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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
This needed a better editor; starts off well enough but around half way flails around trying to fill chapters. The drug research and the experiences of the family read as if they’re separate to one another rather than a combined powerful personal narrative. The final chapters really struggle for relevance and feel like padding, they read very simplistically...repetitive and gossipy. I skimmed through them as they didn’t offer anything additional to the rest of the book. Huge drug corporations control the outcome of personal health against profit and mental health research and facilities are not funded enough by governments to offer dependable alternatives or support. It’s an extremely sad family experience but I didn’t feel like this book offered much new insight, instead it relies on the shock factor of someone having 12 kids, 6 with mental health issues. The mother seemed self absorbed, irresponsible...sacrificing her family’s well being to social standing. Both parents made ludicrous decisions; 12 children they couldn’t afford to support and nurture adequately, they didn’t appear invested in half of them, favouring some over others. Reading the last 80 pages really felt like a chore.
challenging
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Infidelity
Interesting deep dive into both the history of this family and the history of schizophrenia research in the United States over the last century.
As a person with schizophrenia in the family, and having dealt with and been affected by it- all I can say is that the warm and fuzzy “maybe there’s a better way” feeling that people express, feels like wishful thinking. No amount of empathy can prepare you for what it is like to deal with a person in the throes of this illness.
I loved the information about the research being done however and the scientific findings and theories
As a person with schizophrenia in the family, and having dealt with and been affected by it- all I can say is that the warm and fuzzy “maybe there’s a better way” feeling that people express, feels like wishful thinking. No amount of empathy can prepare you for what it is like to deal with a person in the throes of this illness.
I loved the information about the research being done however and the scientific findings and theories
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I found myself narrating my own life in the voice of this author by the end, as it’s both sympathetic but incisive, both seeing and feeling. That’s to say it felt like a very fair shake, but also made me really evaluate me and those around me—how our actions and understandings and capacities all play into the reality of things.
Overall, I understand mental illness a little better, I feel frustrated at how capitalism thwarts availability and access to care and treatments, and overall I feel very sympathetic to the families who suffer.
My only complaint—sometimes Kolker kept too much of a remove. Instead of calling rape rape, for example, he would sidestep in an effort to maintain a position of neutrality, which I realize is essential to how the book succeeds BUT feels a bit like endorsement at the same time. Fine line to walk, he did it well, but I felt frustrated at the language leading up to calling the thing what it was, which was chapters and chapters later.
Overall, I understand mental illness a little better, I feel frustrated at how capitalism thwarts availability and access to care and treatments, and overall I feel very sympathetic to the families who suffer.
My only complaint—sometimes Kolker kept too much of a remove. Instead of calling rape rape, for example, he would sidestep in an effort to maintain a position of neutrality, which I realize is essential to how the book succeeds BUT feels a bit like endorsement at the same time. Fine line to walk, he did it well, but I felt frustrated at the language leading up to calling the thing what it was, which was chapters and chapters later.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
This is obviously a very sad book. The resilience of the survivors is remarkable. Kolker follows the historical development of the medical/scientific understanding of schizophrenia. Like other developments of civilization, mercifully, we no longer blame the mother.
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced