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    Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward
    Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward
    Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward
    Ebook304 pages5 hours

    Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward

    By Elizabeth Ford

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    From the Executive Director of Mental Health for Correctional Services in New York City, comes a revelatory and deeply compassionate memoir that takes readers inside Bellevue, and brings to life the world—the system, the staff, and the haunting cases—that shaped one young psychiatrist as she learned how to doctor and how to love. 

    Elizabeth Ford went through medical school unsure of where she belonged. It wasn’t until she did her psychiatry rotation that she found her calling—to care for one of the most vulnerable populations of mentally ill people, the inmates of New York's jails, including Rikers Island, who are so sick that they are sent to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for care.

    These men were broken, unloved, without resources or support, and very ill. They could be violent, unpredictable, but they could also be funny and tender and needy. Mostly, they were human and they awakened in Ford a boundless compassion. Her patients made her a great doctor and a better person and, as she treated these men, she learned about doctoring, about nurturing, about parenting, and about love.  

    While Ford was a psychiatrist at Bellevue she becomes a wife and a mother. In her book she shares her struggles to balance her life and her work, to care for her children and her patients, and to maintain the empathy that is essential to her practice—all in the face of a jaded institution, an exhausting workload, and the deeply emotionally taxing nature of her work. 

    Ford brings humor, grace, and humanity to the lives of the patients in her care and in beautifully rendered prose illuminates the inner workings (and failings) of our mental health system, our justice system, and the prison system.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRegan Arts.
    Release dateApr 25, 2017
    ISBN9781942872306
    Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on the Bellevue Hospital Psychiatric Prison Ward

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    Reviews for Sometimes Amazing Things Happen

    3.5/5

    143 ratings96 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Mind-expanding and fast-paced. My favorite Dan Brown book yet.
    • 4/5
      Dan Brown's Origin puts two central questions of the human condition at its heart: Where do we come from? Where are we going? That is, what is the origin of life on earth and what happens after death? It is an answer to exactly those questions that scientist Edmond Kirsch wants to reveal to an audience at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and viewers around the globe who can tune in via live stream. Kirsch invites protagonist Robert Langdon, his former professor, to his presentation. As one can imagine, not everyone shares Kirsch' knack for science and the age-old debate of religion and creationism vs. science and evolution plays into how the novel unfolds. When it finally comes to his moment of glory, Edmond Kirsch is assassinated and Robert Langdon flees the scene with Ambra Vidal, director of the Guggenheim and fiancée of the prince of Spain. Guided by an AI that Edmond Kirsch has developed the pair have to overcome many obstacles and evade many enemies who want to stop them from completing their intended task: publishing Edmond Kirsch's presentation for all the world to see.While the novel certainly provides some interesting insights into different approaches to the question of origin and destiny and the cast of characters is chosen in a way that makes readers want to continue reading to find out about the different motivations of the different parties involved, I found some of the twists and turns in the plot quite easy to guess, which subtracted from the reading experience. As a reader of the whole Robert Langdon series I was also disappointed to find fewer riddles and codes that the protagonist has to crack. Origin, while an enjoyable read, fails to grip over its whole length of 500+ pages. 3.5 stars for an overall good novel.
    • 4/5
      It's Dan Brown. Fun and fast paced. Don't need to have read (or remembered!) the others to enjoy.
    • 4/5
      Loved reading this. I read it over two nights, which felt fast considering this is a big book. As with all the other Robert Langdon books, I love how it teaches me new things, in this case about the art world in Spain, and all the amazing architecture there. The buildings he described sound amazing, and I never new they existed. There is also his trademark religion and conspiracies. I didn't guess the ending, but I wasn't that surprised either. This book was pure fun to read.
    • 3/5
      Usual Dan Brown: page-turner but with little attention to reality. In this case poor quality straw men for the religious, particularly, Christian characters. And regurgitation of animosity between science and religion is several centuries out of date (at best).
    • 4/5
      An excellent read that made me very uncomfortable sometimes when religious beliefs were challenged. It was a great story highlighting a number of places in Spain that should be visited and challenged Darwinism plus the future of the human race. The conclusion was magnificent and scary at the same time.
    • 5/5
      „May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies. May our compassion keep pace with our powers. And may love, not fear, be the engine of change.” (Originalzitat)

