WHAT IS "NORMAL"? That question consumes psychologist Cathy Morgen when she takes on the case of a devastated teenager named Joseph. In the spring of 1961, Cathy receives a distressing call from the director of Summerhaven Mental Hospital in Portland, Oregon: They need her expertise. Over her husband's angry protests, Cathy drives to the asylum, where she observes a bizarre sight: a kicking, neighing boy behaving exactly like a panicked mustang. What horrors, Cathy asks herself, have caused Joseph to give up being human? ...
Read More
WHAT IS "NORMAL"? That question consumes psychologist Cathy Morgen when she takes on the case of a devastated teenager named Joseph. In the spring of 1961, Cathy receives a distressing call from the director of Summerhaven Mental Hospital in Portland, Oregon: They need her expertise. Over her husband's angry protests, Cathy drives to the asylum, where she observes a bizarre sight: a kicking, neighing boy behaving exactly like a panicked mustang. What horrors, Cathy asks herself, have caused Joseph to give up being human? Thus begins Cathy's heart-wrenching quest to unravel the mystery of the talented, traumatized "horse-boy"-and in doing so redeem herself for failing to save a similar young patient. Many people are working against her, including an arrogant chief psychiatrist, a doctor who favors a host of barbaric "therapies," and her own spouse. Near escapes, brilliant insights, shocking confessions, and unthinkable betrayal will all play a role in helping Cathy discover the true meaning of "normal..".and the key to healing Joseph's broken psyche. The Thundering is a haunting and uplifting tale of brutality and compassion during the darkest times of America's mental healthcare crisis.
Read Less
