
May Cause Side Effects
A Memoir
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.78
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Candace Joice
-
By:
-
Brooke Siem
About this listen
An unforgettable memoir about the turmoil of antidepressant withdrawal and the work it takes to unravel the stories we tell ourselves to rationalize our suffering.
Brooke Siem was among the first generation of minors to be prescribed antidepressants. Initially diagnosed and treated in the wake of her father’s sudden death, this psychiatric intervention sent a message that something was pathologically wrong with her and that the only “fix” was medication. As a teenager, she stepped into the hazy world of antidepressants just at the time when she was forming the foundation of her identity. For the following fifteen years, every situation she faced was seen through the lens of brokenness.
A decade and a half later, still on the same cocktail of drugs, Brooke found herself hanging halfway out her Manhattan high-rise window, calculating the time it would take to hit the ground. As she looked for breaks in the pedestrian traffic patterns, a thought dawned on her: “I’ve spent half my life—and my entire adult life—on antidepressants. Who might I be without them?”
Unfurled against a global backdrop, May Cause Side Effects is the gripping story of what happened when, after fifteen years and 32,760 pills, Brooke was faced with a profound choice that plunged her into a year of excruciating antidepressant withdrawal and forced her to rebuild her entire life.
An illuminating memoir for those who take, prescribe, or are considering psychiatric drugs, May Cause Side Effects is an honest reminder that the road to true happiness is not mapped on a prescription pad. Instead, Brooke’s story reveals the messy reality of how healing begins at the bottomless depth of our suffering, in the deep self-work that pushes us to the edges of who we are.
©2022 Central Recovery Press (P)2022 Central Recovery PressListeners also enjoyed...
-
Untangle Your Anxiety
- A Guide to Overcoming an Anxiety Disorder by Two People Who Have Been Through It
- By: Joshua Fletcher, Dean Stott
- Narrated by: Joshua Fletcher, Dean Stott
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you struggle to understand your anxiety? Are your days often consumed by worries that have no clear answers? Perhaps you don't feel like your usual self? Untangle Your Anxiety was written by psychotherapist and best-selling author, Joshua Fletcher (@anxietyjosh), and the owner of Instagram's largest anxiety community, Dean Stott (@DLCanxiety), to help you overcome excessive anxiety.
-
-
Easy and simple
- By Amazon Customer on 01-02-22
By: Joshua Fletcher, and others
-
Pathological
- The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses
- By: Sarah Fay
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this stunning debut—both a memoir and a work of investigative journalism—writer Sarah Fay explores the ways we pathologize human experiences. Over thirty years, doctors diagnosed Sarah Fay with six different mental illnesses—anorexia, major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and bipolar disorder.
-
-
Balanced perspective
- By J. T. Conn on 07-09-22
By: Sarah Fay
-
When Christmas Comes
- By: Andrew Klavan
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Colorful Christmas lights dapple the family homes in the idyllic lakeside town of Sweet Haven when Jennifer Dean, a young librarian at the local elementary school, is brutally murdered. There are witnesses and her boyfriend Travis Blake confesses to the crime...but something doesn't quite add up. Blake is a third generation Army Ranger, awarded the Silver Star for his heroism in Afghanistan - how could a beloved son of this tight-knit burgh commit such a grisly deed?
-
-
Klavan is genius and powerful communicator
- By The Wirths on 10-27-21
By: Andrew Klavan
-
Sure, I'll Join Your Cult
- A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere
- By: Maria Bamford
- Narrated by: Maria Bamford
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford’s “trademark blend of disarming intimacy and dark whimsy” (Publishers Weekly), Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult brings us on a quest to participate in something.
-
-
Hilarious and sincere
- By B. Bazzell on 09-06-23
By: Maria Bamford
-
Lost in Trans Nation
- A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness
- By: Miriam Grossman MD
- Narrated by: Miriam Grossman MD
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No child is born in the wrong body, Dr. Grossman reassures us, their bodies are just fine; it’s their emotional lives that need healing. Whether you’re facing a gender identity battle in your home right now, or want to prevent one, you need this book to guide you and your loved ones out of the madness.