      Inhalt:

      Der erfolgreiche, geniale Zukunftsforscher Edmund Kirsch hat seinen Freund und früheren Professor Robert Langdon eingeladen, im Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao zusammen mit einigen hundert weiteren Gästen an der Präsentation seiner sensationellen Entdeckung teilzunehmen: die Antworten auf die beiden größten Fragen der Menschheit „Woher kommen wir“ und „Wohin gehen wir“. Ein Gott als Schöpfer ist bei diesen streng wissenschaftlichen Fakten keine Option mehr. Doch bevor Edmund Kirsch die eigentliche Präsentation, die gleichzeitig weltweit übertragen wird, starten kann, wir er vor den Augen aller erschossen.

      Doch es gibt ein Passwort und einen Ort, wo dieses Projekt des Zukunftsforschers gespeichert ist, und somit auch nach seinem Tod noch veröffentlicht werden kann. Nur einer kann diese Rätsel lösen und so das Geheimnis um den Inhalt der wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse seines Freundes lüften: Robert Langdon. Gemeinsam mit Ambra Vidal, der Direktorin des Guggenheim Museums Bilbao, die für die Präsentation eng mit Edmund Kirsch zusammen gearbeitet hatte, beginnt für den Professor ein gefährlicher Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, gegen mächtige Feinde, die genau diese Veröffentlichung auf jeden Fall verhindern wollen. Hat Robert Langdon Erfolg und was genau ist diese bahnbrechende Entdeckung?

      Bis vor wenigen Tagen hätte ich auf die Frage nach dem meiner Meinung nach besten Buch von Dan Brown (einer meiner Lieblingsautoren) ohne zu zögern geantwortet: „Inferno“. Ich weiß, da gehen die Meinungen auseinander. Wie auch immer, seit heute ist meine Antwort: „Origin“. Diesmal begibt sich der Autor in ein neues Setting, in dem Symbole und Rätsel zwar eine Rolle spielen, jedoch geht es hier vor allem um die essentiellen und zeitlosen Fragen der Menschheit „Woher kommen wir“ und „Wohin gehen wir“ und auch um die Tatsache, dass Wissenschaft, Technik und Religion hier völlig kontroverse Antworten geben.
      Für mich ist es großartig, wie Robert Langdon hier einen spannenden Thriller entwickelt hat, der mögliche Antworten anbietet, ohne jemals unlogisch zu werden.
      Eine beeindruckende Geschichte, die auch zum Nachdenken anregt.

      Ich empfehle dieses Buch von Dan Brown nicht nur Dan Brown Fans, sondern auch Technik-interessierten Lesern, die auch einen spannenden Roman zu schätzen wissen. Wer, so wie ich, die Stadt Barcelona und Gaudi liebt, wird die vielen präzisen Schilderungen einzelner Orte, Bauten usw. ebenfalls genießen. Manchmal hatte ich während des Lesens in Wikipedia nachgesehen – Dan Browns Beschreibungen sind wieder exakt und entsprechen absolut der Realität.
    • 3/5
      An interesting premise lies behind this one (along with a lot of food for thought), but it's overhyped at the outset, which results in something of an underwhelming resolution in the end. Along the way, Brown provides plenty of action and does an evenhanded and fair job of presenting both sides of the religion/science debate that he explores in this one, but he also goes off on something of a free association philosophical ramble near the end that seems out of place. Really, though, the problem is that The Big Secret was way oversold at the outset and there was no way for things to live up to that sort of hype. There are also problems that result from some of the conclusions drawn from the revelation of The Big Secret, but those are better suited for a philosophy or religion class than a book review. In short, a solid outing from Brown that fails to stick the eventual landing.
    • 3/5
      I have enjoyed several of Brown's books, but this one was just okay. In my opinion some of his others were better and while this one reads quickly and has well developed characters, the plot is a bit weaker than some of the earlier books. As usual Brown has done his research and he builds his story has some factual basis, but its a bit more convoluted than some of his others and it was harder for me to stay engaged in the story.
    • 4/5
      I bought this as a fun, distraction read and it didn't disappoint. Not as good as the some of the other books and the "twist" was pretty clear from about halfway through, but overall it did it's job.
    • 3/5
      Decent thriller in the same style as the previous ones, but perhaps a bit less memorable than most of the earlier volumes. The novel works, but it suffers from overhyping a reveal for hundreds of pages, only to have it be a theory that's fairly well-known and prosaic by novel's end (though the characters always still seem overwhelmed by it). Brown often does this in his books, but due to the structure of this particular narrative, the issue feels particularly strong here. As for the various twists and turns, I saw them coming at about 40% of the page count -- which, actually, is reasonably late (there's a limit to how many solutions a set up can have without introducing dozens of pointless characters). And more importantly, I bought that the characters in the middle of the story did _not_, and so could feel trepidation and concern on their behalf as they finally figure things out by the end. I also found it very disappointing how the book did not make any mention of the enormous world-changing consequences of the previous entry in the series -- I realise these are all written to be standalone, but in this particular case (considering one of the plotlines in the book deals directly with a pregnancy), not mentioning the events of 'Inferno' at any point seemed downright stupid and took me out of the narrative at many points.An entertaining enough read for completists and fans, but if you're only ever reading a single Robert Langdon book, go with "Angels and Demons".
    • 4/5
      Sure thing, the Origin is at least as an entertaining page-turner as the previous Langdon stories. But, unfortunately two things really, really bugged me while I was reading. First, please do not make Langdon a James Bond-like action hero. There were action sequences in the previous books sure, but here there are almost ONLY action in the book. Boring. Second, after several hundred pages of hyping of the big secret which changing everything, the solution only could be a huge letdown. The whole thing happened because of this? Really?
    • 4/5
      Interesting read, and fewer manic chases than usually occur in this series. As usual I was reading the book in one hand and googling the locations in the other. An added plus in that it was set around Barcelona, and I was familiar with a number of the places.The usual gripes, that the writing is so predictable, a place will be mentioned and then immediately followed by an overview, every SINGLE time. And the second that the main character is absurdly know-it-all. I do believe if I met him and told him I’d had lunch in a Crawley wimpey, he would have been invited to the opening the previous year, oh & the waitess would have fallen for him.Regardless, I’m still a sucker for a novel that both entertains and also peaks my interest about real things enough that I’m searching for more info.
    • 3/5
      3.5***

      I do not think this was the best book of the series, but I must say that I identified with it strongly. It is timely, but I also believe it will age well. There are a lot of minor details that should not go unnoticed, particularly in the world today.

