3.5 "thoughtful, compassionate yet not quite finished...." stars !!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Penguin Press for an ecopy. This was released July 2020. I am providing an honest review.

This is an extended exploration of a psychiatrist and her involvement with the American incarceration system. She works with the severely mentally ill population in a hospital setting as well as providing competency assessments for the forensic system. She comes across as deeply compassionate and clinically skilled. Through this book she gives the reader an inside look at the cruel and abysmal state of the carceral state and how many prisons have become clearing houses for the severely mentally ill as there is little hospital/community care. She provides many case examples and we are taken inside the worlds of people who are extremely ill, extremely poor and with impoverished histories and intersectional marginalizations. She also compares newer models from Scandinavia. She also writes beautifully and lucidly. You simply cannot argue against her points of inhumane and cruel mistreatment of a population that is utilized to expand corporate profits and falsely keep communities safe. She also makes cogent and powerful arguments for the ending of extended segregation of prisoners.

In my opinion, however, her book falls short on a number of different areas

-the differences between nuisance, drug, non-violent and violent offenders
-the role of malignant personality disorders in both psychiatric and non-psychiatric inmates and the challenges of treatment and rehabilitation
-an almost complete lack of exploration of what victims and their loved ones need to heal and flourish and how this might inform a reformed forensic system
-the misuse of money and the business of forensics for both law and medical professionals


Overall a very good read that helped this reader understand American forensic system a little bit better.

This was one of the best nonfiction books I have read in a long time! It was extremely well written and researched, with so much firsthand information. The author gets right to the heart of the matter: mental illness needs to be treated. Not treating mental illness has dire consequences.

Montross has managed to do the impossible: tell us the dreadful ongoing story of how horribly American society treats people who are struggling with a range of psychological and psychiatric challenges that often lead them to commit crimes. While her message is not new, she brings examples of cases of people who are mentally ill to life. Your heart will be in your throat and your blood pressure will rise in anger as you read of victims whom we victimize in additional ways rather than trying to treat their core issues. We can do better.

This was such a mind-blowing read, incredibly eye opening and really challenged my original beliefs on people going to prison because they have to do the time for the crime!
Montross works in the inpatient psychiatric facility completing the Competency to Stand Trial evaluation for people who have been accused of a crime. The book follows the outright horrendous conditions the mentally ill are presented to within the 'justice system' in America.
I was able to challenge my own beliefs and re-evaluate how I feel towards prisoners, additionally I enjoyed reading the alternate methods of dealing with these situations that were presented in the later half of the book.
I recommend this great read for anyone interested in the prison system, mental health, or Americas justice system in general.

An amazingly interesting, well researched and evidenced book looking into the flaws of our current justice system. Whilst I knew it was flawed, I never realised quite how flawed it is. This book is shocking, in the best way. Not my usual genre, but I am so glad I have read this and will be recommending to everyone! Addresses very current problems; we can all take something from this book!

Before reading this book, I didn't know much about the American prison system but enough to understand that it is a system which is tragically flawed and shockingly severe. I clearly had no idea.

Waiting for an Echo had me shocked and aghast at almost every page. Montross writes from a background in both psychiatry and work within the criminal justice system, therefore offering insight and expertise on the difficult and important topics raised in her book. She uncovers huge injustices, racial and social biases, and a large community of people with severe mental health problems being lost in the unforgiving prison system.

Where her experiences in mental health and criminality intersected most poignantly for me were sections discussing the terrible and long-lasting impacts of solitary confinement on the human mind, especially in relation to juvenile offenders.

A powerful and damning in-depth investigation into the modern US prison system, and a compelling manifesto for reform.

This was a great, well-researched book on the damaging effects of mass incarceration on our society. The author offers a history of how the US prison population got to be the largest of any nation on the planet, as well as the cyclical effects of poverty, racism, and despair it causes. She also offers a guide to how we can reform the prison system to be more holistic and rehabilitative, rather than based on a model of punishment.

The author explained the flaws in our current prison system in an informative manner backed with research. The effects of being incarcerated in our current system lasts long after the person is released back into society. The author not only described the flaws, but ways to move forward and use alternate versions of punishment. I really enjoyed this and learned a lot!