Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Blind
The Blind
The Blind
Ebook417 pages6 hours

The Blind

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

When the lines of sanity are blurred…With the intensity and rawness of Girl, Interrupted and The Luckiest Girl Alive comes this razor-sharp debut, which reveals how one woman can go so far off the deep end, she might never make it back up.In this unexpected and addictive psychological debut, A.F. Brady takes readers into the mind of a deeply disturbed woman desperately trying to keep her head above water, showing that sometimes what's most terrifying is what exists in your head.

With the intensity and rawness of Girl, Interrupted and Luckiest Girl Alive comes this razor–sharp debut, which reveals how one woman can go so far off the deep end, she might never make it back up.

Sam James has spent years carefully crafting her reputation as the best psychologist at Typhlos, Manhattan's most challenging psychiatric institution. She boasts the highest success rates with the most disturbed patients, believing if she can't save herself, she'll save someone else. It's this saviour complex that serves her well in helping patients battle their inner demons, though it leads Sam down some dark paths and opens her eyes to her own mental turmoil.

When Richard, a mysterious patient no other therapist wants to treat, is admitted to Typhlos, Sam is determined to unlock his secrets and his psyche. What she can't figure out is why does Richard appear to be so completely normal in a hospital filled with madness? And what, really, is he doing at the institution? As Sam gets pulled into Richard's twisted past, she can't help but analyse her own life, and what she discovers terrifies her. And so the mind games begin. But who is the saviour and who is the saved?

In this unexpected and addictive psychological debut, A.F. Brady takes readers into the psyche of a deeply disturbed woman desperately trying to keep her head above water, showing that sometimes what's most terrifying is what exists in your mind.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2017
ISBN9781489242204
Author

A.F. Brady

A.F. Brady is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Psychotherapist. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Brown University and two Masters degrees in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University. She is a life-long New Yorker, and resides in Manhattan with her husband and their family. The Blind is her first novel.

Related to The Blind

Related ebooks

Literary Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Blind

Rating: 3.0576924076923073 out of 5 stars
3/5

26 ratings4 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    "The Blind by A.F. Brady is a highly recommended debut novel of addictions, codependency, psychological self-examination and redemption." Samantha is a psychologist at a psychiatric institute in Manhattan, battling her own addictions and codependicies, yet works to help her patients battle the inner demons that she cannot.A mysterious patient, Richard, arrives and manages to get Sam as his doctor. There is a reason for this. But you won't know what it is until the last page. It's a fascinating read into Sam's psyche as she falls deeper into her own rabbit hole for a period covering five months. I really liked the book to the point where I couldn't put it down because it was very slow-paced and I was anxious to reach its conclusion. It was worth reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Holy unreliable narrator, Batman! A clinical psychologist at a New York mental institution battles her own demons as she treats her patients, one of whom is accompanied by a next-to-nothing paper trail and a penchant for being tight lipped about why he is there. Her personal life is a nightmare and she is losing her own grip on reality in a place where reality certainly does not abound. 4.5 stars for this debut novel which kept me guessing until the last five pages.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Liking - or at least spending time with - an unlikable main character was an ongoing problem for me with this book. Sam is one of those people I'd feel sympathy for from a distance but would avoid interacting with at all costs. She's flat-out mean and a total psychological mess. So 400+ pages of her first person narration grated on my nerves. I persevered because the author does an excellent job of showing us specific mental illnesses, and I wanted to believe Sam would evolve with some redeeming characteristics to alter my opinion of her. She didn't, though I suppose that's often the reality of life.The pace of this story is quite slow as we watch Sam spiral out of control. She drinks so much at night that she's still drunk when she goes to work in the morning. Most of the first two-thirds of the book is her descent into an alcoholic stupor. As for Richard, the mystery patient, nothing much happens with him until the last third of the book. He's silent, mostly, though he drops clear hints and certain things are glaringly obvious, at least to readers. Sam, the top psychologist at the hospital, is too drunk to notice and is oddly content to let him sit around in this hospital with essentially no treatment and no diagnosis. I had trouble buying into Richard's placement at the hospital. It seemed beyond strange to me that none of the doctors or administrative staff would know anything about his past or why he was committed to a psychiatric hospital. Even so, his character intrigued me enough to keep me reading.The last quarter of so of the story picks up and things finally start happening. Though I saw the twist coming, I was carried along, feeling the turmoil of emotions and the edge of suspense. Then, just when we get to what should have been an intense climax, the story abruptly ends. We not only don't see any aftermath, we don't even see how things play out in the moment. A short, one-page final chapter, which reads more like an epilogue, reveals the twist, in case we didn't figure out where the build-up had left us dangling in the previous chapter.I was exasperated by the non-ending. The lack of depth and insight into the heart of the entire story made me feel like I'd wasted my time with an unlikable character.*I received an advance copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A psychological mess. Psychologist, Dr. Samantha James appears to have it all together...but everything is not as it appears. As she comes to terms with the mess that is her life a stranger comes in and threaten her little sense of security.

