Non-Fiction: The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head; A Psychiatrist's Stories of His Most Bizarre Cases, by Gary Small, M.D. & GiGi Vorgan

The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head, by Dr. Gary Small and his wife GiGi Vorgan (authors of The Memory Bible), is a collection of stories about Dr. Small's adventures in psychiatry. The book leads through the life and cases of Dr. Small as he begins his career as a "shrink." The tales range from a naked lady standing on her head, to a man and his shrinking penis, with each case being explained  by Dr. Small for a better understanding of what the causes and treatments are for that particular situation.

The title of this story leads one to believe that the cases discussed will be strange and rare, or at least rarely heard of. When I read the title, I even thought that there would be quite a bit of humor involved. What I found is that, though the scenarios are strange, I can't believe they are the "most bizarre" that Dr. Small has encountered. And though the stories were told in a lighthearted manner, there really wasn't very much humor.

Aside from my initial expectations not being met, I did enjoy this book and found it very easy to read. The explanations offered for the diagnoses were clear and understandable, and the personal reflections were heartfelt. The stories in, and of themselves, were entertaining, and I liked the way that Dr. Small's life was interwoven with the cases.

On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3. I thought the cases would be more bizarre and humorous, but overall it was a good read.

This book was published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins
ISBN: 978-0-06-180378-9

Thank you to the authors Dr. Small and Gigi Vorgan, via their publicist Greg Lee, for the gift of this book.
Several places to find more info about Dr. Small and his wife GiGi Vorgan:
http://www.drgarysmall.com/
http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=104526749607663 (Naked Lady Book Group)
http://twitter.com/drgarysmall
http://drgarysmall.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/gigivorgan