Transforming Madness: New Lives for People Living with Mental Illness

Yes, this book was very helpful to me. I have been diagnosed as a schizophrenic, as well as with other various disorders, and life has been less than easy with my parents, teachers, co-workers, and even good friends, telling me I need to seek out counseling and medications. Why do these people want me to take a pill that could possibly kill me I kept asking myself. This book has helped me to understand a little more about why I was diagnosed with the various conditions, especially in regards to madness. I have been mad about everything! Anyway, I may not be fully recovered from all the madness I have experienced the last few years (from quitting smoking, my criminal record, and drug abuse), but reading a book about the subject of madness, discovering that perhaps madness has been why I have been diagnosed with such a problem as schizophrenia, that has been helpful. This book does offer some hope to those who have been deemed hopeless. Thank you Mr. Neugeboren!

I was one of Jay Neugeboren's student in the graduate creative writing program at the University of Massachusetts, where for nearly 30 years he has helped develop many writers, such as Bret Lott, Susan Straight, Valerie Martin and others. For the greater part of his career Jay Neugeboren has been a novelist and short story writer whose work has appeared in hundreds of publications including the O'Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. During the past decade Neugeboren has turned to writing nonfiction about mental illness, first with "Imagining Robert" and most recently with "Transforming Madness." His purpose in "Imaging Robert" was to focus on his brother, who for most of his life has tragically and defiantly struggled with schizophrenia and who has at times lived in the most horrible of conditions in locked wards. "Imaging Robert" is also a memoir, a family story in which Neugeboren tells not only of his struggle to take care of Robert, but also deal with the guilt of his own success in light of his brother's continual suffering. In "Transforming Madness" Neugeboren moves a step further and shows the reader something he or she may not have thought possible-how people who have been chronically mentally ill have found ways to manage their illness lead successful lives. The effect of reading this remarkable book is to gain understanding and sympathy for those afflicted with mental illness, and to also experience the joy of watching happiness come to some of the unlikeliest people. Neugeboren shows us that in addition to therapy, support groups, and medications, it is the presence of hope that brings people from affliction and despair into productive living. As a result, "Transforming Madness" is a profound message of hope, and an act of caring that comes by way of long practice.

This book dispells a lot of myths which surround mental illness. Though the vast majority of persons with a mental illness on t.v. are portrayed as violent individuals, there is probably not a larger group of individuals who are less aggressive and prone to feelings of fear than those afflicted with a mental illness. Most people think of schizophrenia as a life-long illness when in actual fact, a large percentage of those diagnosed with this disease make a full recovery. These are just two of the many issues addressed in this outstanding book. The author's writing is clear, concise, and forthright. Included are several stories of persons who live with a mental illness. Their stories are inspirational to say the least. This book is informative, colorful, inspirational, inquisitive, and profound.

The mental health system can be more confusing than mental illness. We have hundreds of thousand's of people in our mental health system. Most people have come in contact with someone who has been part of the mental health system. Yet, we don't understand mental health.Jay has written a book about what is possible in mental health. Having a mental illness is not the end of the road. Mental illness is the beginning of a new life. We can understand and live with mental illness.I am one of the people who Jay interviewed. I am honored to be part of this book. Jay spent time with people who are mentally ill and who are in our mental health system. Nobody has ever explained this system in such a clear way. Nobody has described the day to day bravery that those of us with mental illness have. Mental illness is very destructive and disorienting we can live with our psychiatric condtion. We do have mental health programs that work. We need to inform people of the possibilities of our mental health system. Thank you Jay for educating the public about the successes and possibilities of our quiet but profound revolution in mental health. A system where people actually do get better rather than get worseREAD THIS BOOKMoe Armstrong