-
-
Parents PLEASE READ
- By Kimberly D Naffziger on 09-05-23
-
The Myth of Normal
- Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
- By: Gabor Maté MD, Daniel Maté
- Narrated by: Daniel Maté
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?
-
-
Bought book after hearing podcast...
- By Adrian on 09-14-22
By: Gabor Maté MD, and others
-
Untangle Your Anxiety
- A Guide to Overcoming an Anxiety Disorder by Two People Who Have Been Through It
- By: Joshua Fletcher, Dean Stott
- Narrated by: Joshua Fletcher, Dean Stott
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do you struggle to understand your anxiety? Are your days often consumed by worries that have no clear answers? Perhaps you don't feel like your usual self? Untangle Your Anxiety was written by psychotherapist and best-selling author, Joshua Fletcher (@anxietyjosh), and the owner of Instagram's largest anxiety community, Dean Stott (@DLCanxiety), to help you overcome excessive anxiety.
-
-
Easy and simple
- By Amazon Customer on 01-02-22
By: Joshua Fletcher, and others
-
Pathological
- The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses
- By: Sarah Fay
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this stunning debut—both a memoir and a work of investigative journalism—writer Sarah Fay explores the ways we pathologize human experiences. Over thirty years, doctors diagnosed Sarah Fay with six different mental illnesses—anorexia, major depressive disorder (MDD), anxiety disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and bipolar disorder.
-
-
Balanced perspective
- By J. T. Conn on 07-09-22
By: Sarah Fay
-
When Christmas Comes
- By: Andrew Klavan
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Colorful Christmas lights dapple the family homes in the idyllic lakeside town of Sweet Haven when Jennifer Dean, a young librarian at the local elementary school, is brutally murdered. There are witnesses and her boyfriend Travis Blake confesses to the crime...but something doesn't quite add up. Blake is a third generation Army Ranger, awarded the Silver Star for his heroism in Afghanistan - how could a beloved son of this tight-knit burgh commit such a grisly deed?
-
-
Klavan is genius and powerful communicator
- By The Wirths on 10-27-21
By: Andrew Klavan
-
Sure, I'll Join Your Cult
- A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere
- By: Maria Bamford
- Narrated by: Maria Bamford
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford’s “trademark blend of disarming intimacy and dark whimsy” (Publishers Weekly), Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult brings us on a quest to participate in something.
-
-
Hilarious and sincere
- By B. Bazzell on 09-06-23
By: Maria Bamford
-
Lost in Trans Nation
- A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness
- By: Miriam Grossman MD
- Narrated by: Miriam Grossman MD
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No child is born in the wrong body, Dr. Grossman reassures us, their bodies are just fine; it’s their emotional lives that need healing. Whether you’re facing a gender identity battle in your home right now, or want to prevent one, you need this book to guide you and your loved ones out of the madness.
-
-
Parents PLEASE READ
- By Kimberly D Naffziger on 09-05-23
-
The Myth of Normal
- Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture
- By: Gabor Maté MD, Daniel Maté
- Narrated by: Daniel Maté
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?
-
-
Bought book after hearing podcast...
- By Adrian on 09-14-22
By: Gabor Maté MD, and others
-
The Many Lives of Mama Love
- A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing
- By: Lara Love Hardin
- Narrated by: Lara Love Hardin
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one expects the police to knock on the door of the million-dollar two-story home of the perfect cul-de-sac housewife. But soccer mom Lara Love Hardin has been hiding a shady secret: she is funding her heroin addiction by stealing her neighbors’ credit cards. Lara is convicted of thirty-two felonies and becomes inmate S32179. She finds that jail is a class system with a power structure that is somewhere between an adolescent sleepover party and Lord of the Flies. But Lara quickly learns the rules and brings love and healing to her fellow inmates.
-
-
Well written and great story
- By A. Champ on 09-02-23
By: Lara Love Hardin
-
Drinking Games
- A Memoir
- By: Sarah Levy
- Narrated by: Sarah Levy
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On paper, Sarah Levy’s life was on track. She was 28, living in New York City, working a great job, and socializing every weekend. But Sarah had a secret: her relationship with alcohol was becoming toxic. And only she could save herself. Drinking Games explores the role alcohol has in our formative years, and what it means to opt out of a culture completely enmeshed in drinking. It’s an examination of what our short-term choices about alcohol do to our long-term selves and how they challenge our ability to be vulnerable enough to discover what we really want in life.
