Schizophrenia Books
reviewed by Carol
The Day The Voices Stopped: A Memoir of Madness and Hope Steele, Ken. Basic Books 2001.
At fourteen Ken began hearing voices telling him to kill himself, but his attempts fail. His family rejects him when he is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He moves to New York, can't hold a job and is soon homeless and prostituting himself to stay alive. Another suicide attempt gets him into the mental health system. Decades in hospitals alternating with homelessness venturing as far as Hawaii and finally back to New York where the a new medication is finally tried and the voices stop, and Ken finally has some success in his life. Editor's Note: This book contains a graphic description of a rape scene that may be disturbing to some.
I Never Promised You A Rose Garden Green, Hanna. Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1964.
Written by the mother of a high school friend, this is a fascinating story of a girl and her struggles with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia and Manic-Depressive Disorder: The Biological Roots of Mental Illness as Revealed by the Landmark Study of Identical Twins Torrey, E. Fuller, M.D.; Bowler, Ann E., M.S.; Taylor, Edward H., Ph.D.; Gottesman, Irving I., Ph.D. Basic Books, 1994.
Absolutely fascinating, although I was disappointed that it had very little on bipolar disorder. I found myself rooting for twins who contradicted the researchers' theories. There were never any names used, just labels like DS14 and CB09. This work is probably too academically highbrow for most people, and I doubt I'll ever read it again.