock’s unsettling nonfiction work, “The Sleep Room,” which details how psychiatric patients were kept in extended sleep states and administered psychotropic drugs and hit with electric shocks. And if none of those proved efficacious, there was always the last resort of lobotomies, which were in fact performed with regularity.
At first horrified by the procedure in which holes were drilled into a patient’s skull and the frontal lobes severed, Sargant went on to champion the procedure with the same enthusiasm with which he’d advocated the Sleep Room regimen of insulin coma therapy and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Indeed, not just Sargant, but a good part of the developed world, it seemed, was taken with the procedure, with tens of thousands of people lobotomized in the U.K. and America in the 1940s and 1950s, and it going on to become one of the most popular neurosurgical treatments for mental disorders in the Western world – Sargant even reportedly promoted it as a solution for unhappy wives.
The reality was, of course, something different, with those of us of a certain age recalling all too well the truly awful business cited in the book in which Joseph Kennedy arranged for his 22-year–old daughter, Rosemary, who was afflicted with mood swings, violent rages and seizures, to have a lobotomy, which resulted in her ending up with the mental capacity of a 2-year-old and institutionalized until she died at age 86.
Not just with lobotomies, though, came debilitating consequences but with the lesser treatments of coma therapy and convulsive shocks as well, with nurses noting that women in the Sleep Room (it was almost always women) were “drugged up to the eyeballs” and “we had to clean their teeth for them” and “it was as if they were half dead, half living … the sort of thing you’d expect in Hitler's time.” It felt as if, one said, “that they were almost trying to take over these people … infiltrate them, change them, take over their personalities … change who they were … almost acting like a god.” “Franco would have loved to do these things,” a Spanish nurse said.
And from a patient: “I also have a great sense of having lost a large portion of my emotional range … it's a bit like a musician only having access to one octave of a piano.”
And not just psychic wounds the treatments made for, but physical ones as well from the prolonged inactive states, including “deep vein thrombosis, bladder, bowel and abdominal distension, chest and throat infections, and withdrawal fits.”
“Pressure sores and muscle loss were also a problem,” the book goes on to note. “The biggest threat to life was severe constipation leading to paralytic ileus, a condition caused when the muscles that usually move food through the gut are temporarily paralysed.”
Still, the idea of a sort of tabula rasa that the treatments aimed for in which troubling memories were swept away or eradicated was of great interest not just for the medical community at the time but also for intelligence services, it being the time of the Korean War with talk of brainwashing very much in the air and the movie “The Manchurian Candidate” having brought to the popular imagination the notion of someone being unconsciously directed to do nefarious things.
A direct link between Sargant and intelligence services is hard to tie down, the book notes, but “one thing is certain, psychiatrists such as Sargant lay at the heart of the CIA’s mind control programme,” with a notorious instance of the sort of abuses laid at the agency’s door being when biochemist Frank Olson plunged to his death from a 13th-story window after it was suspected he was slipped LSD without his knowledge (there was a Netflix series about this).
Something of a B-movie villain Sargant emerges in all this, with an imposing, off-putting manner that had patients and nurses alike scared of him, with “a face of thunder, like the devil,” according to Celia, though with such professional self-assurance that he claimed he could tell if a patient was getting better just by the confidence with which he turned the door handle of his consulting room.
The assurance didn’t extend into other realms, though, with his somewhat bizarrely being prone to frequent car crashes and, especially interesting to me as a journalist, his writing leaving something to be desired (“William couldn’t put two words together coherently,” remembered a colleague).
Such details supply welcome enlivening detail to a book which, while for the most part absorbing, occasionally tests reader patience with patient profiles that can become repetitive and psychiatric details that can be somewhat numbing to the layman.
July 13, 2025
Release: July 22, 2025
Author: Jon Stock
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Rating: 4 ★
this audiobook offers a compelling, unsettling portrait of a psychiatrist's controversial legacy, expertly narrated by Richard Armitage and Celia Imrie. It's a deep dive into medical ethics and a vindication of survivors who demand their stories be heard.
📘 Synopsis Overview
* Focuses on Dr. William Sargant, a once-celebrated psychiatrist who treated patients at the Royal Waterloo Hospital.
* His most controversial method: the Sleep Room in Ward Five, where patients were sedated for over 21 hours per day for weeks and intermittently subjected to electroconvulsive therapy.
* The treatment allegedly erased trauma—but tragically also stripped away patients’ personal identities; at least four women died under his care between 1964 and 1972.
* Hundreds of women underwent this intensive procedure, and a few surviving patients—now elderly—have stepped forward to share their stories and push for accountability.
🧠 Who Was William Sargant?
* Born in 1907, Sargant became a prominent British psychiatrist after training at Cambridge, Harvard, the Maudsley, and St Thomas’ Hospital. He was known for embracing aggressive physical treatments—electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), insulin shock therapy, psychosurgery, and prolonged narcosis—over talk therapy.
* He rose to prominence through a high-profile private practice, media appearances (including the BBC), and bestselling books like Battle for the Mind. His connections included military, intelligence circles, and figures like Robert Graves and Walter Freeman.
🛌 The "Sleep Room" in Ward 5
* Located at the Royal Waterloo Hospital (connected to St Thomas’), Sargant's “Sleep Room” held up to six (primarily female) patients in drug-induced narcosis, often for weeks or months, under near-constant ECT.
* During treatment, patients were woken briefly for ECT sessions then sedated again. Consent was not properly obtained—and few patients or their families realized what was happening.
😱 Patient Experiences and Consequences
* Survivors—such as actress Celia Imrie, model Linda Keith, and others—describe waking in a zombified state, with severe memory loss, cognitive impairment, emotional distress, and profound trauma.
* At least four patients died from complications; many suffered long-term effects like tremors, fatigue, loss of identity, and even sexual abuse in some cases .
* One survivor said waking "was as if my brain and personality were dead".
⚖️ Ethics, Authority & Lack of Oversight
* Sargant was referred to by critics as "Bill the Brain Slicer" and even compared to menacing figures of authority.
* He destroyed clinical records and there was no formal investigation during or after his tenure. Lack of patient consent and oversight was typical of the era—until reforms like the Mental Health Act of 1983 .
* His methods were widely praised at the time, but have since raised serious ethical concerns.
🌐 Links to Intelligence & Mind-Control Experiments
* Influenced by WWII trauma treatment and by figures like Walter Freeman and Donald Cameron, Sargant developed narcosis and brainwashing techniques.
* Though some claim ties to MI5, MI6, and even CIA-funded MKUltra, definitive proof remains elusive. Yet some of these connections continue to fuel speculation.
📚 Why It Matters Today
* Ethical Reckoning: Sargant’s case highlights extreme misuse of medical authority and the need for patient rights and consent.
* Impact on Survivors: Many victims remain psychologically devastated decades later and are pushing for acknowledgment and justice.
* Legacy in Psychiatry: His story serves as a warning against unchecked experimental treatments and institutional complicity.
In essence, Sargant was a towering, charismatic figure who wielded enormous influence—and through the Sleep Room, he inflicted deep and lasting trauma on vulnerable people. His case stands as a stark reminder of the importance of ethical safeguards and patient autonomy.
The Sleep Room is a chilling nonfiction exploration of a disturbing chapter in British psychiatric history. Author Jon Stock investigates the controversial practices of Dr. William Sargant, a once-celebrated psychiatrist known for his influential work and prestigious awards—but also for the deeply troubling methods he used in a special section of the Royal Waterloo Hospital known as Ward Five.
In this "Sleep Room," Sargant subjected mostly female patients to extreme treatments: sedating them into near-constant sleep for up to three weeks and waking them only for rounds of electroconvulsive therapy. While some believed this would erase traumatic memories, it often left patients with far more than just forgotten pain—they lost their identities, their pasts, and in some cases, their lives. At least four patients died during these treatments.
Between 1964 and 1972, hundreds of women passed through this secretive ward. Now, decades later, survivors have come forward to tell their stories, seeking justice and acknowledgment for the harm they endured. The Sleep Room exposes not only a little-known medical scandal but also raises urgent questions about power, ethics, and the limits of science.
🌟 Critical Praise & Themes
* Merits described as “beautifully researched,” “wildly unsettling,” and offering a “gripping medical biography” that blends psychiatry, trauma, intelligence operations, and scandal.
* Explores powerful questions about medical ethics, the limits of psychiatric experimentation, memory and identity, institutional abuse, and the long-term impact on patients.
Author: Jon Stock
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Rating: 4 ★
this audiobook offers a compelling, unsettling portrait of a psychiatrist's controversial legacy, expertly narrated by Richard Armitage and Celia Imrie. It's a deep dive into medical ethics and a vindication of survivors who demand their stories be heard.
📘 Synopsis Overview
* Focuses on Dr. William Sargant, a once-celebrated psychiatrist who treated patients at the Royal Waterloo Hospital.
* His most controversial method: the Sleep Room in Ward Five, where patients were sedated for over 21 hours per day for weeks and intermittently subjected to electroconvulsive therapy.
* The treatment allegedly erased trauma—but tragically also stripped away patients’ personal identities; at least four women died under his care between 1964 and 1972.
* Hundreds of women underwent this intensive procedure, and a few surviving patients—now elderly—have stepped forward to share their stories and push for accountability.
🧠 Who Was William Sargant?
* Born in 1907, Sargant became a prominent British psychiatrist after training at Cambridge, Harvard, the Maudsley, and St Thomas’ Hospital. He was known for embracing aggressive physical treatments—electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), insulin shock therapy, psychosurgery, and prolonged narcosis—over talk therapy.
* He rose to prominence through a high-profile private practice, media appearances (including the BBC), and bestselling books like Battle for the Mind. His connections included military, intelligence circles, and figures like Robert Graves and Walter Freeman.
🛌 The "Sleep Room" in Ward 5
* Located at the Royal Waterloo Hospital (connected to St Thomas’), Sargant's “Sleep Room” held up to six (primarily female) patients in drug-induced narcosis, often for weeks or months, under near-constant ECT.
* During treatment, patients were woken briefly for ECT sessions then sedated again. Consent was not properly obtained—and few patients or their families realized what was happening.
😱 Patient Experiences and Consequences
* Survivors—such as actress Celia Imrie, model Linda Keith, and others—describe waking in a zombified state, with severe memory loss, cognitive impairment, emotional distress, and profound trauma.
* At least four patients died from complications; many suffered long-term effects like tremors, fatigue, loss of identity, and even sexual abuse in some cases .
* One survivor said waking "was as if my brain and personality were dead".
⚖️ Ethics, Authority & Lack of Oversight
* Sargant was referred to by critics as "Bill the Brain Slicer" and even compared to menacing figures of authority.
* He destroyed clinical records and there was no formal investigation during or after his tenure. Lack of patient consent and oversight was typical of the era—until reforms like the Mental Health Act of 1983 .
* His methods were widely praised at the time, but have since raised serious ethical concerns.
🌐 Links to Intelligence & Mind-Control Experiments
* Influenced by WWII trauma treatment and by figures like Walter Freeman and Donald Cameron, Sargant developed narcosis and brainwashing techniques.
* Though some claim ties to MI5, MI6, and even CIA-funded MKUltra, definitive proof remains elusive. Yet some of these connections continue to fuel speculation.
📚 Why It Matters Today
* Ethical Reckoning: Sargant’s case highlights extreme misuse of medical authority and the need for patient rights and consent.
* Impact on Survivors: Many victims remain psychologically devastated decades later and are pushing for acknowledgment and justice.
* Legacy in Psychiatry: His story serves as a warning against unchecked experimental treatments and institutional complicity.
In essence, Sargant was a towering, charismatic figure who wielded enormous influence—and through the Sleep Room, he inflicted deep and lasting trauma on vulnerable people. His case stands as a stark reminder of the importance of ethical safeguards and patient autonomy.
The Sleep Room is a chilling nonfiction exploration of a disturbing chapter in British psychiatric history. Author Jon Stock investigates the controversial practices of Dr. William Sargant, a once-celebrated psychiatrist known for his influential work and prestigious awards—but also for the deeply troubling methods he used in a special section of the Royal Waterloo Hospital known as Ward Five.
In this "Sleep Room," Sargant subjected mostly female patients to extreme treatments: sedating them into near-constant sleep for up to three weeks and waking them only for rounds of electroconvulsive therapy. While some believed this would erase traumatic memories, it often left patients with far more than just forgotten pain—they lost their identities, their pasts, and in some cases, their lives. At least four patients died during these treatments.
Between 1964 and 1972, hundreds of women passed through this secretive ward. Now, decades later, survivors have come forward to tell their stories, seeking justice and acknowledgment for the harm they endured. The Sleep Room exposes not only a little-known medical scandal but also raises urgent questions about power, ethics, and the limits of science.
🌟 Critical Praise & Themes
* Merits described as “beautifully researched,” “wildly unsettling,” and offering a “gripping medical biography” that blends psychiatry, trauma, intelligence operations, and scandal.
* Explores powerful questions about medical ethics, the limits of psychiatric experimentation, memory and identity, institutional abuse, and the long-term impact on patients.
May 31, 2025
Book Review: The Sleep Room by Jon Stock – A Feminist Critique
Jon Stock’s The Sleep Room is a meticulously researched exposé of Dr. William Sargant’s barbaric psychiatric experiments in mid-20th-century Britain. While the book powerfully documents historical atrocities, a feminist reading reveals both its strengths and its missed opportunities to fully interrogate the gendered violence at its core.
A Necessary, Yet Gendered, Reckoning
Stock’s greatest achievement is his centering of survivor testimonies—primarily women who endured prolonged narcosis, electroshock, and lobotomies under the guise of medical “treatment.” Their stories of stolen memories, fractured identities, and institutional betrayal are devastating, and Stock wisely avoids sensationalism, allowing their voices to carry the narrative.
However, while the book condemns Sargant’s cruelty, it often frames these women as passive victims rather than agents of resistance. Feminist scholars have long critiqued narratives that reduce women’s suffering to mere tragedy without examining how they resisted—whether through small acts of defiance, solidarity, or survival. Did any of these women challenge their doctors? Were there networks of support among patients? Stock hints at resilience but doesn’t fully explore it, leaving their stories incomplete.
The Patriarchal Machinery of Medical Abuse
Stock effectively ties Sargant’s work to broader systems of power—Nazi-era experiments, Cold War mind-control programs (MKULTRA), and intelligence agency collusion—but fails to explicitly name the misogyny that made women such easy targets. Psychiatry has a long history of pathologizing women’s emotions, from “hysteria” to “female weakness,” and Sargant’s experiments fit neatly into this tradition. A feminist lens would demand:
-Why were so many of his subjects women? Were they deemed more “disposable” or “irrational” by medical authorities?
-How did class and gender intersect? Were working-class or institutionalized women disproportionately abused?
-What role did male medical authority play? Sargant’s “god complex” wasn’t just individual arrogance—it was enabled by a system that granted unchecked power to (mostly male) doctors over (mostly female) patients.
-Stock’s research is thorough, but his reluctance to engage with feminist critiques of psychiatry weakens the analysis.
Structural Flaws and Feminist Omissions
The book’s rushed final chapters sidestep deeper systemic questions: How did Sargant’s legacy persist in psychiatry? Why did so few colleagues challenge him? A feminist perspective would also demand accountability beyond one villain—how did institutional sexism allow such abuses to flourish?
Additionally, while Stock avoids graphic exploitation of trauma, his prose occasionally lapses into dense medical jargon, distancing readers from the human cost. A more feminist approach might have incorporated intersectional analysis (how race, class, and disability compounded vulnerability) or speculative empathy (imagining the inner lives of silenced women, as in The Yellow Wallpaper).
Final Verdict: Vital but Incomplete
The Sleep Room is a crucial, harrowing read, earning its five stars for exposing medical sadism and honoring survivors. Yet its refusal to fully grapple with gendered violence as a systemic issue—not just Sargant’s individual crimes—leaves a gap. Feminist readers will appreciate its documentation but may hunger for a sharper critique of the patriarchal structures that made such horrors possible.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A necessary but imperfect account; pairs well with feminist works on medical oppression (The Doctors’ Plague, The Woman They Could Not Silence). Brace for anguish—and prepare to ask harder questions.
Thank you to Abrams Press for a review copy of this book!
