Mind Estranged: My Journey from Schizophrenia and Homelessness to Recovery, by Bethany Yeiser

October 2026 | Vol. 70, No. 3
By Beatrice Antonenko, OMS-III, KCUCOM

Mind Estranged: My Journey from Schizophrenia and Homelessness to Recovery, by Bethany Yeiser, is an autobiographical account of the author’s road from her youth in Ohio as a student scholar and accomplished violinist living in a loving, supportive, and happy home, to life as a homeless young woman suffering from schizophrenia and her eventual and remarkable recovery. She chronicled her descent in her early 20s from a straight-A student at a prestigious West Coast university to losing touch with reality, initially retaining the ability to travel the world, taking huge risks, and being driven to help the underserved.

After becoming detached from society, she faced adversity, isolation, and criminalization. She also faced indifference and disgust while attempting to find food and shelter.

Not a Book Review

October 2026 | Vol. 70, No. 3
By Samuel Garloff, DO, PCOM '78

Preface: In the past, when asked how to choose a psychiatrist, my answer was always “Choose a good physician who practices psychiatry.” My reasoning was straightforward: 1. A good physician develops a comprehensive differential; 2. A good physician understands the use, benefits, side effects, interactions, and metabolism of medications; and 3. A good physician consistently balances risk and benefit to select the most appropriate treatment for the patient.

How would I choose among those fulfilling the criteria above? I would add 3 additional selection requirements: 1. A psychiatrist able to tap into a patient’s affect and experience the presenting mood and emotional state; 2. A psychiatrist able to listen to the “limbic music” he/she develops by listening to the patient; and 3. A psychiatrist who realizes in real time what they don’t know and, perhaps more importantly, when simply not to know.

Keeping the above in mind, “died in his sleep” by Richard Donze, DO, is deserving of examination.

Doc's Girls: Sex Workers, a play by Gilbert Kasirsky, DO, Ph.D.

June 2026 | Vol. 70, No. 2
By Samuel Garloff, DO, PCOM '78

This is an original play by the author of Vasectomy, Manhood, and Sex, Springer Publishing Company. The author describes his new book as “mostly a memoir,” with the events taking place over a decade ago.

The main character, Dr. Gil Gilstein, is a successful family physician with a military background. He becomes involved in the examination of working girls upon the request of an old friend. Shortly afterward, he becomes more deeply involved with the underworld and discovers his employers traffic not only in the sex trade but in the manufacture, distribution, and selling of narcotics. What his employers don’t realize is that he has been contacted by FBI and DEA agents and has become a government informant.

Health Behavior Change and Treatment Adherence: Evidence-based Guidelines for Improving Healthcare, 2nd Edition, by M. Robin DiMatteo, Leslie R. Martin, and Kelly B. Haskard-Zolnierek

February 2026 | Vol. 70, No. 1
By Samuel Garloff, DO, PCOM '78

This second edition publication lives up to its title: It is evidence-based. Although deceptively easy to read, it is for the serious and interested practitioner wanting to know how to best interact with patients to optimize treatment adherence and outcomes. Students of the Health Belief Model (HBM), dating back to the 1950s, will be quite pleased with this book.

Written by three university professors, the book is well-suited for self-study, discussion groups (such as a resident class), and classroom learning. Each of its nine chapters ends with “Tools for Self-study and Instruction,” learning objectives, review questions, prompts for discussion and further studying, and suggested reading. Additionally, each chapter ends with a comprehensive listing of references—a bibliophile’s dream.