This volume of Lee Blessing's most recent and some of his best work, includes: Patient A - a rethinking of the Kimberly Bergalis AIDS case; Two Rooms - the strain on families of hostages in the Middle East; Down the Road - a tale of a serial killer concerned with image; Fortinbras - a hilarious reexamination of Hamlet in a contemporary political context; and Lake Street Extension - an exploration of the dark theme of child molestation. All of these plays resonate with Blessing's characteristic depth of human feeling and his insistence that the personal is the political.

THE STORY: Commissioned by the Bergalis family to explore Kimberly's case of contracting the AIDS virus, the playwright becomes part of the story as an essential observer to the story. Kim's encounters with Lee reflect their relationship in real life as w

**THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "An unforgettable—and Hollywood-bound—new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy." —Entertainment Weekly The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive. Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

The Silent Patient by way of Stephen King: Parker, a young, overconfident psychiatrist new to his job at a mental asylum, miscalculates catastrophically when he undertakes curing a mysterious and profoundly dangerous patient. In a series of online posts, Parker H., a young psychiatrist, chronicles the harrowing account of his time working at a dreary mental hospital in New England. Through this internet message board, Parker hopes to communicate with the world his effort to cure one bewildering patient. We learn, as Parker did on his first day at the hospital, of the facility's most difficult, profoundly dangerous case--a forty-year-old man who was originally admitted to the hospital at age six. This patient has no known diagnosis. His symptoms seem to evolve over time. Every person who has attempted to treat him has been driven to madness or suicide. Desperate and fearful, the hospital's directors keep him strictly confined and allow minimal contact with staff for their own safety, convinced that releasing him would unleash catastrophe on the outside world. Parker, brilliant and overconfident, takes it upon himself to discover what ails this mystery patient and finally cure him. But from his first encounter with the mystery patient, things spiral out of control, and, facing a possibility beyond his wildest imaginings, Parker is forced to question everything he thought he knew. Fans of Sarah Pinborough's Behind Her Eyes and Paul Tremblay's The Cabin at the End of the World will be riveted by Jasper DeWitt's astonishing debut.

The Patient's Playbook will change the way you manage your health and your family's health, from finding the right doctor to coordinating the best medical care. An expertly informed guide to the steps that everyone should take--even before illness strikes. The Patient's Playbook is a compelling narrative of personal stories that impart lessons and illuminate strategies for better, and even life-saving, medical decision-making. With clarity and as a call to action, Michelson presents the most effective approach to getting the best from a broken system: sourcing excellent doctors, choosing the right treatment protocols in the "no mistake zone," researching with precision, and structuring the ideal support team. Leslie D. Michelson has devoted his life's work to helping people access the best quality medical care--serving as an expert navigator for hundreds of clients. As the former head of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the CEO of Private Health Management he has dedicated his life's work to helping individuals find the courage and confidence to get what they need in a challenging health system.

The story of a recovery from a crippling disease and the physician patient partnership that beat the odds by using the patient's own capabilities.

"A godsend for concerned friends and relatives trying to rein in the chaos."-The New York Times Whether you're addressing the rising chaos of a pandemic or preparing for a scheduled surgery, having checklists prepared to guide you through a hospital visit can often mean the difference between comfort and pain, personal and distant care--and even life or death. In today's hospital system, you can face a series of perplexing obstacles to satisfactory care, from overworked healthcare providers to understaffed facilities--which are heightened in times of crisis. You need to know how to take charge of your own healthcare; Elizabeth Bailey shows you how to do just that with a series of essential, easy-to-use checklists to better manage, monitor, and participate in your own healthcare, including: Before You Go, What to Bring, Master Medication List, Discharge Plan, and more. It is more important than ever to have a protocol, including a detailed plan for hygiene and communications while hospitalized. You can trust the medical staff, but you also need to trust yourself or a loved one to be your own best advocate. Newly revised and completely up-to-date, The Patient's Checklist shows you how.