Seduction of Madness

This book helped me a lot when i was really struggling. It was good to hear the accounts of others who had experienced conditions like my own and who had made the decision to confuse the heights of madness with enlightenment. The book outlines many experiences that you can relate to if you've been psychotic or borderline, the mental hurricane and the helplessness inside ..

I do not have this book in hand to write this review. In fact I have been trying to locate a copy for nigh on a year. So I speak from memory. The seduction of madness chronicles the exertions required to go mad and the treacherous rewards of following the invitation and the compulsions which make it possible. It illuminates the link with spiritual seeking and genuine mystical experience. It is neither a romanticization of madness nor a disempowering judgement of those who may have emerged from the dread territory with experiences they consider to be of lasting value. Podvoll begins with accounts of "meaningful" madness, using the accounts of those who have been through it to shed light on survival techniques both during and after such episodes. He goes on to give a pioneering model for accompanying those afflicted by psychosis, back into 'normal' life, by emphasizing 'islands of clarity,' periods, however brief, where basic sanity shines through and, if acknowledged, can develop and be shared. This book should be required reading for all aspiring psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, as well a those who suffer psychosis and those who are near to them. It is a stunning and compassionate book whose value will be unmistakeable to all who seek the true unfolding of human potential.