Jon Stock’s The Sleep Room is a meticulously researched exposé of Dr. William Sargant’s barbaric psychiatric experiments in mid-20th-century Britain. While the book powerfully documents historical atrocities, a feminist reading reveals both its strengths and its missed opportunities to fully interrogate the gendered violence at its core.
A Necessary, Yet Gendered, Reckoning
Stock’s greatest achievement is his centering of survivor testimonies—primarily women who endured prolonged narcosis, electroshock, and lobotomies under the guise of medical “treatment.” Their stories of stolen memories, fractured identities, and institutional betrayal are devastating, and Stock wisely avoids sensationalism, allowing their voices to carry the narrative.
However, while the book condemns Sargant’s cruelty, it often frames these women as passive victims rather than agents of resistance. Feminist scholars have long critiqued narratives that reduce women’s suffering to mere tragedy without examining how they resisted—whether through small acts of defiance, solidarity, or survival. Did any of these women challenge their doctors? Were there networks of support among patients? Stock hints at resilience but doesn’t fully explore it, leaving their stories incomplete.
The Patriarchal Machinery of Medical Abuse
Stock effectively ties Sargant’s work to broader systems of power—Nazi-era experiments, Cold War mind-control programs (MKULTRA), and intelligence agency collusion—but fails to explicitly name the misogyny that made women such easy targets. Psychiatry has a long history of pathologizing women’s emotions, from “hysteria” to “female weakness,” and Sargant’s experiments fit neatly into this tradition. A feminist lens would demand:
-Why were so many of his subjects women? Were they deemed more “disposable” or “irrational” by medical authorities?
-How did class and gender intersect? Were working-class or institutionalized women disproportionately abused?
-What role did male medical authority play? Sargant’s “god complex” wasn’t just individual arrogance—it was enabled by a system that granted unchecked power to (mostly male) doctors over (mostly female) patients.
-Stock’s research is thorough, but his reluctance to engage with feminist critiques of psychiatry weakens the analysis.
Structural Flaws and Feminist Omissions
The book’s rushed final chapters sidestep deeper systemic questions: How did Sargant’s legacy persist in psychiatry? Why did so few colleagues challenge him? A feminist perspective would also demand accountability beyond one villain—how did institutional sexism allow such abuses to flourish?
Additionally, while Stock avoids graphic exploitation of trauma, his prose occasionally lapses into dense medical jargon, distancing readers from the human cost. A more feminist approach might have incorporated intersectional analysis (how race, class, and disability compounded vulnerability) or speculative empathy (imagining the inner lives of silenced women, as in The Yellow Wallpaper).
Final Verdict: Vital but Incomplete
The Sleep Room is a crucial, harrowing read, earning its five stars for exposing medical sadism and honoring survivors. Yet its refusal to fully grapple with gendered violence as a systemic issue—not just Sargant’s individual crimes—leaves a gap. Feminist readers will appreciate its documentation but may hunger for a sharper critique of the patriarchal structures that made such horrors possible.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) – A necessary but imperfect account; pairs well with feminist works on medical oppression (The Doctors’ Plague, The Woman They Could Not Silence). Brace for anguish—and prepare to ask harder questions.
Thank you to Abrams Press for a review copy of this book!
July 30, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio/Abrams Press for providing a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.
Dr. William Sargant was a revered psychiatrist in post war London and ran Ward 5 at the Royal Waterloo Hospital. Knows as the Sleep Room, Sargant conducted experiments on women that became one of the most important and disturbing chapter in the field of psychiatry. He subjected his patients to chemically-induced comas, electroconvulsive therapies, as well as force fed them. Due to the chemically-induced sleep, these women often experienced memory loss and identity transformations. This book examines the motives behind Sargant's practices - were they based on science or based off of state-sanctioned motivations? This book includes chapters that are in the point of view of some of Sargant's prior patients that survived the Sleep Room in Ward 5.
This scared the living daylights out of me. This is a disturbing account of Dr. William Sargant and how he conditioned his patients using inhumane means. It was heart-wrenching to hear some of the women's experiences during their stay in the Sleep Room, but it was also empowering to hear how they survived, how their lives turned out, and where they are now. Many women died during their time under Sargant's "care." Some developed further health issues. Some of their families didn't even recognize them. It's terrifying to know that the field of psychiatry went through harrowing times in order to be where it is now. In all honesty, I was hesitant about this book because the thought of psychiatric hospitals terrifies me (no thanks to people like Sargant). And also hearing what conditions women were brought there for (anorexia, anxiety, depression, and even mania) is astounding. Sargant based all of his practices on the idea of brainwashing - he took Pavlov to another level and basically tried to brainwash his patients.
John Stock does a wonderful job outlining Sargant's history, societal events that coexisted with the times of the Sleep Room as well as evidence of Sargant's connection to the CIA, which opens up a whole other can of worms that I'm sure would be an interesting read (*ahem, John, ahem*)
If you like true crime and learning the history behind psychiatry and psychiatric practices from the time where mental illness wasn't really understood, this is definitely a read for you.
Dr. William Sargant was a revered psychiatrist in post war London and ran Ward 5 at the Royal Waterloo Hospital. Knows as the Sleep Room, Sargant conducted experiments on women that became one of the most important and disturbing chapter in the field of psychiatry. He subjected his patients to chemically-induced comas, electroconvulsive therapies, as well as force fed them. Due to the chemically-induced sleep, these women often experienced memory loss and identity transformations. This book examines the motives behind Sargant's practices - were they based on science or based off of state-sanctioned motivations? This book includes chapters that are in the point of view of some of Sargant's prior patients that survived the Sleep Room in Ward 5.
This scared the living daylights out of me. This is a disturbing account of Dr. William Sargant and how he conditioned his patients using inhumane means. It was heart-wrenching to hear some of the women's experiences during their stay in the Sleep Room, but it was also empowering to hear how they survived, how their lives turned out, and where they are now. Many women died during their time under Sargant's "care." Some developed further health issues. Some of their families didn't even recognize them. It's terrifying to know that the field of psychiatry went through harrowing times in order to be where it is now. In all honesty, I was hesitant about this book because the thought of psychiatric hospitals terrifies me (no thanks to people like Sargant). And also hearing what conditions women were brought there for (anorexia, anxiety, depression, and even mania) is astounding. Sargant based all of his practices on the idea of brainwashing - he took Pavlov to another level and basically tried to brainwash his patients.
John Stock does a wonderful job outlining Sargant's history, societal events that coexisted with the times of the Sleep Room as well as evidence of Sargant's connection to the CIA, which opens up a whole other can of worms that I'm sure would be an interesting read (*ahem, John, ahem*)
If you like true crime and learning the history behind psychiatry and psychiatric practices from the time where mental illness wasn't really understood, this is definitely a read for you.
Read
October 4, 2025THE SLEEP ROOM reads like something out of the middle ages, when archaic methods were being used to treat people. Medical procedures were far from understood then, so what substituted for them were radical ideas that were more threatening than promising.
Jon Stock offers a most chilling account of one man, who thought that he was a supreme being when it came to offering helpful methods of coping with mental illness and more. Willian Sargant was a psychiatrist, who devised methods of using electroconvulsive therapy to treat many brain disorders. It seems that those he preferred to treat were mainly women, whom he assumed he could make right again through ECT and even lobotomies. It is really chilling to read how determined he was to make all things right with the women, and he used his own notions of succeeding no matter what was at stake.
The women basically did not sign any documents that allowed him to proceed, with their blessing. He took it upon himself to create his own rules and rituals, where the women were concerned. They were put into a sleep state through certain drugs and while the women were in that state, Sargant went to work on them using his notions of healing, which certainly were far from what he intentioned. Insulin shock therapy, lobotomies, and ECT were his methods of so-called healing, and he took great pleasure in handing them out to the women who were unaware of anything dire happening to them.
The book also offers first-hand accounts from many of the women who were part of the experiments, some of the lucky ones who actually lived to tell the tale. Not everyone got out of there alive. The others were his mistakes if you will, or experiments gone too far and too wrong. He took away the memories from many of the women, like slates wiped clean, the women having no idea what they had been subjected to. The women were at times awakened and then force-fed, even though they were not cognizant of this happening. They may have gone to the bathroom and then taken back to the sleep room, where the sleeping beauties if you will, didn’t wait for the prince to awaken them, rather the demonic figure of Sargant at the helm.
So many lives were destroyed and altered forever, with Jon Stock providing a most graphic and disturbing account of one man and his maniacal mission.
Jon Stock offers a most chilling account of one man, who thought that he was a supreme being when it came to offering helpful methods of coping with mental illness and more. Willian Sargant was a psychiatrist, who devised methods of using electroconvulsive therapy to treat many brain disorders. It seems that those he preferred to treat were mainly women, whom he assumed he could make right again through ECT and even lobotomies. It is really chilling to read how determined he was to make all things right with the women, and he used his own notions of succeeding no matter what was at stake.
The women basically did not sign any documents that allowed him to proceed, with their blessing. He took it upon himself to create his own rules and rituals, where the women were concerned. They were put into a sleep state through certain drugs and while the women were in that state, Sargant went to work on them using his notions of healing, which certainly were far from what he intentioned. Insulin shock therapy, lobotomies, and ECT were his methods of so-called healing, and he took great pleasure in handing them out to the women who were unaware of anything dire happening to them.
The book also offers first-hand accounts from many of the women who were part of the experiments, some of the lucky ones who actually lived to tell the tale. Not everyone got out of there alive. The others were his mistakes if you will, or experiments gone too far and too wrong. He took away the memories from many of the women, like slates wiped clean, the women having no idea what they had been subjected to. The women were at times awakened and then force-fed, even though they were not cognizant of this happening. They may have gone to the bathroom and then taken back to the sleep room, where the sleeping beauties if you will, didn’t wait for the prince to awaken them, rather the demonic figure of Sargant at the helm.
So many lives were destroyed and altered forever, with Jon Stock providing a most graphic and disturbing account of one man and his maniacal mission.
January 12, 2026
quite good and surprisingly noided(for a mainstream book with fairly wide distribution) book about william sargant, a british psychiatrist who ran a sleep room treatment ward with striking similarities to that of mkultra luminary ewen cameron(who was a friend and colleague of sargant's). the mkultra connection looms pretty large here and while there is less direct evidence of funding than there is with cameron(probably due to mi5/mi6 secrecy as compared to the cia), sargant's connections to both the british and american intelligence establishments and his personal ties to other spook psychatrists make a pretty strong case for his also being funded by intelligence in some capacity. sargant was also one of the psychiatrists used to push the narrative of 'communist brainwashing' around the korean war, though annoyingly this book doesn't question the basis of that narrative as it probably should, given that it is now established that the allegations of bio weapon use by the USA were true and the confessions by servicemen were what they had been told to say by their superiors and not the result of 'brainwashing'. another notable feature of this book is that the factual chapters about sargant are alternated with chapters written by sargant's victims about their experiences, and it becomes apparent that the sleep room treatments were very gendered - the vast majority of these victims were women, and many of them seem to have been committed by their families not necessarily because of mental illness as such(although some were genuinely very mentally unwell) but because they were transgressing bourgeois morals or norms. add to that the fact that sargant sexually harassed or raped at least some of these women, and the fact that the sleep room treatments tend to obliterate the memory, and you start to see why this stuff was being funded even beyond the immediate interests of the cia/mi5.
September 21, 2025
This review first appeared on my blog - https://nsfordwriter.com - on 21st September 2025.
Where to start with this book? It was even more disturbing than I'd expected. The premise is an investigation into the controversial psychiatrist William Sargant and his 'sleep room', a ward in the 1960s-70s in which patients - generally young women - were kept in drugged sleep for weeks or months and given electroshock, leaving them with memory loss and trauma affecting the rest of their lives. Medical consent was not really an issue and male doctors of high standing were allowed to get away with a lot. He also may have abused some of the patients and conveniently they wouldn't remember.
However, this book is not only a biography of Sargant and a collection of patients' terrible experiences, including that of actress Celia Imrie, who was admitted as a teenage anorexic. It also presents the history of surgical treatment for mental health conditions and goes deep into 20th century experiments in mind control for military intelligence in Britain and the US. This means it veers away from the main topic and there are whole chapters when the sleep room isn't mentioned and where mentions of Sargant are scarce. This extra information helps give a wider context to the era and strengthens the case that Sargant was more involved in the notorious mind control experiments than is evident from the records. He was in close correspondence with other psychiatrists involved in these but it's not known whether the patients in the sleep room were part of experiments.
The chapters in the book tend to leap about, so the narrative is a little hard to follow. I'm also not sure what makes this medical scandal 'very British' as the title suggests. It was certainly a thought-provoking and very dark read which at times was quite astonishing.
Where to start with this book? It was even more disturbing than I'd expected. The premise is an investigation into the controversial psychiatrist William Sargant and his 'sleep room', a ward in the 1960s-70s in which patients - generally young women - were kept in drugged sleep for weeks or months and given electroshock, leaving them with memory loss and trauma affecting the rest of their lives. Medical consent was not really an issue and male doctors of high standing were allowed to get away with a lot. He also may have abused some of the patients and conveniently they wouldn't remember.
However, this book is not only a biography of Sargant and a collection of patients' terrible experiences, including that of actress Celia Imrie, who was admitted as a teenage anorexic. It also presents the history of surgical treatment for mental health conditions and goes deep into 20th century experiments in mind control for military intelligence in Britain and the US. This means it veers away from the main topic and there are whole chapters when the sleep room isn't mentioned and where mentions of Sargant are scarce. This extra information helps give a wider context to the era and strengthens the case that Sargant was more involved in the notorious mind control experiments than is evident from the records. He was in close correspondence with other psychiatrists involved in these but it's not known whether the patients in the sleep room were part of experiments.
The chapters in the book tend to leap about, so the narrative is a little hard to follow. I'm also not sure what makes this medical scandal 'very British' as the title suggests. It was certainly a thought-provoking and very dark read which at times was quite astonishing.
March 28, 2025
I’m trying to read more non-fiction and the cover of this book caught my eye. It’s publishing on 3rd April.
I had never heard about the ‘Sleep Room’ and the controversy surrounding the Psychiatrist William Sargant in the 60s. He championed treatments such as insulin coma therapy, repeated lobotomies and ECT, often without the patient’s consent.
‘Some people think I’m a marvellous doctor, others think I’m the work of the devil’
I chose the audiobook and the narration is very good, it’s clear and engaging throughout.
The book appears to be well researched and is quite accessibly written. I don’t know much about Psychiatry but felt I understood the terms and it was well explained. At times it was a difficult listen as the patients were having horrendous treatments given to them without their consent. Some are still affected by it now and it seems Sargant never admitted the horrors of what happened in the hospital. Some of the patients relate their experiences in the book and there are also views from professionals who worked with Sargant at the time.
At times I did feel the book was a bit all over the place, it could have benefitted from more of a structure. Nonetheless it was interesting and I will be reading more about Sargant.
Thanks to Hachette UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars rounded to 3.
I had never heard about the ‘Sleep Room’ and the controversy surrounding the Psychiatrist William Sargant in the 60s. He championed treatments such as insulin coma therapy, repeated lobotomies and ECT, often without the patient’s consent.
‘Some people think I’m a marvellous doctor, others think I’m the work of the devil’
I chose the audiobook and the narration is very good, it’s clear and engaging throughout.
The book appears to be well researched and is quite accessibly written. I don’t know much about Psychiatry but felt I understood the terms and it was well explained. At times it was a difficult listen as the patients were having horrendous treatments given to them without their consent. Some are still affected by it now and it seems Sargant never admitted the horrors of what happened in the hospital. Some of the patients relate their experiences in the book and there are also views from professionals who worked with Sargant at the time.
At times I did feel the book was a bit all over the place, it could have benefitted from more of a structure. Nonetheless it was interesting and I will be reading more about Sargant.
Thanks to Hachette UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars rounded to 3.
July 14, 2025
I was graced with the Audiobook from NetGalley- however this review is my own and was not influenced in anyway.
If you research my GoodReads you will see I read nothing but fiction works. However my bookclub did a recent bingo where one of the requirements was to read a non-fiction book. This was not a fun box for me but I went with the flow. I knew I would need something in the True Crime realm as I am a sucker for a good Netflix or Prime docuseries.
