
Unshrunk
A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance
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Narrated by:
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Laura Delano
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By:
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Laura Delano
About this listen
“Delano’s story is compelling, important and even haunting. . . . Her memoir evokes Girl, Interrupted for the age of the prescription pill. . . . In Unshrunk, she tells her own story, and she tells it powerfully.” —Casey Schwartz, The New York Times Book Review
“A must read for anyone probing the dark side of mental health treatment.” —Anna Lembke, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Dopamine Nation
“A really moving and heart-rending story. Unshrunk will help and empower so many people.” —Johann Hari, New York Times bestselling author of Stolen Focus
The powerful memoir of one woman’s experience with psychiatric diagnoses and medications, and her journey to discover herself outside the mental health industry
At age fourteen, Laura Delano saw her first psychiatrist, who immediately diagnosed her with bipolar disorder and started her on a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant. At school, Delano was elected the class president and earned straight-As and a national squash ranking; at home, she unleashed all the rage and despair she felt, lashing out at her family and locking herself in her bedroom, obsessing over death.
Delano’s initial diagnosis marked the beginning of a life-altering saga. For the next thirteen years, she sought help from the best psychiatrists and hospitals in the country, accumulating a long list of diagnoses and a prescription cascade of nineteen drugs. After some resistance, Delano accepted her diagnosis and embraced the pharmaceutical regimen that she’d been told was necessary to manage her incurable, lifelong disease. But her symptoms only worsened. Eventually doctors declared her condition so severe as to be “treatment resistant.” A disturbing series of events left her demoralized, but sparked a last glimmer of possibility. . . . What if her life was falling apart not in spite of her treatment, but because of it? After years of faithful psychiatric patienthood, Delano realized there was one thing she hadn’t tried—leaving behind the drugs and diagnoses. This decision would mean unlearning everything the experts had told her about herself and forging into the terrifying unknown of an unmedicated life.
Weaving Delano’s medical records and doctors’ notes with an investigation of modern psychiatry and illuminating research on the drugs she was prescribed, Unshrunk questions the dominant, rarely critiqued role that the American mental health industry, and the pharmaceutical industry in particular, plays in shaping what it means to be human.
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Critic reviews
Praise for Unshrunk
“Delano has considerable skill as a memoirist. Her early chapters describing the alienation of a smart, sensitive, hyperaware teenager in an emotionally inhospitable universe cover Holden Caulfield territory in a new and highly engaging way. Her fruitless years of polypharmacy combined with intensive therapy will be depressingly familiar to many families who go into debt paying for what they’ve been told is the best treatment money can buy, only to find it isn’t worth much.”
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“Bracing and heroic. . . . Delano writes with the hard-won authority of the longtime patient. She provides a searing narrative of her descent into the hell of pharmacological imprisonment, and then her climb out of it to freedom. . . . She writes insightfully, at times lyrically, about not just her own psychological condition but also our culture’s. . . . This is a valuable and important book.”
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- Albert Barnes and His American Dream
- By: Blake Gopnik
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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From prominent critic and biographer Blake Gopnik comes a compelling new portrait of America’s first great collector of modern art, Albert Coombs Barnes. Raised in a Philadelphia slum shortly after the Civil War, Barnes rose to earn a medical degree and then made a fortune from a pioneering antiseptic treatment for newborns. Never losing sight of the working-class neighbors of his youth, Barnes became a ruthless advocate for their rights and needs.
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A colorful portrait of a complicated man
- By Stephanie on 03-21-25
By: Blake Gopnik
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Firstborn
- A Memoir
- By: Lauren Christensen
- Narrated by: Lauren Christensen
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Lauren Christensen is a thirtysomething editor in New York City when she meets her future husband, Gabe, a writer with whom she falls in love right away. Her beloved grandfather is dying, but the young couple is bringing new life into the family: Lauren and Gabe joyfully discover she is pregnant with their daughter, Simone. As Lauren faces the prospect of becoming a parent, she learns to let go of the fear of abandonment and need for control, but just weeks after their wedding, they learn that their worst nightmare has come true: Simone is dying in the womb.
