A Patient's Narrative

"A Patient's Narrative" offers an honest and compelling look into a mental institution, specifically Whiting Forensic Hospital (WFH) in Middletown, Connecticut, from the perspective of a former patient. Both unique and deeply personal, this book highlights stories and lessons that will never be reported due to the hospital's fear of losing support and funding. Learn the truth about life in a mental institution through these pages. This is as close as you can get.

"A Patient's Narrative" offers an honest and compelling look into a mental institution, specifically Whiting Forensic Hospital (WFH) in Middletown, Connecticut, from the perspective of a former patient. Both unique and deeply personal, this book highlights stories and lessons that will never be reported due to the hospital's fear of losing support and funding. Learn the truth about life in a mental institution through these pages. This is as close as you can get. This comprehensive book is filled with advice and expectations that will be beneficial for anyone coming into a mental health hospital or other incarcerating institution, those studying mental hospitals, or anybody who is looking to learn more about the mental health system – particularly in Connecticut. The author shares real life examples of events, people, and activities that happened at WFH. He also shares advice on how to deal with situations, people, and scenarios that helped him during his time at the hospital. Fundamentally, this book was written to share the "whole picture" of mental health institutions and systems from the patient's point of view. For far too long, this has been an underreported and undervalued segment of mental health literature due to patients being incapable or afraid to come forward and share their stories.

Chris Smith is from Northern Virginia, he enjoyed having a suburban to rural lifestyle at his home that was not a farm but had a pond, three acres, and many pets ranging from dogs, cats, ducks, chickens, goats, and even cattle. On top of pets, he was the eldest of three brothers with a mom and dad in a very close-knit family that supported each other immensely to this day. After college, he got his Master of Science in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, Virginia doing Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) and Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) of all materials, but with an emphasis on polymers for nanoscale coating for controlled drug delivery particles into the lungs. Struggles with mental health prevented him from earning his PhD, as he had to go to Whiting Forensic Hospital (WFH) and be placed under the Psychiatric Security and Review Board (PSRB). This was a very difficult and tumultuous part of his life, but he persevered and got out of WFH, yet he is still under the PSRB. During his time under the PSRB, while he was at WFH, and due to his free time caused by COVID-19, Chris Smith started to write books including poetry books about themes, thoughts and feeling in his life, and a book about life at WFH from the point of view of the patient, which is a rarity in the field of mental health. Currently, Chris is trying to publish his first poetry book, "Poetry From Behind Mental Walls" and the patient oriented WFH book, "A Patient's Narrative". He is currently writing a second poetry book, "Poetry From Behind Mental Walls Volume II". As always, Chris wants to thank all his readers for showing interest and reading his books.