      The main reason I did not think this book was as great as the others was because it felt more like a series of secrets waiting to be revealed rather than a set of puzzles needing to be solved. At no point was I in doubt that we (the readers) would discover what everybody was hiding and how they would resolve it.
    • 4/5
      Good story. Not great prose, but never is with Brown.
    • 4/5
      The ending was not what I was expecting after all that hype in the beginning of the book. I guess I was expecting more. The big reveal at the end wasn't so surprising for me. I already know that's the path humans are headed down. The action of getting to the big reveal was more exciting than the reveal itself. I did particularly like the Winston parts of the book, and the ending after the reveal, while predictable, was a good twist. A lot of what else took place in the book was simple distraction. It did enjoy a lot of the quotes in this novel and ultimately, I was entertained throughout the book.
    • 5/5
      Computer mastermind/futurist Edmond Kirsch discovers an earth-shattering secret that “will change the face of science forever” and sets up a dazzling announcement at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. When an assassin cuts down the billionaire moments before he is to reveal this astonishing breakthrough, it falls to Harvard professor Robert Langdon and museum director Ambra Vidal to learn the cryptic password that will unlock the secret and allow them to reveal it to the world.But there are those who would keep them from revealing the secret, no matter what the cost. Will they succeed in revealing the truth Kirsch planned to announce? And what will that revelation mean for mankind?The fifth in the Robert Langdon series, “Origin” tackles hidden history and extreme religion in search of the answer to the two most basic questions of man: Where do we come from? Where are we going?With a twisty plot that ramps up the tension and suspense, this narrative grabs the reader from the first page and doesn’t let go until the final unexpected reveal. An occasional “information dump” doesn’t detract from the overall telling of the “origin of life and future of humanity” tale and readers are likely to be left dumbfounded by the final unexpected twist they simply won’t see coming.Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      7 Major Ingredients of a Dan Brown Thriller - Am I Missing Any?From an Amazon book page, an excerpt of a description of Dan Brown's book: "Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science......Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust....before the world is irrevocably altered." Sounds exciting, right? But this was a blurb for "Inferno", Brown's previous book. In many ways it could also apply to 2017's "Origin"(OR). I'm not suggesting that Brown uses a cookie cutter framework to produce his books, but having read all of the Langdon series, I am struck by some common ingredients. So, off the top of my head, I have attempted below to list familiar elements common to some, if not all, of the five books. I would imagine that most Origin readers have read one or more of the preceding books and might enjoy a quick refresher, since it is seven years since the most recent release. Perhaps you will find a few I have missed...1) Treasure Hunt. Coded clues leading to other clues. Ultimate destination unknown. Via whatever transportation is available from private jets to a driverless Tesla (OR) - Brown does load up his books with latest technology.2) Travelogue. The focus in OR is Barcelona but we also get to visit Bilboa, especially the Guggenheim Museum there. I'm not a museum guy but check out Bing Images of that place or YouTube videos of the suspended ferry crossing the nearby river, and perhaps like me you will add it to your list of "Places to Visit Before...." Maybe you would also like to see Budapest's Szechenyi Chain Bridge to which lovers have secured padlocks professing their love. Or Parc Guell!3) An Attractive Woman as co-star. Young, Intelligent, Beautiful, somewhat virginal. No sex, no bad words in a Langdon. Just a few dead bodies, murders and suicides, maybe too many suicides in OR; the last was not credible for me.4) Bad Guys. Not always clear who they are, nor whom they work for. Often not the people you were expecting.5) Action Scenes. Especially ones that will look great on film. How about helicopters plucking surrounded heroes off the roofs of buildings? Not really great climaxes though - OR gets rather talky at the end.6) Teaching Moments. Usually art, science and technology, in OR lots on quantum computers and software advances to improve forecasting future events. Stay with it, very interesting. But also the Palmariana Church and their popes, and statistical physics.6) Religion/Theology. often the Catholic Church is the subject and not always kindly; sometimes clergy are suspects in the most convoluted of plots. But remember that Langdon thinks of himself first as a scientist. Toward the end of OR, Langdon is asked, "Do you believe in God?" 7) Treating Readers like Mushrooms. A whispers something to B. B gasps. Totally blown away. Can't believe it. The scene ends, the Reader has no idea what was shared. But don't worry, 200 pages later all will be made clear. It felt to this Reader that occurred at least a half dozen times, and it started to get on my nerves. The good news is that as the end approaches, the reader has several open questions awaiting explanation and making for a certain amount of fun in making "educated" guess as to what all the secrets are, including who is the Regent?The plot of OR is fairly simple and straight forward. A former student of Langdon, a world renowned scientist, claims that he has the answer to the two basic questions that man has been searching for since the beginning of time: Where do we come from? and Where are we headed? (Given that the title of the book is "Origin", when I first heard the two basic questions I immediately assumed that Origin was the first of two books and that there would be a sequel titled "Destiny" But not to worry. Both questions are answered in "Origin". OR are they?) A worldwide presentation has been scheduled. But something happens, and the video with all the answers is not shown. Langdon and co-star must find it and share it with the World.Did I like it? Yes, but.Dan Brown books are always entertaining and I learn a number of new things - see numbers 2 and 6 on the list above. I look upon them though as entertainment, and I enjoyed making lots of footnotes, looking at other resources to check some of Brown's descriptions and claims. Critics love to rip him as a not very good writer but I think they miss the point. Check out recent reviews in the New York Times and Washington Post; they are very different. I feel one critic "gets" Brown and his audience and the other critic.... well, draw your own conclusions. (Hint to readers - don't waste your time going to a newspaper's website and trying to do a search. Go to Google and, for example, search for "NYT Origin review".I don't know if there'll be another Langdon - in seven years? - but if there is I'll probably read it. I wonder though how much longer Tom Hanks will play Langdon.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this, but have two caveats. First, although this is a series, with both major global and personal ramifications on the main character in the last book, there was no mention in this one. I found that jarring, especially in the beginning of the book.Second, this book seemed to “slighter” than the other books in the series. I can’t really explain it more than that.Overall, though, I did enjoy the book.
    • 3/5
      Part of what I enjoyed about the prior books was the description of historical places and great masterpieces. In this book it is modern art and Avant guard architecture which don't interest me.He created a story line with a fictional King of Spain and his heir.Edmonds presentation showed a simplistic world view. Scientist all rejoicing over a new discovery. Scientist can be just as petty, cruel to those who challenge established beliefs as religious people.I was able to see what the big twist at the end of who was behind things was.
    • 3/5
      If, like me, you have been debating whether or not to read (or listen to) Dan Brown's latest book, I can only tell you that it is just like the other Dan Brown books. I enjoy hearing about the history of a country, in this case Spain. I like knowing more about the background in the art and architecture of a city or cities. For instance, I was not aware of the existence of the Guggenheim Museo Bilbao. Now I am. The story is similar to his other books. I enjoyed it, even though I would have fast forwarded in several places if I could have.
    • 4/5
      It has all the flavor of Robert Langdon serious, however, the story line is not as compelling as the other books.
    • 5/5
      Amazing! Professor Langdon gets into so much trouble! I love this series.
    • 2/5
      More rooted in hard science fiction rather than iconography and historicity than its predecessors, the lack of solid action set pieces and rather thin basis and revelations make this one of the weakest entry in the Langdon series.
    • 4/5
      Robert Langdon on the path yet again to discover the truth behind the actions of others, seeking solutions to puzzles left behind and breaking codes to do so? Yes, but not so much as in previous novels by Dan Brown.This book is of a different nature in certain ways. There is the need to escape, to rush to another site to find these solutions, but it is much more limited than before. This book explores two great questions, asked by human beings for eons - Where did we come from? Where are we going?Origins and Destiny form the basis of the book, with a great deal of information, much of which would do Professor Brian Cox proud, being brought into the substance of the book. Dan Brown sets all this within the context of a brilliant man, Edmund Kirsch (who is also a former student of Langdon's) about to reveal his latest discoveries, ones that he claims will astound the world. I have to admit to the build up to this seeming somewhat long-winded, but it does become quite fascinating, dealing as it does with religion and science being seen as opposing forces. The aspect of entropy (not a spoiler) did remind me of some of Cox's recent work on television. However, the amount of research put into this book makes it both interesting and challenging.Most of the book is set in Spain - the Guggenheim Museum and Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona) being but two of the sites. Having recently revisited Sagrada Familia after a gap of fifty years - the massive structure now being a complete comparison with the four towers of 1967 - I found the descriptions employed to be very true to my own experience, although