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WORK TITLE: The Blind
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Brady, Alex
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.afbrady.com/
CITY: Manhattan
STATE: NY
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://bookpage.com/reviews/21824-f-brady-blind#.WihMkEqnFPY
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in New York, NY; married; children: a son.
EDUCATION:Brown University, B.A.; Columbia University, M.A., M.Ed.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, novelist, and psychotherapist. Practicing mental health counselor/psychotherapist in the state of New York.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
A.F. Brady was born and raised in New York and continues to work there as a mental health counselor and psychotherapist. She is also a writer who began writing when she was still a child. Her debut novel, The Blind, is a psychological thriller that features Dr. Samantha James, a well-respected psycotherapist who works at New York City’s Typhlo Psychiatric Center. The story revolves around the interaction between Sam and a mysterious patient named Richard McHugh who shows up at the center and specifically requests Samantha as a counselor after refusing to talk to another therapist. It turns out that Richard once killed somebody and has spent half his life in prison.
In an interview for the BookBrowse website, Brady said the inspiration for the novel came from her own experiences working in mental health, noting: “Typhlos, the institution in The Blind, is underfunded and understaffed, and the clinicians are overwhelmed. This is drawn from experiences in my career, where I worked in facilities that did not have access to the resources we needed to adequately care for the number of clients we were treating. The story behind The Blind was inspired when I was talking to a friend while I was working at this particular facility, and I told him ‘you have to be crazy to work here.'” Brady also noted that numerous “real life events” inspire many episodes in the tale.
In The Blind, Sam begins as a consummate professional, admired by her boss and most of the junior staff. She also seems to be a patient favorite as well. However, it turns out that Sam has numerous issues of her own. She is an alcoholic and her live-in lover is abusive. For some time Sam has been trying to keep up the facade of having a perfect life, but it is getting harder and harder and eventually starts to reflect in her job performance. Meanwhile, her new patient is uncooperative at best. Richard initially refuses to fill out any forms or answer questions. As times passes, however, Sam and Richard begin to form a relationship. Eventually, Sam discovers that there are dark secrets in Richard’s past beyond the murder he committed. Still, she is having a hard time coming up with a diagnosis or any therapy that can help Richard. However, her interactions with Richard are helping Sam understand herself better.
“Brady paints an all-too-realistic picture of an unsupported mental-health system that can fail those needing it most,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called The Blind “a satisfying, darkly funny tale of redemption.” Matt Craig, writing for the Reader Dad website, praised Brady’s development of the characters, noting: “Brady’s talent lies in the creation of realistic and identifiable characters. Aside from the central characters … The Blind is peopled by a colourful cast of misfits and oddballs, a microcosmic cross-section of New York brought together by their shared problems, crimes and assorted troubled pasts.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 1, 2017, Tracy Babiasz, review of The Blind, p. 50.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2017, review of The Blind.
Publishers Weekly, June 12, 2017, review of The Blind, p. 39.
ONLINE
A.F. Brady Website, https://www.afbrady.com (April 9, 2018).
BookBrowse, https://www.bookbrowse.com/ (April 9, 2018), “An Interview with A.F. Brady.”
BookPage Online, https://bookpage.com/ (September 26, 2017), Carla Jean Whitley, review of The Blind.
Reader Dad, https://readerdad.co.uk/ (October 12, 2017 ), Matt Craig, review of The Blind.
A.F. Brady is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor/Psychotherapist. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Brown University and two Masters degrees in Psychological Counseling from Columbia University. She is a life-long New Yorker, and resides in Manhattan with her husband and their family. The Blind is her first novel.
I'm Alex (A.F. Brady),
You should definitely read my book, THE BLIND which was released on September 26th, 2017, and is now available for purchase.
I am a born and raised New Yorker. I'm a writer, and I'm also a psychotherapist; a NYS licensed mental health counselor. I've been working in mental healthcare for many years.
I've been writing since I could hold a pencil, but THE BLIND is my first novel.
I have a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and an M.A. and Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.
I live in New York with my husband and our sons; one canine and one human.
BookBrowse
An interview with A.F. Brady
A.F. Brady discusses her debut psychological suspense novel, The Blind
What is your debut novel, The Blind, about?
The Blind is a psychological suspense novel that follows Dr. Samantha James, a psychologist working in a Manhattan psychiatric facility. Sam is the most talented and successful clinician at the institution, and along with her picture-perfect boyfriend, seems to have the ideal life. But simmering under the surface, she is struggling to manage her own demons, and only when a mysterious new patient Richard comes to her office and throws everything into disarray, does Sam begin to delve into the turmoil of her own mind.
You yourself are a licensed psychotherapist. What inspired this particular story? Something you encountered in your professional practice?
As a licensed psychotherapist, I have many years of experiencing working in mental health facilities of all kinds. Typhlos, the institution in The Blind, is underfunded and understaffed, and the clinicians are overwhelmed. This is drawn from experiences in my career, where I worked in facilities that did not have access to the resources we needed to adequately care for the number of clients we were treating. The story behind The Blind was inspired when I was talking to a friend while I was working at this particular facility, and I told him "you have to be crazy to work here." Many of the stories in the novel are inspired by real life events as well, and the clinical components, although I tried to keep those to a minimum, are accurately represented.
Not many psychological thrillers are written by actual psychotherapists. How did your professional expertise help you write the book? Hinder?
I think it helped because I have experience working with clients who are suffering from the disorders I explored in The Blind. I have a greater breadth of knowledge regarding how particular disorders are manifested, and I also know what the day to day activities are like in an institution such as Typhlos. Although it's not as glamorous as it may have been if I had created it all in my mind, the fact that I am drawing from real life experience lends a sense of authenticity. My professional expertise hindered my writing progress sometimes because I found myself getting way too clinical, and I had to rewrite whole paragraphs that ended up reading like a psych textbook. When writing The Blind, did you ever find it challenging to separate you the psychotherapist from you the novelist and storyteller?
Sure. Sometimes I would get on my soapbox while writing, and start ranting about the unjustness of the state of mental health care, and I would get preachy about the stigma associated with mental illness. It was easy to create characters, scenes and relationships as a storyteller/novelist, but it was often difficult to separate the emotional component of really feeling for my characters, because I know that real human beings are suffering the way some of my characters were suffering.
Have did you keep the story flowing without getting bogged down in jargon or arcane details of complicated psychological theories and practices?
Lots of editing!!
The novel is written in very short chapters. Why did you decide to use this technique to tell your story?
It's written in Sam's voice, and Sam is disjointed, confused and struggling to hold it all together. She flip-flops from being her true self to her portrayed self, and she can't keep up with either self for too long. That's reflected in the chapter length. You'll notice the longer chapters are usually focused on Richard's stories, or the lives of someone other than Sam. The short bursts are reflective of Sam's rapid transition from one version of herself to another because she can't keep up with either of them for too long.
Sam, the main character, is a brilliant psychologist but, quite frankly, a hot mess. Have you witnessed colleagues who were drawn to becoming therapists because of their own mental health issues?
It's hard for me to comment on the motivations of other therapists, but I will say that a lot of us are drawn to the helping professions because of a sense of empathy toward suffering. In some cases, this is born from suffering in our own lives, whether it's ourselves, or loved ones who have struggled.
Why did you decide to turn to fiction writing after a career as a psychotherapist?
Well, I am still a practicing psychotherapist, so I haven't switched careers completely; I have simply added another facet. I have been writing all my life, and I enjoy it enormously. I was always very focused on pursuing a career in psychology because I want to help people, I thrive on helping people, and I feel there is an extreme need for it in our society, and every society frankly. None of us have it all together, and we can all use a helping hand now and again. I felt that writing would give me a new platform to reach people. A lot of my readers thus far have commented that they can relate to Sam, and have felt the way Sam feels. Following her through her journey in The Blind is another way that I can potentially help people to feel that they are not alone; that someone can understand what they are experiencing. Sam is a flawed human being, but so are we all.
The novel is set in New York City, where you yourself have lived your whole life. Is this locale important to the story or just the place you are most familiar with?
I think it's a combination of the two. I know New York very well, and many people who have lived here will tell you it's a two-faced city. It can be the most wonderful, welcoming, perfect place in the world, but it can also kick the shit out of you. The setting is reflective of Sam's struggles with herself. Desperately trying to be perfect, but underneath it all being a mess. And New York City is shiny and wealthy and glorious, but also not those things at all. Sam and New York are pretty similar. Chaotic, tumultuous, unpredictable, but really wonderful as well.
Even though you are a psychotherapist, did you need to do any additional research for this story?
Of course! The majority of the research I had to do was for Richard's backstory. I wanted the schools, locations, dates and events to be historically accurate. In the psychotherapy business, we are always doing more research, learning new ways to deal with old problems, and reminding ourselves of the nature of various diagnoses. It's a constant state of research, and for me, writing is the same way a lot of the time. Even if it means going and sitting in the park that I'm writing about. Immersion research, I suppose.
Do your professional colleagues know about this foray into fiction writing? If so, what has been their reactions?
Yes! Many of my colleagues know I've written this book, and some have read it already. In my experience, therapists are a supportive bunch, and I've been lucky to receive a lot of support and praise from other mental health professionals.
What writers, if any, have influenced you?
I am a huge Hemingway fan. I love the way he makes characters and settings come alive with easy, simple sentences. His stories have always resonated with me, and bring me to safe, nostalgic places in my mind. On the other hand, I also love Jay McInerney, Brett Easton Ellis, James Frey and Chuck Palahniuk for their incredible abilities to create extremely flawed characters with whom I can't help but fall in love. I adore David Sedaris because he has the capacity to inject humanity and humor into any situation.
Are you at work on a second novel? Can you give us a sneak peek into what it is about?
I am at work on a second novel, yes. It follows a sociopathic defense attorney who experiences several massive life changes throughout the course of the book, and is challenged to regain a sense of humanity. The story questions whether or not people really do have the capacity to change.
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
Membership Advantages
The Blind
Tracy Babiasz
Booklist. 114.1 (Sept. 1, 2017): p50.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Blind. By A. F. Brady. Sept. 2017.400p. Park Row, $26.99 (9780778330875).
Dark, moody, and fascinatingly flawed describe Brady's debut novel but also its protagonist, Sam James. Sam's work as a psychologist at a New York mental-health institution maintains her own sanity as much as that of her patients. A secret alcoholic in an abusive relationship, she continues functioning, believing that if she can't save herself, maybe she can save someone else. Her house of cards begins to fall with the arrival of Richard, a new patient who refuses to see anyone but Sam yet won't talk or reveal what brought him to the institution. Sam sets out to break through Richard's wall, but she finds that it's her own wall that's crumbling. A practicing psychotherapist, Brady paints an all-too-realistic picture of an unsupported mental-health system that can fail those needing it most. The Blind is less of a psychological thriller and more a suspenseful look at our weaknesses and ability to forgive. While Sam is a somewhat unsympathetic and unlikable character, readers will be anxious to know if she'll be able to get her act together.--Tracy Babiasz
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Babiasz, Tracy. "The Blind." Booklist, 1 Sept. 2017, p. 50. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A509161581/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=53fa847f. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A509161581
Brady, A.F.: THE BLIND
Kirkus Reviews. (July 15, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Brady, A.F. THE BLIND Park Row Books (Adult Fiction) $26.99 9, 26 ISBN: 978-0-7783-3087-5
A woman in pieces must put herself back together before she loses everything she's worked for and everyone she cares about.Samantha James, 37, is one of the best psychologists on staff at Typhlos Psychiatric Center in Manhattan, and she's determined to keep it that way. She genuinely cares about her patients and revels in the recognition she gets from her boss, Rachel. Her co-worker and best friend, David, provides an emotional oasis for her at work, one that is sorely lacking outside of it. Underneath her can-do demeanor is another Sam entirely, one spiraling in a haze of alcohol, casual sex, and physical abuse at the hands of her awful boyfriend, Lucas. If only she could "fix" him they'd be the perfect couple. When new patient Richard McHugh (who spent 20 years in prison) comes to Typhlos, no one wants to take him on, but after one psychologist's man-to-man approach fails--Richard refuses to answer any questions--he becomes Sam's problem, and she's determined to make it work. Richard is an enigma, not answering her questions, coming to her office carrying a pile of old newspapers. When Sam makes an egregious mistake that only Richard witnesses, he makes her an offer she can't refuse: he'll tell her his secrets if she'll share hers, and he'll seal it with vodka--but if she refuses, he'll expose her drinking problem. And boy does Sam have some secrets to tell. Brady's entertaining debut is told in the wry voice of Sam, who uses black humor to hide an undercurrent of pain. There is a twist, of course, and readers will most likely have it figured out well before the end, but the journey (and the eye-opening, compassionate look at institutional life) is just as important as the destination, and for all her foibles, Sam is an irresistible diversion even if she can't seem to get out of her own way and be herself. A satisfying, darkly funny tale of redemption.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Brady, A.F.: THE BLIND." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498345283/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=96a85c87. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A498345283
The Blind
Publishers Weekly. 264.24 (June 12, 2017): p39.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Blind
A.F. Brady. Park Row, $26.99 (400p) ISBN 9780-7783-3087-5
Psychologist Samantha "Sam" James, the heroine of Brady's complex, intricately plotted debut, is the golden girl at Manhattan's Typhlos Psychiatric Center, respected and admired by her boss and peers. In her personal life, however, she's miserable, and drinking heavily. When a new patient, Richard McHugh, shows up at the center, he first sits in silence with one of the other therapists, then asks to see Sam. All Sam knows is that Richard once murdered someone and spent more than half his life in prison. In subsequent sessions with Richard, Sam struggles to figure out this enigmatic man--whose reason for coming to the facility remains unclear. One side benefit of trying to treat Richard is that Sam begins to see her own life more clearly. On the other hand, she starts behaving inappropriately with other patients and making mistakes at work, some leading to disastrous results. This psychological thriller grabs the reader and doesn't let go until the truth about Richard's past is finally revealed. Agent'. Marian Young, Marian Young Agency. (Sept.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Blind." Publishers Weekly, 12 June 2017, p. 39. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A495720644/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ec347a5a. Accessed 15 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A495720644
Web Exclusive – September 26, 2017
THE BLIND
As psychological as a thriller can get
BookPage review by Carla Jean Whitley
What is life inside a mental institution? Some literature and film paint institutional life as a soothing break from reality. The hospitals are often located in remote areas with rambling gardens, places where patients can take a break from the stressors and triggers of daily life.
Maybe there’s some truth to that. But Sam James can’t relate; she’s a psychologist at Typhlos, an institution in the middle of Manhattan. Her life outside the institution’s walls is often as gray as life inside. Although James is willing to take on the most difficult patients, she’s less eager to confront her own problems. Among those: alcohol and a controlling boyfriend.
When Sam is assigned Richard, with whom other therapists haven’t been able to connect, she’s sure she’s up for the challenge. But Richard refuses to answer even the most basic intake questions, setting Sam on her heels. As she attempts to understand him, she’s forced to take a look at herself and her habits as well. You could say it’s an example of the blind leading the blind.
Debut novelist A.F. Brady has stuck to the old adage “write what you know,” as her experience as a psychotherapist in Manhattan clearly informs The Blind. The result is a twisting, fast-paced tale that may leave readers, like Sam, examining what they know of themselves and mental illness.
THE BLIND
A.F. Brady (www.afbrady.com)
HQ (www.harpercollins.co.uk)
12.99
Samantha James is a staff psychologist at a Manhattan psychiatric hospital. When a new patient is assigned to her, Sam has trouble working out exactly why he has been given a mandatory stay at the hospital. Richard is uncooperative and quiet, refusing to fill in any forms or answer any questions, and Sam can find no diagnosis and can come up with no treatment plan. As their relationship develops, and as Sam’s life starts to fall apart, she discovers that Richard has dark secrets, but that he might just be the sanest person she knows.
At the centre of psychotherapist A.F. Brady’s debut novel, we find Sam, a relatively young New Yorker working in a psychiatric hospital, where her star is on the rise; loved by her boss, and a role model for more junior members of staff, Sam has a winning way with her patients and gives the impression that she lives the perfect life. Inside – the story is told in first person from Sam’s point of view, so we find ourselves, quite literally, on the inside – we find a much different story. Sam is an alcoholic who lives with an abusive lover, whose working persona is little more than a thin, and very fragile, façade.
When we first meet Sam, she is hanging over the bin in her office, vomiting after a drinking session the previous night. This is not unusual, we discover, and leads to a hilarious misunderstanding later in the book. Despite the constant hangover, Sam is good at her job, to the point that she is seen as something of a teacher’s pet to her boss, Rachel. It is no surprise, then, that she is assigned to newcomer Richard, who is proving to be something of a handful. Richard doesn’t seem to want help, and none of his notes are particularly useful in helping with his diagnosis. All Sam knows is that he has spent some time in prison, and that his stay at Typhlos is a mandated condition of his release.
Outside of work, we see a very different Sam. She spends much of her time in Nick’s bar, often with her lover, Lucas. To others, they seem to have a perfect relationship, the dream couple, but Lucas has problems if his own: he is a drug addict and serial abuser, often sending Sam to work with cuts and bruises that need to be covered up with industrial-strength make-up. This Sam is something of a conundrum: we watch her leading group therapy sessions with women who have suffered at the hands of abusive husbands and boyfriends, yet she is unable to extract herself from her own hell.
Despite the disjointed nature of Sam’s two halves, she is a very engaging character with a wicked sense of humour. Her first-person narrative gives the reader some insight into the thought processes of a woman in an abusive relationship, obviously drawn from the author’s own extensive knowledge of the subject. It is difficult to reconcile the strong, confident character that appears before her patients with the weak, frightened individual who bends to Lucas’ every whim, becoming little more than an extension of him. It’s an incredible portrayal, and gives the novel an intensity that sucks the reader in from the moment we first meet Sam.
Brady’s talent lies in the creation of realistic and identifiable characters. Aside from the central characters – Sam herself, her friend and colleague David, Richard, Lucas – The Blind is peopled by a colourful cast of misfits and oddballs, a microcosmic cross-section of New York brought together by their shared problems, crimes and assorted troubled pasts. Anyone who has seen or read the wonderful One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest will recognise many of these characters, updated for the twenty-first century: Tashawndra, the mother of eleven children, all taken from her by Social Services; Devon, who smears the back of his jacket with faeces (“the shit jacket”, his therapist calls it) in an attempt to maintain a bubble around himself, leaving small piles of brown “confetti” wherever he goes. To my mind, the most depressing character is also the best-drawn and most instantly-recognisable. Eddie’s speech patterns define the man, and when he starts to speak and rap on Sam’s door, we can see him clearly:
[“Sssssammmm, it’s an important day today, and I need to talk-to-youuuuu.” Eddie pulls open my door and wiggles his way inside my office.]
Brady presents Sam’s story in an unusual and distinct writing style. There’s a touch of the telegraphic, and Sam’s outside life and her relationship with Lucas, feels somehow pretentious and nihilistic, the brand names mixed with a sense of inertia that echoes Bret Easton Ellis’ wonderful prose as he describes the life of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho.
A.F. Brady’s The Blind is an exceptional debut, a character-driven piece populated with engaging and realistic characters who pull us into the story. While the climactic revelation will come to the reader several chapters before Sam herself realises what’s going on, it doesn’t make the story any less enjoyable. I’ll be watching out for Brady’s next novel, and recommending this one unreservedly.