BOOK REVIEW: He Wanted the Moon

*Please note I was sent a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes but all opinions are 100% my own.

I didn’t know what to expect, at first, when I requested He Wanted the Moon by Mimi Baird for review.  I understood that it was a true story about a very accomplished doctor who suffered from manic psychosis and how his daughter’s goal was to put the pieces together of his life.  I had just finished reading Me Before You which was a tear-jerker, so I was hoping for something a bit different.

And He Wanted the Moon was different.  The first half of the book was mainly excerpts from Dr. Perry Baird’s manuscripts that Mimi pieced together; with snip-its from his medical files and asides by Mimi.  I couldn’t believe how terribly and archaic the mentally ill were treated in facilities like the ones he was sent to.  They were treated like criminals with barbaric means to try and “rid” the patient of their mental ailment.  None of which really seemed to work.  I feel like it only agitated the patients more and caused them to act out when they may not have done so under different circumstances.  To be somewhat fair, this was in the 1940s and medical breakthroughs were not what they are today, but it sounded so inhuman.

The second half of the book was most exciting to me, as it told Dr. Baird’s life story from a different perspective than his own.  Mimi searched high and low to learn about the man she knew briefly as her father.  She interviewed old family friends, colleagues of Dr. Baird, and family members.   I found this most interesting and hard to put the book down.  I wanted to know more and more about Dr. Baird.  I wanted Mimi to really know who her dad was and why she felt this strong connection to him.

It was a great book and definitely recommendable.  You can purchase the book by clicking on the cover image below!