From the moment I opened Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness, I was hooked. I came upon the book for professional reasons. I was developing a mental health curriculum for my first year English composition course at Sierra College in northern California. Crazy is very teachable, and without a doubt it is one of the most successful books I’ve used in my curricula. The mixture of field journalism and memoir is ideal, and Earley’s subjective perspective in no way diminishes the integrity of his field work. He creates suspense through his son Mike’s story and through the several case studies he develops after encountering mentally ill persons in Miami. My students agree with me that the book gets so sobering at times that it’s hard to keep going. It’s an easy read, though, and at its bleakest it begins to offer hope that propels the reader forward. Crazy is essential reading for those who seek to gain literacy about our society’s current mental health crisis.
This review also appears in Goodreads.
I really appreciate your ongoing commitment and hard work around the issue of mental illness – including educating students about it! I’ll definitely check out this book – as you probably know, my mom was schizophrenic, and although she died in 2012, I still struggle not only with losing her, but with seeing so many unfortunate folks out there suffering greatly from these brain diseases. It’s shameful in any country, even more so here, where we have no shortage of funds that could finance resources – things don’t have to be this way. Nor should they – since this is “Mental Health Month” (I feel ambivalent about declaring months or days devoted to much larger issues, but nevertheless…) your post is especially topical. Thanks for sharing!
So many positive changes since Crazy was published, Irene. Some of my students have researched Sacramento NAMI, or volunteered with NAMI or a similar organization. I think we are starting to make progress, but that’s no reason to let up. We must work on the stigma–I’m convinced that’s key. Thanks as always for your comments here at the farm.