Author

Publication

2017 - Hachette Books, New York (State)

Language

English

Word Count

90,000 words, Guess

Page Count

360 pages

Identifiers

  • ISBN-100316341177
  • ISBN-139780316341172
  • Library of Congress Control Number2016046019
  • OCLC Control Number951764773
  • Better World Books9780316341172
and 1 more

Classifications

  • DDC362.2/6
  • LCCRC514 .P69 2017

Alternate Titles

  • Chaos and heartbreak of mental health in America

Description

"How did we, as a society, get to this point? It's a question that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author Ron Powers set out to answer in this gripping, richly researched social and personal history of mental illness. Powers traces the appalling narrative--from the sadistic abuse of "lunaticks" at Bedlam Asylum in London seven centuries ago to today's scattershot treatments and policies. His odyssey of reportage began after not one but both of his beloved sons were diagnosed with schizophrenia. From the earliest efforts to segregate the "mad" in society, to the wily World War II-era social engineers who twisted Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory to fit a much darker agenda, to the follies of the antipsychiatry movement (starring L. Ron Hubbard and his gifted, insanity-denying compatriot Thomas Szasz), we've struggled to deal with mental health care for generations. And it all leads to the current landscape, in which too many families struggle alone to manage afflicted loved ones without proper public policies or support. Braided into his vivid social history is the moving saga of Powers's own family: his bright, buoyant sons, Kevin (a gifted young musician) and Dean (a promising writer and guitarist), both of whom struggled mightily with schizophrenia; and his wife, Honoree Fleming, whose knowledge of human biology and loving maternal instincts proved inadequate against schizophrenia's hellish power. For Powers the question of "what to do about crazy people" isn't just academic; it's deeply personal. And he's determined to forge a better way forward, for his family's sake as well as for the many others who deserve better."--Jacket.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • No one cares about crazy people: the chaos and heartbreak of mental health in AmericaHachette Books2017-01-01

Reader Reviews

No reviews yet for this book.

Be the first to share your thoughts!