Book preview

The Blind - A.F. Brady

(-abook_preview_excerpt.html}ٲ#Ǒ寤4ctH˸Iu۸T5#c 3on̥@z=~9[$Ǭ[ $2cȏƏ?ooGO/y+X.wUx~oǟ~zclSZ.:0U[5Nj| |t XPװTo5xu:sTzJCF6Rɀ1Kj|?U̫eh%r2 j94keCuo1\ mR2K:_1]o yI7,"g? -(."D.ĸ *hS -2 t{ >%6 rzOC>bvފOմڂM4QQ3mZ'OaS\`tE7@Ig.3SoqPpڬ;9j$u2",dh2+ʽb/6GTbv>j] ~LNknBM~.3)Un!E(Ő<ɦub A{tIrW VHqe#//4P ;}LB8 ]iHLzsAd:ID &^|0}4:s w"GN)b;F ֟ G`LktbG\] U@v6䁷+L+xHy<'q %gPܘf{7^n3L?l( >3fhlIX #tmST`rji@#;rćQZ#nmCP4᧙nOHGM f,TBnÒЄ{͔ y@F{Ʌch}C\yP,"gd8 wb|OB kR` ?ris 0D䏎-ȅȴEK!ZPDWq^opѹ/9P ({0YGl h:>ԀS紀%Q qXm1dEU#Y Cp>NCh&˚i=3SAuy1ҾX0#F級\c}ŭʽuFt02<&q‰B_`pړŽl.-![yPG( 2gTq<ȟ}>51y v0ٌD87`ϝ\tmAI!ˡizyY= v(PԲ({4 o\a~qz{r%Fw>_C6+YSX}*R~Р?>m GGV"LFXdEvcс-J(q8G9bՑ4KII ˢݩHZ^b Pqg:qe7  xBR5@퇃&^REEAY÷9:?d/kKe}M] X i {5,Hn Mjf^` /,@+*Ҫ"U x\HPxK1}m6*[޼=aac3^V_BI<+2^* <9ycY5QUzKdwjfqmQ3*u\%X/^gE L 97q\s-"zi.pʰxH 4\ 2g|yoH{΢&#lGYP82=,QV]1Vڀ(Xe4 F0 T\j/M1o2Dd*rzb-*ɻ?ټ@ޯ,2o,UF7J#lmbas̵^U4跠t s<"1b#i  f7( .?C$cx&/F1'Pa ^^ xlFY o%;F]Tl'lftk~&i,GyHc$\r6IZFLab=*" /HQs5wmDHs U"#NA 6m*':v[Ώ*5; .IX qw:`Jyኲ \^&D\$M Ճ"סmYƶBPΜKuLvPKrD06A-+(/Hv6jm$ҧ?C vKS()XNZ4+@} wP\~r9:֨(`sQW-D4ۏ.6X:);õJ>~Oy>gDR:ҝp+t"r)59!Ō(Rcos07"T!DE&049٥Ebl=t]3Ja@x4^(1ZswUT%Q.0<ʨŕy,i,tT+SÜh(ʮyFMuj_/ٷuLV|"p#@0Y2M(6Ӥ伃YHEQ+-e*3?rᏄN;IIng:k 12'ߓ=a0Rh5Xe@ Ҭi.Xk:VSw/٧`gkz:\Fތ;.&1:yc1XF%=d?11Db-0kP깺P.f]"7I -~DEb"4İ4u PJ0ӼzΌgg,wѲj)8yVb`xr]|W4  V )im0f-+?/j3Q2N+¬||bv wLngq55NB'f$X*WḐ<ړ5PT(*OgȜ\Bdk~~BA@N ;Mb7e:jj u.gͶ]Q4gwE_C,KF4LU%`;yܢ%6E5YI1nhT6˿(~bz>04i >7iаzI='o8O_OMKbkqH]P,3@}0/" FN5<˼CӢ*g-z,xH&ؗXP7 U)pDB*qi Hbp)5aJê=n%vLFʥ"{b fi&5X̲MU`PwX{pm:s("=oAKN['ܹL,n (+qZJ?