No One Cares about Crazy People Lib/E: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America

About the Book

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

About the Author :
Ron Powers is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. He is the co-author of Flags of our Fathers and True Compass -- both #1 New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction bestsellers. His biography of Mark Twain -- Mark Twain: A Life -- was also a New York Times bestseller. He lives with his wife Honoree Fleming, Ph.D., in Castleton, Vermont. Ron Powers is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. He is the co-author of Flags of our Fathers and True Compass -- both #1 New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction bestsellers. His biography of Mark Twain -- Mark Twain: A Life -- was also a New York Times bestseller. He lives with his wife Honoree Fleming, Ph.D., in Castleton, Vermont.

Review :
No One Cares About Crazy People is a woefully necessary kick in the teeth to society's understanding and treatment of mental illness. Reading Ron Powers is always an event--you can expect expert research and rich reporting in an engrossing style--but what makes this book soar is the passion of Powers' conviction based off his own intimate experiences with schizophrenia. I put this book down days ago and I'm still reeling. It's the rare book that breaks your life into a before and an after.-- "SusannahCahalan, New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire"

''Very emotional...[Powers] reminds us how apathetic and cruel society can be when it comes to mental illness."

-- "Booklist (starred review)"

"[A] heartbreaking tribute to [Powers'] sons...and an urgent plea for reform."

-- "People"

"Extraordinary and courageous...No doubt if everyone were to read this book, the world would change."

-- "New York Times Book Review"

"One of the most engrossing accounts of raising a family I've ever read, one in which Mr. Powers makes universal his themes of parental love, bewilderment, and rage at the vagaries of biological fate."

-- "Wall Street Journal"

"Powers gives us powerful stories of real suffering and societal apathy toward the plight of our fellow citizens. Their struggles must not be forgotten as we continue to debate reforming our health-care system."

-- "Washington Post"

"Powers' voice is resonant and strong with an undercurrent of melancholy and an overlay of fury, making it a raw and searing experience for the listener, too....Both sons are accomplished guitarists, and multiple snippets of their magical musical performances enhance the narrative."

-- "AudioFile" Educating general readers about mental illness and its troubled history in America, Pulitzer Prize winner Powers (Mark Twain: A Life) shares his searingly personal, heart-wrenching account of the schizophrenia that overtook his two talented, promising sons. In loving detail, Powers describes the joys and unfathomable challenges inherent in parenting two such blessed and simultaneously cursed young men.-- "LibraryJournal" Extraordinary and courageous...I'm not sure I've ever read anything that handles the decline of one's children with such openness and searing, stumbling honesty...[Powers] writes with fierce hope and fierce purpose to persuade the world to pay attention. No doubt if everyone were to read this book, the world would change.-- "Ron Suskind, New York Times Book Review" Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Powers (Mark Twain: A Life, 2005, etc.) presents two searing sagas: an indictment of mental health care in the United States and the story of his two schizophrenic sons.... This hybrid narrative, enhanced by the author's considerable skills as a literary stylist, succeeds on every level.-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" This is the book that Ron Powers, one of America's most elegant chroniclers, vowed he would never write. Too disturbing, too painful, too intimate. We are fortunate that he changed his mind. Powers has tackled his most challenging subject yet with erudition, humanity, and courage. By allowing readers into the sanctity of his home, he makes real the toll of mental illness on those who suffer, their families, and the community.No One Cares About Crazy People is an unforgettable, insistent call for a nationwide conversation and action, for embracing our most vulnerable benefits us all.-- "Pamela RotnerSakamoto, author of Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American FamilyCaught Between Two Worlds "