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Beautiful
- By Ashley M. on 03-28-25
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Spellbound
- My Life as a Dyslexic Wordsmith
- By: Phil Hanley
- Narrated by: Phil Hanley
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When Phil Hanley was in first grade, he realized something that would forever set him apart from his peers: he couldn’t read. His teachers were ill-equipped to assist him, and he slipped through the school’s cracks, year by year falling further and further behind his friends. Finally, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that would shape the rest of his life. Unable to pursue college or a traditional job, Phil was thrust into a life defined by unconventional twists. Eventually, he found himself on a stage with a microphone, a spotlight, and five minutes of jokes.
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I love Phil Hanley’s comedy and I hope someone reads this to him!
- By J. Brown on 03-20-25
By: Phil Hanley
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The Fifth Domain
- Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats
- By: Richard A. Clarke, Robert K. Knake
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Clarke and Knake take us inside quantum-computing labs racing to develop cyber superweapons; bring us into the boardrooms of the many firms that have been hacked and the few that have not; and walk us through the corridors of the US intelligence community with officials working to defend America's elections from foreign malice. With a focus on solutions over scaremongering, they make a compelling case for "cyber resilience" - building systems that can resist most attacks, raising the costs on cyber criminals and the autocrats who often lurk behind them, and avoiding...overreaction.
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The Author Lacks Critical Thinking
- By Thomas Rose on 08-08-20
By: Richard A. Clarke, and others
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Sister Europe
- A Novel
- By: Nell Zink
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Naema, an elderly princess dedicated to her pet causes, is in a bind: struck by a malady that maroons her in Montreux, she’s unable to host an exclusive gala dinner in Berlin to honor the author Masud al-Huzeil for his lifetime achievement in Arabic literature. Not only is she unable to attend, RSVPs have been slow to materialize, and she’s reduced to begging the ancient award winner to find some attendees at the last minute. Masud invites his old friend Demian, a native Berliner, who in turn invites his two best friends.
By: Nell Zink
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I'll Never Call Him Dad Again
- Turning Our Family Trauma of Sexual Assault and Chemical Submission into a Collective Fight
- By: Caroline Darian, Stephen Brown - translator
- Narrated by: Heather Long, Caroline Darian
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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The trial of Dominique Pelicot has captured the world's attention. Behind Pelicot's unthinkable crimes are a mother, Gisèle Pelicot, and her daughter, Caroline Darian, who were forced to rebuild their lives. This is their story.
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Beyond Words
- By Debra Nelson on 03-19-25
By: Caroline Darian, and others
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Trauma Plot
- A Life
- By: Jamie Hood
- Narrated by: Jamie Hood
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In the thick of lockdown, 2020, poet, critic, and memoirist Jamie Hood published her debut, how to be a good girl, an interrogation of modern femininity and the narratives of love, desire, and violence yoked to it. The Rumpus praised Hood’s “bold vulnerability,” and Vogue named it a Best Book of 2020. In Trauma Plot, Hood draws on disparate literary forms to tell the story that lurked in good girl’s margins—of three decades marred by sexual violence and the wreckage left behind.
By: Jamie Hood
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Changing My Mind
- By: Julian Barnes
- Narrated by: Julian Barnes
- Length: 1 hr and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In this engaging and erudite essay, critically acclaimed writer Julian Barnes explores what is involved when we change our minds: about words, about politics, about books; about memories, age and time.
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Captivating from its beginning to its end.
- By Carol Randolph on 04-12-25
By: Julian Barnes
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The Fifteen
- Murder, Retribution, and the Forgotten Story of Nazi POWs in America
- By: William Geroux
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The revelatory true story of the long-forgotten POW camps for German soldiers erected in hundreds of small U.S. towns during World War II, and the secret Nazi killings that ensnared fifteen brave American POWs in a high-stakes showdown.
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Interesting and Largely Forgotten History
- By John on 04-08-25
By: William Geroux
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Heartbreaker
- A Memoir
- By: Mike Campbell, Ari Surdoval - contributor
- Narrated by: Mike Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Mike Campbell was the lead guitarist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from the band’s inception in 1976 to Petty’s tragic death in 2017. His iconic, melodic playing helped form the foundation of the band’s sound, as heard on definitive classics like “American Girl,” “Breakdown,” “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Mary Jane’s Last Dance,” “Learning to Fly” and “Into the Great Wide Open.”
