Emmett Rensin reflects on the ironies and humiliations of losing one’s mind in a nation that dehumanizes even its "normal" citizens ... His book is caustic and incisive, never more so than when his readers, curled up neurotypically on our couches, are in his sights.
Absorbing ... [Rensin's] historical overview of psychiatry, examination of the vagaries of diagnosis and therapy, and stark depiction of his own visceral experiences offer unique insight into the meaning of madness.
Such strident takes might alienate some readers, but Rensin’s points are trenchant and well argued, and the harrowing details of his own struggles lend him credibility. While the unremitting darkness can be tough to stomach, it’s a rousing rebuke to more placid treatments of similar subject matter.
