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Basic InformationMore InformationLookupsLatest NewsFor Mentally Ill, Gap in Life Expectancy Up Since 1985Latest Edition of Psychiatry's 'Bible' Launched Amid ControversySocial Considerations Not Accounted for in DSM-5Belief in God Tied to Greater Psychiatric Treatment ResponseBrain Wiring May Explain Unhealthy Obsession With LooksPsychopaths May Lack Capacity for EmpathyFaith May Complement Treatment for Mental IllnessHospitalization OK for Psych Patients Can Take HoursMental Health Seaches on Web Follow a Seasonal PatternSeverely Injured Vets May Need Ongoing Emotional CareGoogle Search Trends Suggest Mental Woes Vary by SeasonsMental Illness a Frequent Cell Mate for Those Behind BarsU.S. Must Step Up Response to Vets, Report SaysNews Coverage of Shootings May Boost Stigma of Mental IllnessPeople With Mental Illness Make Up Large Share of U.S SmokersADHD Can Often Persist Into AdulthoodSNPs Confer Risk for Multiple Psychiatric DisordersChildhood Bullying Linked to Adult Psychiatric OutcomesShared Genes May Link ADHD, Autism and DepressionPeople With Disabilities More Likely to Become Victims of ViolenceAntipsychotic Rx for 22 Percent of Nursing Home ResidentsSmoking Rates Much Higher Among the Mentally Ill: CDCPsychiatric Drugs More Often Prescribed in the SouthMarked Geographic Variation in Mental Health Medication UseSocial Withdrawal, Isolation Should Be Addressed in YoungMental Disorders Linked With Domestic Violence, Study SaysFor Psychiatric Patients, Cancer Is Often Spotted Too LateWorkplace Bullying Takes Toll on Witnesses Too, Study FindsBenzodiazepines Linked to Higher Risk of PneumoniaADHD Can Cause Lifelong Problems, Study FindsConcerns for Long-Term Safety of Antipsychotics in Over 40sSAMHSA: Prevalence of Mental Illness in U.S. Stable in 2011Psychiatry Gets Revised Diagnostic ManualMental Illness Affects 1 in 5 U.S. Adults, Survey FindsLong-Term Use of Some Antipsychotics Not Warranted in Older Adults: StudyFor Many, 'Superstorm' Sandy Could Take Toll on Mental HealthMore Evidence Linking Creativity, Mental IllnessDeployment Affects Mental Health of Relief WorkersWhere You Live May Boost Your Sense of Well-BeingPsych, Sleep Meds May Affect DrivingPhysical Ailments Take Toll on Mental Health: StudySerious Mental Illness Tied to Higher Cancer, Injury Risk: StudiesGenes Influence Whether Psych Drugs Lead to Weight GainAging Boomers' Mental Health Woes Will Swamp Health System: ReportFamily History of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder May Up Kids' Risk for AutismEmployment Key to Helping Veterans Adjust to Life Back HomeCannabis Use for Fibromyalgia Linked to Poor Mental HealthMental Health Woes Raise Odds for Prescription Painkiller AbuseU.S. Soldier in Custody Following Slaying of 5 Americans in Iraq Questions and AnswersLinksBook Reviews |
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by Joanne Greenberg New American Library, 1964 Review by Margo McPhillips on Nov 20th 1999 
According to the author, this book was written to counteract the romantic notions about the mentally ill that cropped up in the 1960's and 1970's. During that time many young people thought being depressed meant you were a good candidate to be a poet so if you wanted to be considered a poet, you needed to get "in touch" with your depressed self, often by using illegal psychotropic drugs such as LSD. Greenberg wrote the book to show the starkness of mental illness and that "there is no creativity in madness; madness is the opposite of creativity, although people may be creative in spite of being mentally ill." Amazon.com gives the synopsis of the book as: Chronicles the three-year battle of a mentally ill, but perceptive, teenage girl against a world of her own creation, emphasizing her relationship with the doctor who gave her the ammunition of self-understanding with which to help herself. I found the book's emphasis on the relationship between Debra, the protagonist, and her doctor an excellent example of good psychotherapy. But, surprisingly, I find reading Amazon's synopsis now to be exciting and find myself drawn to reread the book because of the theme implicit in the words, "battle… against a world of her own creation." It sounds sort of-"creative" and fantastical to me, almost like a good science fiction novel's description would. If the author's intent was to show the uncreative side of mental illness, I would have chosen a less imaginative and creative individual to portray. But there are other conflicts surrounding this book than those of the author's creation. Debra is portrayed as having schizophrenia. On one hand, the well-known psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey schizophrenia is an almost entirely physical disease and dismisses the suggestion that it might be amenable to traditional psychotherapy. On the other hand, the antipsychiatry psychiatrist Thomas Szasz doesn't believe in schizophrenia or any other mental illnesses at all. Meanwhile, we nonpsychiatrists are here living our lives, in the trenches so-to-speak, actually dealing with the life situations intellectually battled over by psychiatrists, over our heads. Can you tell I don't believe in most psychiatrists? Yet alas, they still exist. Often, as in this instance, I find their intellectual battles both silly and offensive; offensive because they attempt to deny one's experience. This is a hopeful novel for people who don't necessarily believe in psychiatrists but do believe in the power of warm, one-on-one communication with other people to help cure one's personal diaspora. In this instance, the other person supplying the warm power happened to be a psychiatrist.
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