While this was completely out of my comfort zone, and the book seemed rushed sometimes I throughly enjoyed the book. It was very well researched and I learned something new, and something that needs to be talked about and the abuse/changes with mental health and the mental health system and practices and how these are progressing and changing. It was disturbing and shocking. Trying to treat all conditions in such a shocking manner was difficult to listen to at times. The narrator’s did an excellent job.
It was great to hear real life patient stories and not just about the doctor. However I would have liked a little more in-site in the doctors past- but maybe that was not available, or maybe the author just wanted to focus on the victims and their stories.
Overall- it was a good read and I am glad I chose it for my book club square!
If you research my GoodReads you will see I read nothing but fiction works. However my bookclub did a recent bingo where one of the requirements was to read a non-fiction book. This was not a fun box for me but I went with the flow. I knew I would need something in the True Crime realm as I am a sucker for a good Netflix or Prime docuseries.
While this was completely out of my comfort zone, and the book seemed rushed sometimes I throughly enjoyed the book. It was very well researched and I learned something new, and something that needs to be talked about and the abuse/changes with mental health and the mental health system and practices and how these are progressing and changing. It was disturbing and shocking. Trying to treat all conditions in such a shocking manner was difficult to listen to at times. The narrator’s did an excellent job.
It was great to hear real life patient stories and not just about the doctor. However I would have liked a little more in-site in the doctors past- but maybe that was not available, or maybe the author just wanted to focus on the victims and their stories.
Overall- it was a good read and I am glad I chose it for my book club square!
July 24, 2025
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 by Jon Stock
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrated by Richard Armitage, Celia Imrie, & Antonia Beamish
This was my first time learning of the British medical scandal of Dr. Williams Sargant and The Sleep Rooms… and I was SHOCKED!! Even more shocking, he wasn’t the only doctor during that time period performing these sadistic ‘treatments’/experiments. In my desire to learn even more, I discovered another doctor in Australia and one in Canada who performed similar deep-sleep electroshock therapy.
As someone who lives with depression and other mental health conditions, it is difficult to wrap my head around the extreme measures taken on these women by Dr. Sargant.
This book is well researched, thorough, and extremely informative. It is horrifying to think that these male doctors had such power and were able to manipulate and abuse women like they did. This book was quite enlightening, and I’m so thankful we have come as far as we have with neuro/mental studies/treatment.
The narration of this audiobook was done exceptionally well. Many non-fiction books can seem like a lecture, but this one felt like a story… The narrators really painted the picture of Jon Stock’s story about this scandal.
#thesleeproom #netgalley #bookreview #audiobook #audioarc #arc #audiobookreview #nonfiction #truecrime #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #ethics #scandal
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrated by Richard Armitage, Celia Imrie, & Antonia Beamish
This was my first time learning of the British medical scandal of Dr. Williams Sargant and The Sleep Rooms… and I was SHOCKED!! Even more shocking, he wasn’t the only doctor during that time period performing these sadistic ‘treatments’/experiments. In my desire to learn even more, I discovered another doctor in Australia and one in Canada who performed similar deep-sleep electroshock therapy.
As someone who lives with depression and other mental health conditions, it is difficult to wrap my head around the extreme measures taken on these women by Dr. Sargant.
This book is well researched, thorough, and extremely informative. It is horrifying to think that these male doctors had such power and were able to manipulate and abuse women like they did. This book was quite enlightening, and I’m so thankful we have come as far as we have with neuro/mental studies/treatment.
The narration of this audiobook was done exceptionally well. Many non-fiction books can seem like a lecture, but this one felt like a story… The narrators really painted the picture of Jon Stock’s story about this scandal.
#thesleeproom #netgalley #bookreview #audiobook #audioarc #arc #audiobookreview #nonfiction #truecrime #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #ethics #scandal
Read
August 17, 2025DNF
I was expecting this book to cover Sargent and the sleep room experiments- which it does but also this book goes on long rambling tirades into useless stories about Sargents life. It also goes into detail about several other doctors, psychiatrist and their practices. For example we get a whole chapter just devoted to the doctor that came up with the lobotomy and the evolution of that horrible procedure. Which is interesting and fascinating, but if I wanted to learn about that I'd have read a book about that specifically (which I have.)
Like I said I thought this book was going to focus on the sleep room and some of the patients that went through this horrific experience, but most of the 60% of what I read wasn't about that at all, and to be quite frank, I was bored.
I saw another review somewhere that mentioned that the way Sargent is described is very much like a character- like a cartoonish villain, and I have to agree. While I think this was a very derranged doctor with a horrible god complex, I think some dramatic creative liberties were taken here.
I did find the chapters from the patients POV fascinating and engaging. I think they were the best part of this book. I wish there was more of this. There was no need for this book to be over 400 pages long.
I was expecting this book to cover Sargent and the sleep room experiments- which it does but also this book goes on long rambling tirades into useless stories about Sargents life. It also goes into detail about several other doctors, psychiatrist and their practices. For example we get a whole chapter just devoted to the doctor that came up with the lobotomy and the evolution of that horrible procedure. Which is interesting and fascinating, but if I wanted to learn about that I'd have read a book about that specifically (which I have.)
Like I said I thought this book was going to focus on the sleep room and some of the patients that went through this horrific experience, but most of the 60% of what I read wasn't about that at all, and to be quite frank, I was bored.
I saw another review somewhere that mentioned that the way Sargent is described is very much like a character- like a cartoonish villain, and I have to agree. While I think this was a very derranged doctor with a horrible god complex, I think some dramatic creative liberties were taken here.
