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Storm in a tea cup
Aged twenty-one, Emma David found herself stuck; torn between wanting to live and wanting to die. After a long history of mental health problems, an unknown diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and a subsequent suicide attempt, she was referred as an inpatient at what was to become two different psychiatric facilities.
The first quickly descended into an underworld of hidden self-harm, eating disorders, drugs, and sexual predators and Emma's problems gathered in momentum the longer she was there, combined with the backdrop of the other extremely unstable patients. The second was altogether very different; an intensive structure, as well as an insightful and challenging therapist.
Could it be the place for Emma to turn her life around?
Raw, honest and satirically funny at times, Storm in a Tea Cup lifts the lid on the otherwise private and unseen world of mental health.
The first quickly descended into an underworld of hidden self-harm, eating disorders, drugs, and sexual predators and Emma's problems gathered in momentum the longer she was there, combined with the backdrop of the other extremely unstable patients. The second was altogether very different; an intensive structure, as well as an insightful and challenging therapist.
Could it be the place for Emma to turn her life around?
Raw, honest and satirically funny at times, Storm in a Tea Cup lifts the lid on the otherwise private and unseen world of mental health.
488 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2020
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 3, 2021
In my opinion this book was written by the very definition of a narcissist. By her own admission she knew that the people she wrote about would not want their stories published (as written in her introduction) but she did it any way with no thought to the consequences of the confidences she betrayed.
“Narcissists never develop the ability to identify with the feelings of others—to put themselves in other people’s shoes. In other words, they lack empathy. In many ways, they view the people in their lives as objects—there to serve their needs. As a consequence, they don’t think twice about taking advantage of others to achieve their own ends. Sometimes this interpersonal exploitation is malicious, but often it is simply oblivious. Narcissists simply don’t think about how their behavior affects others. And if you point it out, they still won’t truly get it. The only thing they understand is their own needs.”
Those in the book, the people that were there at the time and their friends and relatives have expressed their dismay and outrage of what this author has done. One also has to question the ethical integrity of the publisher for their part.
“Prostituting Peoples Pain - This book is beautifully written and makes me wish that the author should put her skills to a less destructive task. While she feels freed up to tell the very raw stories of other people she says very little about her own story except as a victim being traumatised by those around her. The introduction clearly shows that the author is conscious of the damage she may do to the people whose stories she tells writing “and those who would not wish to have their stories published” (basically all of them). I would not like to be the person who innocently picks up this book and starts to read about my horrendous past, my open wounds and my emotional scarring there for all to read. I may have moved on from the past and yet here it is thrown back in my face or worst still drags me back into the darkness. I am not sure the publisher knows or cares that they have been the vehicle of the authors aggression and envy that while others could use a treatment, she could not. This book tells vulnerable people’s stories in a reckless and dangerous way for monetary gain. Publishing a second book is ethically wrong.“
“Appalling - As a former mental health worker who has had experience of the kind of establishment this book is about, I am truly appalled that the author has been allowed to publish confidential, intimate details of deep trauma about others and with no equivalent disclosure of her own. The book exploits the experience of others, violating their subjective right to their own stories, and thereby does untold damage to them and to future inpatients who will not feel they can trust in the safe refuge being offered to them.
The positive reviews are not taking any of this into account. It isn’t a work of fiction. If I could give it a minus star rating, I would.“
“ Although this book is quick witted, eloquent and paints a very vivid picture what life inside our mental health service is like, I felt uncomfortable reading it.
Although names have been changed to protect people’s identities, I’m not sure how I would feel if someone in my group therapy (where there’s an absolute expectation of confidentiality) wrote a book about their own experience but also included my own.
There are some deeply personal revelations about these patient’s childhood experiences (and a distinct lack of the authors own) and I have to wonder if they are the author’s story to tell. She gives a history to her ‘characters’ and though she shocks us with her struggles, she never reveals her own history - which is (obviously) her choice.
She may well have sought permission and given her fellow patients that same choice she gave herself. But if she didn’t, as someone who also suffered childhood sexual abuse (who wouldn’t give permission) and was I to discover that someone had written about it without my knowledge, name changed or not, I would be devastated. No one has the right to tell my truth but me. The very thought that my life horrors, the very worst moments of my life, could be put out there (permanently) for entertainment purposes and ultimately to make money would hurt me beyond any repairable measure. Of course we are all different.”
“ This book does not give a good representation of the English mental health system as it claims to do. A repetitive, biased and narrow account of two admissions, I found this book self serving and very disappointing.”
“ Really disappointed and thoroughly horrified that someone has written a book about everyone else's trauma.... but fails to go into her own in much detail. What a humungous betrayal by Emma David... she has taken the most horrific trauma of others and described them in unnecessary detail....then gone on to say how it affected her not how it was dealt with by professionals. She could have summarised other patients trauma in a more benign and unidentifiable way. This was too specific and I am also disgusted that she can use what people have shared in a group therapy environment and print about it. I am worried as a person that has used therapy that people can use it without permission (as i know that happened in this book). I have always trusted that whatever I say in that environment is completely confidential. I hope the unit was fully consulted and this doesn't come out of the blue for some patients as this can re trigger people all over again. Thoroughly disappointed that this was not researched further by people responsible for publishing this. Not sure it is helpful as it details more on how to harm than the journey and preventative measures.”
