A Fragile Revolution

Reviews / Votes

``Everett is a professional. She has worked in institutional and agency settings and has a valid take on the nature of power and powerlessness, control and being controlled.... Quotations from consumer/survivors make the book come alive.... Everett has done a good service to professionals and clients alike.'' -- Pat Capponi -- The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health, Vol. 4 #4, July/August 2001 ``The major sources of information for Everett's study were consumers and psychiatric survivors and those involved in providing services to this group. In-depth interviews yielded striking stories of pain and heroism as people sought help from a system with limited help to give.... Everett['s]...book, a powerful examination of the mental health system from the inside, presents a strong case for continued reform in the system.'' -- Robert B. MacIntyre -- Canadian Book Review Annual, 2000 ``[As] a worker in the mental health field...[it] was gratifying to see my lived experience described in a cohesive way within a theoretical framework that helped me understand my professional experiences at a deeper level.... The author's ability to integrate the historical context of mental health reform with the experiences of consumers/survivors, the viewpoints of family members, and the perspectives of professionals is both exceptional and sensitively done. I highly recommend this book for anyone coming in contact with the mental health system--consumers/survivors, family members, mental health professionals, and students who are plannng to enter the field of mental health.'' -- Ru Tauro -- Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, Vol. 21 #1, Spring 2002 ``A Fragile Revolution demonstrates quite unequivocally, a first-rate strategic thinker, competent analyst, and elegant literary stylist.... This is the book you give to non-academic Psych Industry Workers for their `own short course in what the antipsychiatry movement is all about.... A major contribution and a must-read for anyone concerned with Canadian mental health policy making and development.'' -- Byron Fraser -- In a Nutshell, Winter/Spring 2002 ``The initial section on the history of the consumer movement is excellent.... Everett's discussions about `partnership,' about the different meaning behind the terms `consumer' and `survivor,' and about possible retaliation against consumer activists are all excellent and important. Her description of the failure of well-funded consumer groups is illuminating.... The discussion about whether consumer-survivors can participate without being co-opted is worth the price of the entire book.... I finished the book wanting to phone the author and continue the discussion, to argue with her and to agree with her.'' -- Ronald J. Diamond -- Psychiatric Services, Vol. 52, #39, September 2001