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I am a psychiatrist at the University of Michigan Medical Center, and an author. In writing The End of Miracles, I had several goals. I wanted to give back to the world of literature a great read, as I have had so much pleasure and education from the fiction I have devoured all my life. I also wanted to show that psychiatric patients are not that different from everyone else, and to show a realistic view of psychiatrists and psychiatric treatment. I have written articles for Vogue Magazine as well as for scientific research journals. Now, I have regular Expert's Blog column of my own on Psychology Today, entitled "On Call". It is easily accessed online, and I hope you find the articles there interesting and informative.
Reviewed by Heather Osborne for Readers' Favorite
The End of Miracles by Monica Starkman is a novel about a woman’s battle with depression following the loss of a child. Margo has longed for a child, but infertility leaves her with little hope, until she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. Overjoyed, she and her husband, Steven, eagerly await the arrival of their child. However, when Margo goes into premature labor, the subsequent recovery sends her in a downward spiral into severe depression, leading her to do the unthinkable. Upon beginning this novel, I knew it would be a difficult subject to read. So many women suffer from fertility issues, and for some, this results in endless strings of miscarriages and heartache, not just for them, but for their families as well. Even more heartbreaking was Margo’s rational sense of what was going on, but her inability to control her actions.
While I enjoyed the overall message conveyed in the story, I was a bit confused by the change from past to present tense in the second half of the novel. I almost felt a bit bombarded by medical terminology as well as psychiatric terms. I feel that while this might be beneficial as a note at the end of the novel, it drew away from the overall emotions of Margo as a character. However, I did feel that The End of Miracles by Monica Starkman has a powerful message about mental health and raised an awareness that it’s important to have readily accessible help for those in need of it, as well as shedding light on what might be considered a taboo subject. There was some great description and, overall, I did enjoy this novel.
