Book Review: ‘The Sleep Room’ is the harrowing story of psychiatric care in the 1960s

By Canadian Press on July 22, 2025.

In the 1960s, a hospital in London held a ward full of women who suffered from a range of mental disorders. The women in this “sleep room” were subjected to various medical procedures, including electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, and, at times, a lobotomy, without their consent.

In “The Sleep Room: A Sadistic Psychiatrist and the Women Who Survived Him,” Jon Stock tells the harrowing history of the British doctor who subjected them to medical abuse and gives voice to those who survived him.

With interwoven firsthand testimony from surviving patients and rigorous research, Stock provides a haunting account of what the psychiatrist did to his patients without their knowledge.

Throughout the book Stock also works to hold the medical establishment accountable for the neglect that occurred, but at times can simplify the complexities of psychiatric care during the ’60s that most likely led to the abuse endured by many patients.

While the switching between patient stories, history and research can create some confusion for the reader, the patient testimonies allows Stock to deliver an emotionally powerful narrative that is equally as disturbing.

Written with nuance and tact, the “The Sleep Room” is a chilling exposé into psychiatric care that will resonate deeply readers and, especially, true crime fans.

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AP book reviews: https://apnews.com/hub/book-reviews

Fernanda Figueroa, The Associated Press