New York Times-bestselling author Ron Powers offers a searching,
richly researched narrative of the social history of mental illness in
America paired with the deeply personal story of his two sons' battles
with schizophrenia.
From the centuries of torture of "lunatiks" at Bedlam Asylum to the
infamous eugenics era to the follies of the anti-psychiatry movement to
the current landscape in which too many families struggle alone to
manage afflicted love ones, Powers limns our fears and myths about
mental illness and the fractured public policies that have resulted.
Braided with that history is the moving story of Powers's beloved son
Kevin -- spirited, endearing, and gifted -- who triumphed even while
suffering from schizophrenia until finally he did not, and the story of
his courageous surviving son Dean, who is also schizophrenic.
A blend of history, biography, memoir, and current affairs ending with a
consideration of where we might go from here, this is a
thought-provoking look at a dreaded illness that has long been
misunderstood.
"Extraordinary and courageous . . . No doubt if everyone were to read
this book, the world would change." -- New York Times Book Review