The Centre Cannot Hold: A Memoir of My Schizophrenia

This is a remarkable narrative of a lived life. Written from the interior of the mental health field, as well as from many years at its periphery, it documents an extraordinary experience of continuous rites of passage, managed against a background of severe mind-brain pathology, while retaining the capacity to observe and influence it. Posing as many questions as it answers, this unique life history is as profoundly provocative as it is satisfying. A page-turner, it is to be read and savored. - Leo Rangell, Honorary President, The International Psychoanalytic Association - "Schizophrenia is an ominous word--and we too often equate it with a life of misery, isolation and psychotic torment. I know of no better corrective t

Elyn Saks describes with precision and passion the tribulations of living with schizophrenia, and conjures in explicit detail a world that has gone unseen for far too long. In narrating her own capacity for success in the face of the illness, she holds - Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon

Elyn Saks has written an extraordinary, gripping account of her struggle with mental illness and the life-line she found with therapists who listened to her, trusted her, and earned her trust. In her accomplishment, she refutes fearful prejudices and demonstrates the respect deserved by all people with serious mental illness. - Robert A. Burt, Professor of LAW, Yale LAW School

This is a remarkable narrative of a lived life. Written from the interior of the mental health field, as well as from many years at its periphery, it documents an extraordinary experience of continuous rites of passage, managed against a background of se - Leo Rangell, Honorary President, The INTERNATIONAL Psychoanalytic Association