No one cares about crazy people: the chaos and heartbreak of mental health in America

Description

From the earliest efforts to segregate the "mad" in society, to the wily World War II-era social engineers who twisted Darwin's "survival of the fittest" theory to fit a much darker agenda, to the follies of the antipsychiatry movement (starring L. Ron Hubbard and his gifted, insanity-denying compatriot Thomas Szasz), we've struggled to deal with mental health care for generations. And it all leads to the current landscape, in which too many families struggle alone to manage afflicted loved ones without proper public policies or support. Braided into this social history is the moving saga of Powers's own family: his bright, buoyant sons, Kevin (a gifted young musician) and Dean (a promising writer and guitarist), both of whom struggled mightily with schizophrenia; and his wife, Honoree Fleming, whose knowledge of human biology and loving maternal instincts proved inadequate against schizophrenia's hellish power. For Powers the question of "what to do about crazy people" isn't just academic; it's deeply personal. And he's determined to forge a better way forward, for his family's sake as well as for the many others who deserve better.;Membrane -- What is schizophrenia? -- Regulars -- Bedlam, before and beyond -- Eugenics: weeding out the mad -- "A more normal world" -- "When they were young" -- Madness and genius -- "If only, if only, if only . . ." -- Chaos and heartbreak -- The great unraveler -- Surcease -- Debacle -- "Hey fam -- " -- Antipsychotics -- "Something unexplainable" -- "We have done pitifully little about mental illnesses" -- "Primoshadino" -- Red Sox 17, Yankees 1 -- Insanity and Icarus -- Someone cares about crazy people.