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#ReadAway2024 Elyn Saks‘ memoir is compelling. Her history of mental illness began as a child with delusions, although it wasn‘t recognized at the time. As she grew older she developed anorexia. When she participated in an immersive summer abroad, she experimented with marijuana and also tried it once or twice when she returned home. Feeling guilty, she confessed her brief experimentation to her parents, who strongly overreacted, (cont)⬇️

A memorial about an incredibly talented woman struggling with severe and persistent mental illness. You can‘t help but empathize with Elyn as you‘re reading her recount of the events during the onset of her illness and the unique but incredibly successful support she has had since, academia.

Elyn Saks is a dynamo: master‘s degree from Oxford, law doctorate from Yale, and all while living with psychosis. Here, she presents a clear-eyed memoir of her life with schizophrenia in a way I think we rarely get to see. It‘s a terrific book—I‘m glad she had the courage to share her story.

A thought-provoking memoir of a woman‘s experience living with schizophrenia. Dr. Elyn Saks is a brilliant, accomplished scholar who battles the demons of this debilitating disease, as well as the societal stigma of “being mentally ill.” A well-written account of this misunderstood disorder.

This has been on my tbr list forever! Saks is such an admirable academic, that I was afraid this book would be very technical or dense. It absolutely wasn‘t, and it was a very very interesting memoir. Absolutely amazing. We‘ve come a long way, but not fast enough. And still, we are so so behind on how we think abt mental health, chronic illness, and disability. This made me hopeful, but also made incredibly angry. We gotta do better!
#WomenAuthors

Just finished this fascinating account of mental illness. My #readharder task 21, main character with a disability. Saks chronicles her life with schizophrenia through discovering her illness, treatment, and relapses as well as getting an ivy league education, her career, and relationships.

This is a fascinating book. Saks vividly portrays the struggle of psychosis as well as the isolation caused by stigma of severe mental illnesses. She succeeds in her goal of creating empathy for other like herself.

This book was a phenomenal and important read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Listening to her treatment in our mental health system in the USA is breathtaking. She was told, even though she had made it all the way to graduate school using outpatient therapy, that what had gone wrong with her was permanent and unfixable. Forcibly restrained for hours until her muscles started to atrophy and medicine forced into her with no contact with her outside therapist who had been handling her care for years, inhumane and ineffective.

"While the line between creativity and madness can be razor thin, a fact that has been unfortunately romanticized, examining and experiencing the world in a different way can lead to sharp and fruitful insights."

This book was recommended by a podcast on Mental Health in Pop Culture that I listen to and it is fascinating so far.

Great memoir about mental illness. I didn't know much about schizophrenia or related illnesses and this gave me a new appreciation and understanding of it. Overall, a very well written and personal story of her life.
#NonfictionNovember

Planning to spend the rest of this stormy evening with this book. I'm only a few chapters in and am totally fascinated. The author is so open and straightforward about her early struggles with what she now knows is schizophrenia, it's so compelling!

This memoir about a young woman's 'journey through madness' as she battles with schizophrenia, ultimately triumphing to become a tenured law professor at USC. Beautifully written. I discovered this book when it was assigned to my daughter's literature and psychosis class. She loved it as well.