Is There No Place on Earth for Me?

Rating:
Summary: A Look Inside the Mind of a Schizophrenic
Review: "Is There No Place on Earth For Me" is a telling tale of the life of a Schizophrenic. Sheehan goes inside the mind of the character to explore the inner workings and provide detailed accounts of what life is like for someone suffering with Schizophrenia and the hell their life can become. Sheehan at one point, even slept in the bed next to her character in the mental institution. This act assures not only a detailed account, but also an accurate one. Sheehan reinforces the old saying...Don't knock Charlie till you walked a mile in his shoes! This book takes you through many miles in a Schizophrenics shoes. It extricates vivid details of the inner mind and its workings. This is a book you will never forget. After reading this story, you will never look at mental illness in the same light again.

Rating:
Summary: A Look Inside the Mind of a Schizophrenic
Review: "Is There No Place on Earth For Me" is a telling tale of the life of a Schizophrenic. Sheehan goes inside the mind of the character to explore the inner workings and provide detailed accounts of what life is like for someone suffering with Schizophrenia and the hell their life can become. Sheehan at one point, even slept in the bed next to her character in the mental institution. This act assures not only a detailed account, but also an accurate one. Sheehan reinforces the old saying...Don't knock Charlie till you walked a mile in his shoes! This book takes you through many miles in a Schizophrenics shoes. It extricates vivid details of the inner mind and its workings. This is a book you will never forget. After reading this story, you will never look at mental illness in the same light again.

Rating:
Summary: Good journalism
Review: A Pulitzer Prize-winner for General Nonfiction, this is an account of the tragic life of one "Sylvia Frumkin" (a fictitious name), who succumbed to schizophrenia while still an adolescent and spent the next two decades in and out of mental hospitals.

The author (who lived with Frumkin for a time) never appears "on stage" in the book, and restricts herself to just-the-facts third-person narration. A certain moral outrage is evident nonetheless. The mental health industry does not come off well at all (Frumkin's institution is unfavorably compared to the one depicted in "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest"). It's difficult not to come away with the impression that a little less bureaucratic negligence might have saved Miss Frumkin many wasted years. Fortunately, this is not a one-sided screed (not quite, anyhow): some of these medics and bureaucrats are just doing the best they can with the limited resources on hand.

The prose style is plain and straightforward--maybe a little flat-footed, too. But overall, the book is a good example of how facts can speak for themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Good journalism
Review: A Pulitzer Prize-winner for General Nonfiction, this is an account of the tragic life of one "Sylvia Frumkin" (a fictitious name), who succumbed to schizophrenia while still an adolescent and spent the next two decades in and out of mental hospitals.

The author (who lived with Frumkin for a time) never appears "on stage" in the book, and restricts herself to just-the-facts third-person narration. A certain moral outrage is evident nonetheless. The mental health industry does not come off well at all (Frumkin's institution is unfavorably compared to the one depicted in "One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest"). It's difficult not to come away with the impression that a little less bureaucratic negligence might have saved Miss Frumkin many wasted years. Fortunately, this is not a one-sided screed (not quite, anyhow): some of these medics and bureaucrats are just doing the best they can with the limited resources on hand.

The prose style is plain and straightforward--maybe a little flat-footed, too. But overall, the book is a good example of how facts can speak for themselves.

Rating:
Summary: nicely researched
Review: but having read it just this year, it seems a little outdated. I would recommend this book as an introduction to the subject of mental illness, institutionalization etc., but if you know a little more on the subject, skip the book and read something else.

Rating:
Summary: excelente tratado periodistico y psicologico
Review: este libro es a veces perturbador, la mayoria de las veces indagador hasta profundidades nunca vistas, hasta los tuetanos. la reportera trata de hacernos entrar en la deformada mente de la pacientey de hacernos ver lo que ella ve. las cosas incoherentes como cuando le preguntan su nombre y responde con su fecha de naciemiento y viceversa. esta senora esta plagada por fantasmas que la habitan, que la manejan, por causas hereditarias , de crianza. lei este libro hace muchos anos, cuando era joven y mis lecturas estaban todavia sin rumbo fijo. pero es de los que uno recuerda y no se arrepiente de haber tomado entre sus manos, especialmente si a uno le gusta la psicologia y le gusta aprender sobre estos trastornos sin todo el argot de algunos libros de medicina que complican la vida. excelente trabajo.....

