A review by lilcurious
The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks

4.0

 Elyn Saks has led a very interesting life, certainly more accomplished than what most would expect a schizophrenic to lead. Her academic curriculum is impressive by itself, even more so after knowing what she was going through during those years. And of course, it is important that people see stories like hers, that show different possibilities than a mental facility or a forever dependent life, but the book is also just awesome, Saks narrates it so well. She was able to balance almost perfectly educating readers about different aspects of schizophrenia with telling an engaging and heartfelt story.

Something particularly interesting is that she was hospitalized both in England and the USA, with vastly different experiences. I was aware US American psychiatric hospitals were awful, but reading about the same person, with only a year of difference, going through hospitalization in both countries really puts things in perspective. It was horrifying.