I did not get the chance to explore the building in the way that Robert Langdon did!I was fascinated by the creation of an artificial intelligence called Winston, one that added immensely to the story. I had the audio version, read by Paul Michael. Audio books may take much longer because of vocal reading speed against visual, but his delivery added greatly to my enjoyment, particularly his well-to-do English accent for Winston.Whilst it could be argued that it is a typical Dan Brown book, I actually found it much more than that. It really made me think about my views, challenged some of my beliefs, and had some very good, clear expositions of certain ideas - I really liked the one about mathematics being so organised that it could not have happened by chance. There is a great deal to think about, and it is a well worth while read. Please, though, don't expect a rip-roaring rush round the world with lots of dangerous situations, because you might be a little disappointed.
    • 4/5
      Dan Brown’s Origin follows Robert Langdon on his fifth adventure, where he must work to uncover the work of his former student and futurist Edmond Kirsch, who claims to have discovered information about humanity’s origins and future that will make religion obsolete. Joining Langdon is Guggenheim Museum Bilbao director Ambra Vidal, who is engaged to Spain’s prince, as the two are pursued by ultraconservative forces within the Spanish government and the Palmarian Catholic Church. Much of the conflict is similar to Brown’s other Robert Langdon novels, though he focuses on modern art and Francoist and post-Franco Spanish history in this work.The basic premise is interesting and those who enjoy Brown’s use of history and geography to tell a story will find plenty to enjoy here. The narrative makes for a quick read and will entertain those looking for something to read on vacation. That said, Origin contains some rather awkward sections. For example, the Spanish prince’s courtship methods, which may once have conveyed an awkward charm, now read like the actions of a stalker (pg. 197-198). Brown also works in references to hipsters (pg. 6). and “tech-savvy millennial[s]” (pg. 151) as well as Diane531’s encircled “A” for Atheism symbol (pg. 28) as if checking off items on a list of modern buzzwords. While Brown often reproduces historical symbols in his work for his readers’ benefit, here he focuses more on modern symbols, such as the “A” and the symbol for entropy (pg. 397). The only historic symbol is the “Victor” motif used by Franco and his followers.In terms of his “facts,” Brown has some that a casual reading of the books he name-drops would disprove. For example, Brown describes Kirsch using a graph to show the development of cranial capacity, with modern Homo sapiens exceeding Homo neanderthalensis (pg. 404). Anthropologists have demonstrated that Neanderthals had larger brains than modern humans, but this was not necessarily an indicator of greater intelligence. In a particularly odd section, Brown portrays Kirsch arguing that the neurons in a human brain behave like a binary computer complete with neurons firing “on” or “off,” though the character’s (and Brown’s) familiarity with work like Richard Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker should have shown how such a metaphor is inaccurate (pg. 252).Unlike his other books, which featured an intangible-yet-meaningful treasure or prize, this book’s ultimate knowledge comes in the form of a well-produced TED Talk. Brown even references the current trend of TED Talks (pg. 409). In terms of continuity, assuming this book takes place after the events of Brown’s previous novel, Inferno, it seems odd that Kirsch’s predictions for humanity’s future (and the news coverage Brown describes of them) make no mention of the virus from that book and its effect on human reproduction. That said, in a particularly resonant passage, Bown portrays the ailing king warning his son about the potential for “aggressive nationalism and intolerance” to return society to the chaos of the past, possibly drawing on the trends currently occurring both in Europe and the United States (pg. 428).In the end, however, those looking for escapism will find it in this book. Origin hits the right notes for a light summer read.
    • 4/5
      *SPOILERS AHEAD*

      Oookay, Origin isn't my favorite Dan Brown movie, that's for sure. It had far less action than the other books and much more details. Too many details. I appreciate the author's thorough research, but at the same time I admit I skipped a lot of the descriptions too.

      Also, Origin was so predictable. I had a faint idea that Winston was Monte@iglesia, I mean who else was THAT well informed? And when I came to know that Edmond Kirsch has cancer and was about to die, I wondered if he plotted the whole assassination himself!

      So yeah, it wasn't Dan Brown's best work, but it wasn't all that dull either.
    • 2/5
      good plot, poorly written.
    • 5/5
      Another breathless adventure for Robert Langdon. I enjoyed the story, but perhaps even more, I enjoyed learning about some really interesting Spanish architecture and locales.
    • 4/5
      Slow start and slow ending but the middle was great. Was aware of the big revelations and figured the computer was behind it all. Still a good read.

    Book preview

    Sometimes Amazing Things Happen - Elizabeth Ford

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