“ As I recently started a new job in adult care, I read this book hoping for a deeper understanding into individuals with mental health problems. However, this book made me uncomfortable as I started to think about how the author would have gathered her stories. The author would have been ‘friends’ with these people and they would have trusted her to keep their worst experiences to herself. All I can think about is how betrayed the individuals that were written about would feel knowing that there stories are out there for the world to see. If the book was written in an empathetic way that helped readers to understand complex disorders, I perhaps could have seen the appeal but the book was written in a way that told the reader how other people’s traumatic experiences affected the author. I would not recommend this book if you have mental health problems or if you are someone wanting to gain an insight into this.”
“ Gratuitously graphic and very disrespectful. TRIGGER WARNING!!! Having read this book I must say I'm not particularly impressed. Yes it is very honest about her experiences, but it feels like such an unhelpful thing to write or read, certainly not for those who want to or are trying to recover from mental illness. It seems to be gratuitously graphic about harm, only for the sake of showing the readers how "bad" it was and garnering sympathy.
Having been in mental health services I can only imagine my horror if someone had taken some of the worst moments of my life and published them for anyone to read. It's one thing to write about your own experience, but to use other people's to increase the level of horror for the readers, seems unnecessarily exposing and cruel. Speaking about fellow patient's issues, which are very real and painful to them, is purely used in context of how hard it was for the author, and it seems incredibly disrespectful to reduce the complexity and severity of people's awful experiences to a horror sideshow . The names of "characters" were changed but still the information said about them is very revealing and identifiable, and what a gross violation of trust to then use those moments to sell more copies of your book. The names of the inpatient units were also changed but it was very easy to work out which units they really were and I wonder how they can possibly continue to do the important work they do if patients there can't be sure of their confidentiality. Regardless of whether they are identified or not it must be devastating to some of those written about in the book to have their struggles exposed to the world not of their choosing. You would think that if the author had experienced some similar kind of trauma they would be able to empathise with how awful it would be to have YOUR story taken out of YOUR hands and given to the general public for entertainment, but apparently that is not important in the author's eyes. DO NOT READ THIS if you have mental health problems and actually want to work towards recovery.”
“ Not told with permission - This book attempts to share the experiences of patients needing therapy at their most challenging and dark times of life. It takes courage and determination to live in a therapeutic community and explore, process and face the worst of life. Yet this book fails to acknowledge the rays of hope and times of laughter that are also part of treatment and make facing life again possible. I find it hard to believe that the people whose lives are exposed gave their permission, especially when told from such a bleak perspective.”
“Narcissists never develop the ability to identify with the feelings of others—to put themselves in other people’s shoes. In other words, they lack empathy. In many ways, they view the people in their lives as objects—there to serve their needs. As a consequence, they don’t think twice about taking advantage of others to achieve their own ends. Sometimes this interpersonal exploitation is malicious, but often it is simply oblivious. Narcissists simply don’t think about how their behavior affects others. And if you point it out, they still won’t truly get it. The only thing they understand is their own needs.”
Those in the book, the people that were there at the time and their friends and relatives have expressed their dismay and outrage of what this author has done. One also has to question the ethical integrity of the publisher for their part.
“Prostituting Peoples Pain - This book is beautifully written and makes me wish that the author should put her skills to a less destructive task. While she feels freed up to tell the very raw stories of other people she says very little about her own story except as a victim being traumatised by those around her. The introduction clearly shows that the author is conscious of the damage she may do to the people whose stories she tells writing “and those who would not wish to have their stories published” (basically all of them). I would not like to be the person who innocently picks up this book and starts to read about my horrendous past, my open wounds and my emotional scarring there for all to read. I may have moved on from the past and yet here it is thrown back in my face or worst still drags me back into the darkness. I am not sure the publisher knows or cares that they have been the vehicle of the authors aggression and envy that while others could use a treatment, she could not. This book tells vulnerable people’s stories in a reckless and dangerous way for monetary gain. Publishing a second book is ethically wrong.“
“Appalling - As a former mental health worker who has had experience of the kind of establishment this book is about, I am truly appalled that the author has been allowed to publish confidential, intimate details of deep trauma about others and with no equivalent disclosure of her own. The book exploits the experience of others, violating their subjective right to their own stories, and thereby does untold damage to them and to future inpatients who will not feel they can trust in the safe refuge being offered to them.
The positive reviews are not taking any of this into account. It isn’t a work of fiction. If I could give it a minus star rating, I would.“
“ Although this book is quick witted, eloquent and paints a very vivid picture what life inside our mental health service is like, I felt uncomfortable reading it.
Although names have been changed to protect people’s identities, I’m not sure how I would feel if someone in my group therapy (where there’s an absolute expectation of confidentiality) wrote a book about their own experience but also included my own.