I did find the chapters from the patients POV fascinating and engaging. I think they were the best part of this book. I wish there was more of this. There was no need for this book to be over 400 pages long.
Read
March 30, 2025Part biography, part medical history and part true crime, The Sleep Room is an expose of controversial psychiatrist William Sargant and the impact his treatments had on his patients.
Stock's descriptions of the sleep room are dark and evocative, shocking in content whilst remaining sensitive to the experiences of past patients and nurses. But while the individual components are compelling - particularly the first-hand accounts from patients - the book is let down by its chaotic structure. The narrative seems to jump all over the place, across time and topics, rather than picking up a thread and following it. Stock's premise centres around how the different elements of Sargant's career intersect, so it is disappointing that his account is so disjointed.
The audiobook narration is excellent, and the use of alternative narrators for the patients' stories, including Celia Imrie herself, is effective.
The Sleep Room is a well-researched and intriguing read: it's just in need of a serious restructure.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*
Stock's descriptions of the sleep room are dark and evocative, shocking in content whilst remaining sensitive to the experiences of past patients and nurses. But while the individual components are compelling - particularly the first-hand accounts from patients - the book is let down by its chaotic structure. The narrative seems to jump all over the place, across time and topics, rather than picking up a thread and following it. Stock's premise centres around how the different elements of Sargant's career intersect, so it is disappointing that his account is so disjointed.
The audiobook narration is excellent, and the use of alternative narrators for the patients' stories, including Celia Imrie herself, is effective.
The Sleep Room is a well-researched and intriguing read: it's just in need of a serious restructure.
*Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review*
May 4, 2025
Having worked in psychiatry for 35 years I happily began to read this the day it arrived. Many other people here have described the contents of the book so I won't repeat those. This book for me was interesting for me because of encountering some of these methods in my work. As a student I worked in a unit that mainly treated people 65 and over. The principal psychiatrist must have been trained in the 1950's given his age when I was with him. He continued to use abreaction treatment for people who appeared to have had trauma in their past. In my time he used this with a woman who was 'mute.' The treatment was not beneficial for this woman.
So the practice described in the book were not quite 'history. '
Many other reviews have pointed out the poor structure of the book. It was repetitive, disorganised and, surprisingly, did not give me a real sense of the man. I notice this is the first non fiction book for the author, and it shows. But I am surprised that editors did not spot the problems with the book before publication. It also reminded me that producing a good biography is a very skillful art that this book does not have.
So the practice described in the book were not quite 'history. '
Many other reviews have pointed out the poor structure of the book. It was repetitive, disorganised and, surprisingly, did not give me a real sense of the man. I notice this is the first non fiction book for the author, and it shows. But I am surprised that editors did not spot the problems with the book before publication. It also reminded me that producing a good biography is a very skillful art that this book does not have.
August 16, 2025
I don't think I left satisfied with this book. The research is spectacular, in that Stock put in a remarkable effort to gather any available details about Sargant's work. You have interviews with patients, stories from nurses, and details from his work with military intelligence. But with this kind of non-fiction, the author's task is to weave the pieces into a coherent narrative, along with providing the reflection to help us make sense of the events. And Stock just honestly doesn't do that. We get the lurid details but not the context to put them into perspective.
You kind of see the problem with the book title, which portrays Sargant as some rogue psychiatrist with a sadistic streak. While that is true to a certain degree, his story is also a reflection of larger scientific, cultural, or institutional failures. The lack of commentary feels especially strange during the discussion of sexual abuse toward the end of the book. It just feels wrong to not take that moment to reflect more on psychology's troubled history with treating women.
My favorite part of the book was the direct stories from the patients. Allowing them to tell their own stories was a nice touch.
You kind of see the problem with the book title, which portrays Sargant as some rogue psychiatrist with a sadistic streak. While that is true to a certain degree, his story is also a reflection of larger scientific, cultural, or institutional failures. The lack of commentary feels especially strange during the discussion of sexual abuse toward the end of the book. It just feels wrong to not take that moment to reflect more on psychology's troubled history with treating women.
My favorite part of the book was the direct stories from the patients. Allowing them to tell their own stories was a nice touch.
April 2, 2025
The Sleep Room is an expose of psychiatrist William Sargant and the impact his treatments had on his patients. This book is a true crime, medical history and a biography. All three wrapped up into one.
The concept of the book was intriguing. I felt the story could have been told in not so many words and some information was repetitive. At times I felt a little confused. The jumping between timelines seems out of place.
At times it was difficult to read as the patients were having terrifying treatments given to them without their consent. Some are still affected by it now and it seems Sargant never admitted the horrors of what happened in the hospital. Some of the patients relate their experiences in the book and there are also views from professionals who worked with Sargant at the time.
Quote from William Sargant, “Some people think I’m a marvellous doctor, others think I’m the work of the devil”
~Thank you NetGallery and Abrams Books for providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy.
The concept of the book was intriguing. I felt the story could have been told in not so many words and some information was repetitive. At times I felt a little confused. The jumping between timelines seems out of place.
At times it was difficult to read as the patients were having terrifying treatments given to them without their consent. Some are still affected by it now and it seems Sargant never admitted the horrors of what happened in the hospital. Some of the patients relate their experiences in the book and there are also views from professionals who worked with Sargant at the time.
Quote from William Sargant, “Some people think I’m a marvellous doctor, others think I’m the work of the devil”
~Thank you NetGallery and Abrams Books for providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy.
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