Power duo Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion’s latest co-authored work is The Glass House (Hachette 2024), a highly engaging and readable story set in the frontline of the Menzies Mental Health Service, where psychiatry registrar Dr Hannah Wright struggles to make difficult and timely decisions in a system stretched for resources, and where the ambition and power-plays of her supervisors make her question herself and her ability to make a difference.
The content of the novel is brought to life through the extraordinary skill and experience of Buist, chair of Women’s Health at the University of Melbourne, combined with the light-hearted and addictive prose of Simsion. The pair excel in creating quirky, interesting and memorable characters thrown together into a high-stake setting of explosive conflict.
The cast is huge, with not only the doctors, medical staff and allied health professionals, but the multitude of patients that come through the doors of the clinic. The authors manage this by introducing a new patient at the opening of each chapter, with a separate point of view or set-up of their particular difficulty. The story then switches to the patient’s admission, while continuing the stories of previous patients. We are introduced to Sian, who suffers from postpartum psychosis (and an interfering mother-in-law); Xavier, an MP who survived a suicide attempt; James, who has convinced himself and others that he is the Lord returned; Chloe, with a life-threatening eating disorder and an enabling family, and many more.
The distress of these patients is dealt with in an intelligent and compassionate way, with subtle explanations of symptoms, potential diagnosis and treatment options woven into the conversations between medical staff, and the engagement with patients. And all of it bound with the wonderful humour and directness for which both authors are known. With respect towards both patients and those who care for them, Buist and Simsion have created an honest, direct, funny and eye-opening insight into our mental health care system, its problems, its failures, its wins and its compromises in a story that will make you weep in empathy, and then laugh at the impossibly hilarious situations depicted. You will find yourself, as did I, silently shouting encouragement and willing these characters to be well, happy and complete.