THE SLEEP ROOM A Sadistic Psychiatrist and the Women Who Survived Him

A trio of narrators lend their considerable talents to this nonfiction work about the eminent 1960s London psychiatrist Dr. William Sargant, voiced by Richard Armitage. Sargant founded The Sleep Room, where horrific methods were used on young women in the name of science. Sargant was, by all accounts, an egotistical predator, and Armitage's smooth, level narration displays that perfectly as he describes lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapies without an iota of remorse. Celia Imrie, one of Sargant's victims, narrates her own chapter of betrayal, abuse, and recovery. Antonia Beamish handles the narration for the other women who received these heinous treatments without their consent. Listeners will squirm as these narrators speak for the victims and revel in their eventual freedom-- despite lasting ill effects. L.M.G. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2025]