I snagged this as my Prime First Reads a little while back, and I finally had the chance to read it… This is probably one of my favorite PFRs yet. I love a good historical fiction story, and the initial cover information sounded intriguing. I found myself very curious about what kind of person could love the monster that led to lobotomy becoming the norm in the U.S.; although this wasn’t historically accurate, as acknowledged by the author, I did find that the wife (Ruth) felt very authentic. I was able to see how someone may have not seen/believed the villain that their husband was becoming, and as such, how the villains of a story can become convinced that they are really the heroes. I don’t know a ton about how the procedure is performed (beyond the basic ice pick method or lobe removal), but Woodruff wrote in a way that I could fully understand what was happening. Despite knowing the nightmare lobotomy became, I found myself excited for the Apters as they continued to make “progress” toward curing mental illnesses. Similarly, I found myself sharing a parallel level of concern and dread as Ruth began to discover the truth about their so-called cure; I know it was the persuasive power of Woodruff’s writing style that allowed me to empathize so much with the characters. I would definitely recommend checking The Lobotomist’s Wife out if you haven’t done so already!