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No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America by Ron Powers
rdellavalle's review against another edition
This book was very well written but really sad, and wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know about our broken system so I had to put it down
skarijay's review against another edition
4.0
"[Sanity is] a thin and fragile membrane that can easily be ripped open..." I'm just about finished listening to this book, which has been fascinating, if sometimes a little overly verbose and mired in details. Part in-depth tribute to his sons, who both suffered from Psychosis, part history of mental health treatment in America.
It's a fairly balanced look at the problems with incarcerating people who need mental help against their will, and the equally disturbing problems of NOT hospitalizing them against their will until they are a danger to themselves or others, which is when it is almost certainly too late.
It's a fairly balanced look at the problems with incarcerating people who need mental help against their will, and the equally disturbing problems of NOT hospitalizing them against their will until they are a danger to themselves or others, which is when it is almost certainly too late.
monstl's review
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
hm_reads's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
1.75
The memoir portions of this book are really emotive and harrowing. The love is obvious. And the history of psychiatry and mental illness is well-researched.
I do, however, struggle with the eventual moral of this story. Powers starts off from a really sympathetic place, proud of how far the science has come on invisible afflictions. There's a point where this plot gets lost amid what appears to be a (reasonably) personal frustration over involuntary commitment to treatment. There's a good critique underneath a really thick spread of a polemical campaign against the thinkers, processes, and cultural shifts the author seems to blame for his son's death. It confuses two potentials of this text:
I do, however, struggle with the eventual moral of this story. Powers starts off from a really sympathetic place, proud of how far the science has come on invisible afflictions. There's a point where this plot gets lost amid what appears to be a (reasonably) personal frustration over involuntary commitment to treatment. There's a good critique underneath a really thick spread of a polemical campaign against the thinkers, processes, and cultural shifts the author seems to blame for his son's death. It confuses two potentials of this text:
- a text about empowerment and love for those who suffer from schizoaffective disorders
- a text that calls for the further securitization of mental health crisis
So while there's a critique of Reagan's specific approach for de-institutionalization, Powers never provides his view of most moral position, supposing that the reader will figure something out. It's not required that any author provide every solution, but when this is coupled with a disdain for the "anti-psychiatry movement" the insinuation is quite obvious.
This book is extremely a product of its time, it has all the smarmy snark of so much of the nonfiction of the 2010s that overshadows what is a touching and sad story and (though at times mercenary) research into US mental health history and its influences.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
part memoir and part-social commentary, this really does not hold back on a discussion on mental health.
booksamongstfriends's review against another edition
4.0
this was such a fulfilling read, as they’re still such a heavy stigma and lack of information around mental health in today’s society. I found it fascinating to dive deeper into the history of mental health in America, as well as the pipeline of asylum to prison care. This book is not only well researched and incredibly informative, but it’s powerful, intimate, sad, and personal.
Powers isn’t just here to inform, NOCACP is meant to infuriate. You should close this book and feel ready to take action. While plenty of people can relate to mental illness personally, or through a family member or friend, some say that advocacy starts best with empathy. Powers builds this beautifully through his vulnerability, as he opens up sharing his family’s story, his sons’ experiences with schizophrenia, and the loss of his son Dean. The connectedness you feel throughout reading not only Dean’s story, but others, is the reminder that we need to do better.
For me, reading this book and seeing the meds Ive taken or currently take mentioned in a lawsuit was unsettling, and also not surprising knowing the side effects. As someone with epilepsy and depression reading this book I felt extremely seen. Knowing there was a time not too long ago when someone with my condition would’ve been sent to an asylum, sterilized, or experimented on is always something to sit with.
Powers isn’t just here to inform, NOCACP is meant to infuriate. You should close this book and feel ready to take action. While plenty of people can relate to mental illness personally, or through a family member or friend, some say that advocacy starts best with empathy. Powers builds this beautifully through his vulnerability, as he opens up sharing his family’s story, his sons’ experiences with schizophrenia, and the loss of his son Dean. The connectedness you feel throughout reading not only Dean’s story, but others, is the reminder that we need to do better.
For me, reading this book and seeing the meds Ive taken or currently take mentioned in a lawsuit was unsettling, and also not surprising knowing the side effects. As someone with epilepsy and depression reading this book I felt extremely seen. Knowing there was a time not too long ago when someone with my condition would’ve been sent to an asylum, sterilized, or experimented on is always something to sit with.