LUIS MENDEZ

Rating:
Summary: Is There No Place On Earth For Me?
Review: I am a soon to be 16 year old student, studying at an International School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am currently enroled in an Abnormal Psychology Class and read this book for one of our final examinations. This book is basically about a young woman by the name of Silvia Fumpkin. Silvia's life is quite dramatic as we follow her through her battle with schizophrenia. From her ups and downs, we see what types of deviant behaviors schizophrenics participate in. From stripping off her clothes, to attempting to swallow an ashtray are scenes we see in this book. Through out the book we also see Silvia being admitted from hospital to hopital and the switch from medication to medication. Due to her illness, she shares the pain of being in a Jewish family and bringing shame on to her family. Her behavior at times is very interesting as you observe how she thinks she's Jesus one minute and Paul Macartney's wife the next minute. Although there are times where you may feel like the pages just seem to go on and on, this book is most definately a good read hence I strongly encourage readers who are interested in schizophrenia to read this book. Not only is it an interesting read but you learn so much about those who suffer from schizophrenia as well as the way society treats or acts towards schizophrenics.

Rating:
Summary: True, intimate, and slow
Review: I think this book shows the reality of liveing with schizophrenia and the feeling that there is no place for you. This book takes you through relaspe and healing periods with the main women character. It also shows the failures in our system. I think the book gets a little slow at points, it is a book you can definately put down, but it does do justice to teaching and learning about life with schizophrenia.

Rating:
Summary: Be prepared...
Review: I've read this book twice, as it was assigned for two of my Psychology classes this year. Although it was somewhat interesting as a detailed chronicle of one woman's experience with schizophrenia, the book does not serve as the ideal introduction to this illness, for it neither brings the reader to full comprehension of the illness, nor does it function as a real "story." Susan Sheehan's writing is burdened by her need to provide the reader with all facts and figures, for she was trained as a journalist, so the writing is often dull with irrelevant, boring details. Thus, the book does not move its audience, as do others in the genre of psychological novels/biographies, such as I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Furthermore, it appears that Sheehan, who became close with Sylvia Frumpkin through the course of her research, often takes overly personal stabs against figures in the book upon whom she places blame. It is clear that she finds Sylvia's parents at fault, as well as one psychiatrist in particular, Dr. Sun. From a psychological standpoint, Sylvia does not have the simplest of cases, either; she often displays qualities that are typical of bipolar illness (manic depression), rather than just schizophrenia. So, although the book is probably an important inclusion if one is aiming to possess a wide knowledge of literature on mental illness, I feel that it is not the ideal book to read if one wants to simply read an interesting story about schizophrenia. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a much better read.

Rating:
Summary: MULTI FACETED
Review: One way mental illness could be described is multi faceted. Like a prism, the mind refracts information (as a prism does light) into distorted processes during an active phase of psychosis. One can almost imagine the many facets of this illness as it is so individual; "Sylvia Frumkin's" chronic battle with psychosis is told with a touch of humor.

The author follows this actively psychotic woman for a 17 year time frame. Sylvia's first onset with the illness took place in 1964. Mentally distorted and confused, Sylvia's life is spent in and out of hospitals and treatment centers.

As devasting and tragic as mental illness is, the author injects notes of levity into some of Sylvia's more outlandish behavior. This softens the stark reality of Sylvia's illness and offers a lighter side to a very dark illness. It is hard not to smile when Sylvia declares herself to be Paul McCartney's wife. It is also hard not to smile when Sylvia explains in great detail why her delusions are justified and grounded. The incongruity of reality and Sylvia's delusions provide an almost light touch of ironic contrast. This tone is very effective in presenting Sylvia in a very humane and sympathetic light. It also helps readers (and hopefully others) feel affection for, and hope for the "Sylvias" who need a chance and people who genuinely care about them.