There are some deeply personal revelations about these patient’s childhood experiences (and a distinct lack of the authors own) and I have to wonder if they are the author’s story to tell. She gives a history to her ‘characters’ and though she shocks us with her struggles, she never reveals her own history - which is (obviously) her choice.
She may well have sought permission and given her fellow patients that same choice she gave herself. But if she didn’t, as someone who also suffered childhood sexual abuse (who wouldn’t give permission) and was I to discover that someone had written about it without my knowledge, name changed or not, I would be devastated. No one has the right to tell my truth but me. The very thought that my life horrors, the very worst moments of my life, could be put out there (permanently) for entertainment purposes and ultimately to make money would hurt me beyond any repairable measure. Of course we are all different.”
“ This book does not give a good representation of the English mental health system as it claims to do. A repetitive, biased and narrow account of two admissions, I found this book self serving and very disappointing.”
“ Really disappointed and thoroughly horrified that someone has written a book about everyone else's trauma.... but fails to go into her own in much detail. What a humungous betrayal by Emma David... she has taken the most horrific trauma of others and described them in unnecessary detail....then gone on to say how it affected her not how it was dealt with by professionals. She could have summarised other patients trauma in a more benign and unidentifiable way. This was too specific and I am also disgusted that she can use what people have shared in a group therapy environment and print about it. I am worried as a person that has used therapy that people can use it without permission (as i know that happened in this book). I have always trusted that whatever I say in that environment is completely confidential. I hope the unit was fully consulted and this doesn't come out of the blue for some patients as this can re trigger people all over again. Thoroughly disappointed that this was not researched further by people responsible for publishing this. Not sure it is helpful as it details more on how to harm than the journey and preventative measures.”
“ As I recently started a new job in adult care, I read this book hoping for a deeper understanding into individuals with mental health problems. However, this book made me uncomfortable as I started to think about how the author would have gathered her stories. The author would have been ‘friends’ with these people and they would have trusted her to keep their worst experiences to herself. All I can think about is how betrayed the individuals that were written about would feel knowing that there stories are out there for the world to see. If the book was written in an empathetic way that helped readers to understand complex disorders, I perhaps could have seen the appeal but the book was written in a way that told the reader how other people’s traumatic experiences affected the author. I would not recommend this book if you have mental health problems or if you are someone wanting to gain an insight into this.”
“ Gratuitously graphic and very disrespectful. TRIGGER WARNING!!! Having read this book I must say I'm not particularly impressed. Yes it is very honest about her experiences, but it feels like such an unhelpful thing to write or read, certainly not for those who want to or are trying to recover from mental illness. It seems to be gratuitously graphic about harm, only for the sake of showing the readers how "bad" it was and garnering sympathy.
Having been in mental health services I can only imagine my horror if someone had taken some of the worst moments of my life and published them for anyone to read. It's one thing to write about your own experience, but to use other people's to increase the level of horror for the readers, seems unnecessarily exposing and cruel. Speaking about fellow patient's issues, which are very real and painful to them, is purely used in context of how hard it was for the author, and it seems incredibly disrespectful to reduce the complexity and severity of people's awful experiences to a horror sideshow . The names of "characters" were changed but still the information said about them is very revealing and identifiable, and what a gross violation of trust to then use those moments to sell more copies of your book. The names of the inpatient units were also changed but it was very easy to work out which units they really were and I wonder how they can possibly continue to do the important work they do if patients there can't be sure of their confidentiality. Regardless of whether they are identified or not it must be devastating to some of those written about in the book to have their struggles exposed to the world not of their choosing. You would think that if the author had experienced some similar kind of trauma they would be able to empathise with how awful it would be to have YOUR story taken out of YOUR hands and given to the general public for entertainment, but apparently that is not important in the author's eyes. DO NOT READ THIS if you have mental health problems and actually want to work towards recovery.”
“ Not told with permission - This book attempts to share the experiences of patients needing therapy at their most challenging and dark times of life. It takes courage and determination to live in a therapeutic community and explore, process and face the worst of life. Yet this book fails to acknowledge the rays of hope and times of laughter that are also part of treatment and make facing life again possible. I find it hard to believe that the people whose lives are exposed gave their permission, especially when told from such a bleak perspective.”
January 21, 2024
This book was one of the only thing that helped me keep going while I was in inpatient care it helped me realize I was not alone and that there was something waiting for me in the future and to be honest it kept me entertained which was amazing
Love this book :) would a 100% recommend
But be aware that there are some thing in the book that a lot people may find triggering.
Other than that it’s amazing and I don’t know way more people don’t talk about it
Love this book :) would a 100% recommend
But be aware that there are some thing in the book that a lot people may find triggering.
Other than that it’s amazing and I don’t know way more people don’t talk about it
August 26, 2021
Unfortunately this book is a far cry from an honest representation of a journey through the English mental health system as it states it is on the back cover. This is one person's very biased account of two admissions that I found was repetitive and self serving.
Very disappointing.
Very disappointing.
August 6, 2023
Although I think this book should probably come with a bit of a content warning, I found this book quite relatable and the honesty was very refreshing. This was my 2nd time reading this and I'm sure it won't be the last.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews