Sphere pre-empts 'fascinating' memoir by psychiatrist Das

Sphere has pre-empted In Two Minds: Stories of Murder, Justice and Recovery from a Forensic Psychiatrist by Dr Sohom Das.

Nicky Crane, commissioning editor at Sphere, acquired world rights from Katie Fulford at Bell Lomax Moreton. The book will publish in hardback, e-book and audio on 10th March 2022. 

Das is a consultant forensic psychiatrist, working in prisons, secure hospitals and criminal courts, assessing and rehabilitating mentally ill offenders. According to Sphere, during his 15 years as a psychiatry doctor, he has worked with "hundreds of patients who the tabloids might call the ‘criminally insane’, many of whom assault, rob, rape, and even kill”.

His memoir’s synopsis explains: “In Two Minds is an honest, fascinating and at times humorous insight into a harrowing world. The book traces Dr Das’ time as a psychiatric doctor, and details his most extreme, heartbreaking and bizarre cases, from the tragic story of a teenage girl who smothered her two-year-old nephew in a state of psychosis, to a very rare presentation of ‘folie à deux’, when the delusional beliefs were shared between a psychotic son and his father. Dr Das also describes the time he was punched in the face on his first day as a fledgling psychiatrist – and another occasion in which he was duped by a patient who was fabricating their psychiatric illness.” 

Crane commented: “In his professional memoir, Sohom shares the stories, the patients and the cases that have characterised a career spent helping those most of us would rather forget. However, it’s also filled with moments of hope and recovery. I am constantly in awe of Sohom’s compassion and deep understanding of the human psyche, but he’s also wickedly funny and a gifted storyteller, so I’m delighted to be bringing him to the Sphere list to join other bestselling true crime authors such as David Wilson and Carla Valentine. I can’t wait to publish In Two Minds, and know that true crime fans and anyone interested in the dark side of the mind will absolutely love it. 

Das added: “I’ve always found many of my cases to be surreal, peculiar and fascinating. I relish the opportunity of being able to share some of my patients’ stories. In this book, I aim to reveal what lies behind the huge bolted door and gates that detain my patients. I hope to shed some light on the secretive world I work in, which the public know little about.”