The story of the lives of seven patients is the springboard for an examination of seven psychiatric disorders:
-Jujube, the simple-hearted rugby player (bipolar disorder);
-Aimée, the wronged widow (grieving depression);
-Barthélémy, the piano teacher who was seduced by his student (mid-life crisis);
-Violette, a victim of war and fate who has lost the two men in her life (chronic depression);
-Thierry who is kind but exalted (schizophrenia);
-Alissa, in the labyrinth of adolescence (anorexia);
-Carnicerito Loco, the apprentice butcher who has been deprived of ideals (alcoholism).

Sometimes moving, sometimes funny, and sometimes filled with suspense, the descriptions of the lives of these seven patients can be read as short stories. The author's lively style is far from the rigid language of traditional case studies. In his humane, non-dramatic manner, he offers a number of leads to help interpret some disorders that remain poorly explained.

Joël Pon is a psychiatrist. He shares his time between his consultations at the Clinique de Montberon and his private practice.