^qZV #pOژ]&|*t `q+ӢS0S%L"x&zCD*4B$롓a2XD&mac#I-"sff:n+~-E|л`F=' ]6p۞nN\D.)6sk. ؊ιE0 xW YOZjn3cmtݰz¸FOxQM2j4 ~m0N M<`F$ï=Z1nn$,v VcqTleY6}'HF_O<P|V#z#o ḻ#(h죱4o=fEp+DʬH$v(lӰ6F=.vGM}>Zj$$N >;heGrgwv̭'~" cє:I+Y A*.F p3s(-h/'>5dRFӾ0d=h_ݽO>9"fw>G:$sM!qp-p,큩\Mejh_(Vlθ"gy3D$F]/YvV?fIUX*gSǛC ̹G% VH$=T@E;ϩN;m (gh$|5sFEzeS\y])tmKoE9LTWs/aOԌqS2lfm$' ɯ*A ^&k kFM5ng';C^TIϯIj' BD%pvi2:F%˳JY0[Fn¢#nMK LwLjH UfWrdBhEj1_s]U_J!'?;]^ H)[o2E-zyC]ӡA cJj+,ݫ4~ch@cndúPw2A(Fho{)=Ḃ>"] Z|oLkbo5X>R8*Tw&:i͘{Lj5?L}64QW+vCQA<^Bـ`3O^L{м0e[!?KŠʍyRzv, =Vp sMX[t ԴEfL^hYo=^k8)V ) E_yJVH{@΄Hy{<t5֕iٙc2RVBo& Ӓn#GS}ʘX#~\d*xʃG;eEUimA0UĤnfWua(7jUO[ G kCF&K}fVmǣ=:Tcԃd0H &V6EbFÐk[PӃ{xF@ v2?s"(/H`x)-X@xI@mKn(NSL-8'y ]Cם Aao<2rx`f)xֶw,r}iZ蝦 }CY"Ή_Pm2RdNИX9aj)m2(-W}g}2<ňh)%c&un}c1qfwѤ ~}s=jA G#ɁShr5 [ B2NRv4 g+ºECU&7w\JF#y]lkHZf,S%Ӄ}nhg EmˆcIb.t g&-uUdTS" bGC%o-Oe{ѼP|Y,bj==m稦2- dy؏ Z"2 P=@<ГpJ0QҹVSE$z$LhERȗtr[CCfţzL17kNju JaƤ> H?5dbN&`t[A !Q\Qrq83`2) 毟'fO2SwòciH ߇ͻ1dؙOG֒/25Shy`e!1Y/\҇`Ģ)5jyr[4l= yxb|x` z>5rPqNDC<߱[E{Mƶοm]TaAoE3(+|oaę%Gb PhVURÃ"\`=[ڙE_Yq*g+/>wNXۀ%ga ˮVB;N74mVb~}Q=-컓ݭ6VlZ':Gshy`~6/ܡ>.Sr;P,Uۤz;U /6WX'<32] |hLu8쇵[žxޠba_e=#dW=7oz0bl];Eۈۯq4'u ۹CF"M9JztC-'$w|{1D X.8U#gX_YdտVmM..C_uPpY kgfo! ؘ1.j{ȣʙҿt}y ij-C7Nw(JsYԯ Oa >̿iG 槜qvUld5 9^vR?nG6 1i`]Xa}ϧ~+-ÆRIAd ]|R%ܩ{HY5'hy/?x ,xM%/OӠnZcBa3;]pd[mwR'ΫaL]8;>sJ`^Ul4s@\;C8 )Ui95 xlS%ͧa==Le*s yA*"{12s UԼ0NVx|^ȴXX}j<~^faЃFhhWI(y3;;X?m?. !et)~y#N@Ii{:F#Q#\5ͬF'[KrD⎲ ;X]~1SIt~Dž $9ޓ7҅H7Ł4=Nʣ&3ƧBr&6.-6}s_Bj$/F*'p sF/P7_
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1