About this title: Saks managed to achieve both professional and personal success in spite of being diagnosed as schizophrenic and given a "grave" prognosis. In this memoir, she frankly and movingly discusses the disease, and the treatments that helped her to cope and thrive.
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Hyperion
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780739497746ISBN:073949774X
Description: Good. 501-U Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Description: Very Good. 073949774X Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2008-08-12
ISBN-13:9781401309442ISBN:1401309445
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781401309442. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Hyperion
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781401309442ISBN:1401309445
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Date Published: 2007-08-07
ISBN-13:9781401301385ISBN:140130138X
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781401301385. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Hyperion
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9781401301385ISBN:140130138X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: New. 1401309445 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! NEW Book! May have remainder mark. Most orders ship within 1 BUSINESS DAY with ORDER CONFIRMATION. Great Book at a Great Value! read more
Edition: F First Trade Paperback Edition
Binding: S Trade Paperback
Publisher: Hyperion, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9781401309442ISBN:1401309445
Description: Good- Brief summary of content available upon request by e-mail. read more
"As someone who has worked with people with severe & persistent mental illnesses, I was encouraged by Ms. Saks' successes & appreciated her candor in relating her experiences in living with schizophrenia. I was troubled, however, by her use of psychoanalysis as her treatment of choice. I was surprised by her rapid, sometimes immediate decompensations when faced with stressors while on maintenance doses of medications. I support her self-assessment that she "used" her psychotic symptoms to avoid dealing with her emotions. Perhaps a cognitive-behavioral approach may have been more effective in her recovery. Regardless, she perservered & that's the take-away message of her book."
"Probably the best book on living with schizophrenia out there, not to mention one of the most fascinating memoirs I have ever read. Details Elyn's life with one of the most debilitating thought disorders one can have from the symptoms she had as a child (houses talking to her on the way to school) to descriptions of her psychotic episodes as a young adult. The book doesn't leave you hanging there either, she details her recent marriage and tenure as a USC professor of law. I was particularly touched by her observation that she received roomfuls of flowers when she was being treated for breast and ovarian cancer, but no one delivered such gifts when she was hospitalized for psychosis. Overall, the book is extremely hopeful, well written, engaging, and educational. I would recommend this to everyone."
"Just an incredible book. Elyn Saks writes about her experience living with schizophrenia, and it's scary, sad, hopeful and thought-provoking all at once. I was especially horrified by her treatment within the american medical system - parts of this read like an actual horror novel and I had to keep reminding myself it was all real. I realize many of the events described happened in the 70s and 80s, but mental health issues are still so stigmatized today, it's not hard to imagine that these things still go on - for instance, once Elyn was diagnosed with schizophrenia, she had to fight hard for other medical issues, even as serious as cancer, to be treated as relevant and real (i.e. not just in her head) by doctors.
The back cover copy recommends this book to family members of schizophrenics, but in my opinion this book deserves a much wider audience. There is so much misinformation out there about mental illness, especially schizophrenia (i.e. mainstream comedies with an oh-so-hilarious 'schizophrenic' main character), that this book is remarkable for just giving an account of the disease's reality to people (for instance, me) who don't really have many resources to learn about it. An amazing book, and one I'm really glad I picked up."
"I have read many first-hand accounts of struggles with mental illness, and this is one of the best I have encountered. Instead of trying to drive home any particular message (e.g. potential to be successful despite schizophrenia, the horrors of institutional psychaitric treatment), Saks lets her story speak for itself. Well written and engrossing."
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