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jerrkami's review against another edition
5.0
The history of attitudes about and treatment for mental illness interspersed with heartbreaking chapters about Powers' two sons who were diagnosed with schizophrenia.
kat_lh's review against another edition
5.0
This book is wonderful to read in a completely tragic way. The juxtaposition of the author’s own experiences with the history of how mental illness has been treated is frightening in the revelation of both how far we come and how little we actually know.
gadrake's review against another edition
5.0
This is an important and poignant book. Ron Powers is a Pulitzer Price-winning critic and Emmy-winning TV commentator. He and his wife had two schizophrenic sons. By telling their story of their sons progressive schizophrenia, he tells the story of America's mental health policies, medical developments and big pharma, and general stigmas supplied by ordinary people like you and me.
Powers writes beautifully and this is an interestingly blend of excellent nonfiction writing and narrative story telling. He shares a lot of very personal exchanges within his family in the hope that more conversation will be stimulated on this difficult subject. While the focus is largely on schizophrenia, the messages apply to the broad array of mental conditions.
This is for those who experience mental illness (1 in 4 Americans?), but especially for those who care for people with mental illness.
Powers writes beautifully and this is an interestingly blend of excellent nonfiction writing and narrative story telling. He shares a lot of very personal exchanges within his family in the hope that more conversation will be stimulated on this difficult subject. While the focus is largely on schizophrenia, the messages apply to the broad array of mental conditions.
This is for those who experience mental illness (1 in 4 Americans?), but especially for those who care for people with mental illness.
sarabeagle's review against another edition
3.0
Part memoir and part history of mental illness; wholeheartedly a call to arms for better mental health care in this country.
maggiejay's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
morganabakowksy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
discoveringpeace's review against another edition
2.0
Yikes. This was a really disjointed, uncomfortable, rambling read. I struggle to review the struggles and pain of a parent, but I was left with a searing sense of disingenuousness, denial, and self-pity.
lizkoko's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
dianaeberhardt's review against another edition
2.0
Tedious and/or overwritten in many places. I doubt that someone who isn’t already aware of the issues would plow through it, or that someone who already knows about the issues would learn much from it.