-
-
Surface Level, Young Adult Essays
- By dr8901 on 03-29-23
By: Sarah Levy
-
Blood Orange Night
- My Journey to the Edge of Madness
- By: Melissa Bond
- Narrated by: Melissa Bond
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As Melissa Bond raises her infant daughter and a special-needs one-year-old son, she suffers from unbearable insomnia, sleeping an hour or less each night. She loses her job as a journalist (a casualty of the 2008 recession), and her relationship with her husband grows distant. Her doctor casually prescribes benzodiazepines—a family of drugs that includes Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan—and increases her dosage regularly.
-
-
This book is not a memoir of benzos
- By Mark Lawson on 04-27-24
By: Melissa Bond
-
Crazy Like Us
- The Globalization of the American Psyche
- By: Ethan Watters
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America has been the world leader in generating new mental health treatments and modern theories of the human psyche. We export our psychopharmaceuticals packaged with the certainty that our biomedical knowledge will relieve the suffering and stigma of mental illness. We categorize disorders, thereby defining mental illness and health, and then parade these seemingly scientific certainties in front of the world.
-
-
He is a reporter...
- By Briana on 05-07-18
By: Ethan Watters
-
What My Bones Know
- A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
- By: Stephanie Foo
- Narrated by: Stephanie Foo
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD—a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years.
-
-
Complex PTSD from a patient's point of view!
- By Howard_a on 05-24-22
By: Stephanie Foo
-
Zig-Zag Boy
- A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood
- By: Tanya Frank
- Narrated by: Tanya Frank
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One night in 2009, Tanya Frank finds her nineteen-year-old son, Zach—gentle and full of promise—in the grip of what the psychiatrists would label a psychotic break. Suddenly and inexplicably, Tanya is thrown into a parallel universe: Zach's world, where the phones are bugged, his friends have joined the Mafia, and helicopters are spying on his family.
-
-
Wonderful, Courageous, Compassionate
- By Me on 12-09-23
By: Tanya Frank
-
The Way I Used to Be
- By: Amber Smith
- Narrated by: Rebekkah Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eden was always good at being good. Starting high school didn’t change who she was. But the night her brother’s best friend rapes her, Eden’s world capsizes. What was once simple, is now complex. What Eden once loved—who she once loved—she now hates. What she thought she knew to be true, is now lies. Nothing makes sense anymore, and she knows she’s supposed to tell someone what happened but she can’t. So she buries it instead. And she buries the way she used to be.
-
-
Tear jerking, jaw breaking, just a whole lot
- By Elena S. on 06-22-18
By: Amber Smith
-
Wish You Were Here
- A Novel
- By: Jodi Picoult
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos - days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.
-
-
Amazing Jodi + excellent narration = 5+++
- By Susie Q on 12-03-21
By: Jodi Picoult
-
Hey, Hun
- Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing
- By: Emily Lynn Paulson
- Narrated by: Emily Lynn Paulson
- Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
She signed up for the sisterhood, free cars, and the promise of a successful business of her own. Instead, she ended up with an addiction, broken friendships, and the rubble of a toppled pyramid . . . scheme. Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing is the eye-opening, funny, and dangerous personal story of author Emily Lynn Paulson rising to the top of the pyramid in the multilevel marketing (MLM) world, only to recognize that its culture and business practices went beyond a trendy marketing scheme and into the heart of white supremacy in America.
-
-
Wish it had actual analysis without the political posturing
- By Tabor Barranti on 09-21-23
-
Just After Sunset
- Stories
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Stephen King, Jill Eikenberry, Holter Graham, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just After Sunset - call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.
-
-
King scores another coup
- By Jeff G. on 03-21-09
By: Stephen King
-
Lily and the Octopus
- By: Steven Rowley
- Narrated by: Michael Urie
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When you listen to Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride. The magic of this novel is in the listening, and we don't want to spoil it by giving away too many details. We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can't live without. For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion, Lily, who happens to be a dog.
-
-
OMG WHY!!???!??? last hour redeemed the first 7
- By Amazon Fan on 03-21-18
By: Steven Rowley
-
The Mind and the Moon
- My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches
- By: Daniel Bergner
- Narrated by: Daniel Bergner
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early 1960s, JFK declared that science would take us to the moon. He also declared that science would make the “remote reaches of the mind accessible” and cure psychiatric illness with breakthrough medications. We were walking on the moon within the decade. But today, psychiatric cures continue to elude us—as does the mind itself. Why is it that we still don’t understand how the mind works? What is the difference between the mind and the brain? And given all that we still don’t know, how can we make insightful, transformative choices about our psychiatric conditions?
-
-
Narration
- By M. Morgan on 09-06-22
By: Daniel Bergner
What listeners say about May Cause Side Effects
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Christina Maguire
- 09-13-23
Loved it - Sadly Relatable
Finally someone is brave enough to share a story of SSRI withdrawal. I really enjoyed it. I hope this story prevents people from starting these drugs. Well written!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Frankie
- 03-30-25
Beyond Five Stars! A Must-Listen Audiobook!
Even though I haven't yet finished 'May Cause Side Effects,' I'm compelled to share my admiration. This is a true masterpiece. (Side note: It's frustrating to witness talented authors endure some unwarranted criticism, often from jealous individuals who lack the creative capacity to produce even a simple comic strip. These 'frenemies' aim to sabotage ratings, a testament to their own creative envy. Thank you for indulging my brief digression.)
Brooke Siem's writing is very exceptional, and the narration of Candace Joice is equally impressive. Siem masterfully weaves seemingly casual details into crucial plot points, creating a deeply satisfying and interconnected narrative. This book deserves a film adaptation.
The vocal range of Candace Joice and nuanced delivery bring the characters and events to life, suggesting a close collaboration with the author. The story's layered complexity and escalating drama are keeping me utterly captivated. I wish I could give it more than five stars and eagerly await Siem's next audiobook!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amanda
- 02-08-24
Very impressed!
I was very impressed with this memoir. it had way more depth and adventure than I realized! not only is it about mental and physical health, the author Doug into her relationships, self-discovery, and travel experiences. overall, the book was great and the author is very talented.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ashley
- 12-22-22
Life changing
This book literally changed my life. My boyfriend is on the same medication and has experienced very similar side effects while taking and trying to come off of the medication. It has been really hard for both of us. This book has given us more understanding on actual withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced and hope that with enough time the symptoms will go away. Thank you so much for sharing your story! This is the boost we needed to keep pushing forward!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B.Linder
- 12-08-22
An Engrossing Read/Listen!
I picked up this audiobook on a lark and because I was curious about the history behind someone I found interesting, but little did I know the depths and courage taken by Brooke! I wish I had a longer commute some days because I poured over every ounce of her journey, thanking her aloud from in my car for the pearls of wisdom she gained. The recounting of her struggle and ultimate decision to take an even MORE daunting leap was eloquently read and passionately felt.
Well done, and thank you Brooke!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-15-22
Tragic reality of so many young people.
Very compelling story. I have often wondered about the long term effects of putting our kids on medication. Our current system neglects the importance of healing trauma and mental health and just tries to hide the symptoms with medication. This story is complex and highlights some of these issues and more. Medication is not the enemy, but please educate yourself with possible side effects.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- chris
- 04-18-24
Unbelievable story on how to manage an unmanageable situation
I really appreciated the raw honesty and vulnerability displayed in Brooke's story as she navigated through the most challenging time in her life. I couldn’t stop listening! It was incredibly relatable to me, as I have also experienced similar struggles. It is truly a gift to have someone share their story and shed light on the difficult reality of what comes after deciding to stop medicating ourselves. 10/10
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sherri
- 05-07-23
I liked this book…
…but the narrator was absolutely awful. Once I got to ‘Martin’ I wasn’t sure if I could go on, but I did to get to the ending. I’m not quite sure how this made it through QC with that terrible accent. Actually all the terrible accents. They aren’t necessary! Whether it was a man or someone Malaysian or a Russian or a Brit they all were unnecessary and often, blatantly offensive. I think I would have liked this book much more if either I’d read it or someone else had narrated it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!