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Made me feel like I was in the band
- By tyler303 on 04-09-25
By: Mike Campbell, and others
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The Age of Diagnosis
- How Our Obsession with Medical Labels Is Making Us Sicker
- By: Suzanne O'Sullivan
- Narrated by: Suzanne O'Sullivan
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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We live in an age of diagnosis. Conditions like ADHD and autism are on the rapid rise, while new categories like long Covid are being created. Medical terms are increasingly used to describe ordinary human experiences, and the advance of sophisticated genetic sequencing techniques means that even the healthiest of us may soon be screened for potential abnormalities. More people are labeled "sick" than ever before—but are these diagnoses improving their lives?
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Interesting though ableist
- By A. Cruz on 03-31-25
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The Man Nobody Killed
- Life, Death, and Art in Michael Stewart's New York
- By: Elon Green
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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At twenty-five years old, Michael Stewart was a young Black aspiring artist, deejay, and model, looking to make a name for himself in the vibrant downtown art scene of the early 1980’s New York City. On September 15, 1983, he was brutally beaten by New York City Transit Authority police for allegedly tagging a 14th Street subway station wall. Witnesses reported officers beating him with Billy clubs and choking him with a nightstick. Stewart arrived at Bellevue Hospital hog-tied with no heartbeat and died after thirteen days in a coma.
By: Elon Green
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Candace Pert
- Genius, Greed, and Madness in the World of Science
- By: Pamela Ryckman
- Narrated by: Jess Nahikian, Pamela Ryckman
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Candace Pert stood at the dawn of three revolutions: the women’s movement, integrative health, and psychopharmacology. A scientific prodigy, she was 30 years ahead of her time, preaching a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to healthcare and medicine long before yoga hit the mainstream and “wellness” took root in our vernacular. Her bestselling book Molecules of Emotion made her the mother of the Mind/Body Revolution, launching a paradigm shift in medicine. Deepak Chopra credits her with creating his career, and he said as much in his eulogy at her funeral.
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Fascinating and important story!
- By Suzanne Duvalsaint on 11-16-23
By: Pamela Ryckman
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O Sinners!
- A Novel
- By: Nicole Cuffy
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, SEVAN
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Faruq Zaidi, a young journalist processing the recent death of his father, a devout Muslim, takes the opportunity to embed himself in a cult called “the nameless.” Based in the California redwoods and shepherded by an enigmatic Vietnam War veteran named Odo, the nameless adhere to the 18 Utterances, including teachings such as “all suffering is distortion” and “see only beauty.”
By: Nicole Cuffy
What listeners say about Unshrunk
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-16-25
Redeeming finale!
Such bravery and what a timing for this book to come out in 2025! At a time when so many are questioning conventional medicine, and are so distrusting of the medical fiel entirely.
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- Metal Rabbit
- 04-16-25
A Rite of Passage For the Rest of Us
A real account of one person's journey through and out of what doesn't work for them despite being told by experts there is only one way.
Every so often, she backs up what she says with info from studies. The US is behind in being accountable for harms caused by psychiatric drugs.
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- The Flying Lizard
- 04-16-25
This book questions standard psychiatric treatment as it exists today, but leaves you the freedom to make your own choices.
As a person who has been on medications to treat OCD and depression for 35 years, it was good for me to take a look at the life of someone who decided to get off of these types of medications and who has had successful results. But at the same time she fully admits that life is hard and that she still struggles with her mental health challenges, but chooses to deal with them by using her own wisdom which she has developed through many years of trial and error, and doing intensive research on her own. She has fully accepted that she is simply human and has strengths and weaknesses… As we all do. She has found her own way of navigating life, during both good times and bad… That works for her, and does not require the assistance of medications. She is very clear that what works for her may not work for you and me.
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- Stephen
- 04-08-25
Moving, Powerful, and Important Work
Laura Delano is obviously an extraordinary human. Few could travel beyond the event horizon of intense psychiatric therapy and return with such emotional and intellectual clarity. Warning: I am an ED physician and a bit of a hard ass, and I was pretty emotionally affected by this work. Laura writes beautifully and is telling a very important story. Make no mistake about it, this is a much-needed wakeup call for modern psychiatry and psychopharmacology. I read a lot of books. This is the best one in the last year.
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- Danielle Shihabi
- 04-08-25
This book is true
I found mad in America because I googled “abilify is the worst drug” and found that website and some related articles. It saved my life. Everything Laura says is true.
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