Book Ends: "Art of Recovery" by Simon Heyes and edited by Stephen Tate

Book Ends: "Art of Recovery" by Simon Heyes and edited by Stephen Tate
A Column by Kurt Sass
Use the Tips that Work for You
Art of Recovery is a 58-page chapbook out of England from South Somerset Mind www.southsomersetmind.co.uk. It is a combination of a guide to recovering from a mental breakdown, case studies and quotes from individuals ranging from Nelson Mandela to Albert Schweitzer to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Mr. Heyes is a former patient at the Summerlands Hospital and has laid out his theory for a successful recovery.
Mr. Heyes believes there are two steps needed to begin the recovery process. The first is to believe that recovery is possible and the second is to be realistic and to realize that there are no quick fixes.
One very strong and powerful point he makes is that recovery is not returning to how things used to be, but finding a better, healthier and more sustainable life that recognizes the past, accepts the limitations of the present and is full of hope for the future. In other words, we should not be looking to just return to our lives before our psychiatric breakdown occurred, but to a better more fulfilling life.
Mr. Heyes separates recovery into three stages: Inactive, Reactive and Creative.  
I have written a brief description of each stage and listed the tips given for that stage:
Inactive: Broken down-No longer functioning
• Value the pleasures;
• Trust in you;
• Take care of yourself;
• Find positive role models;
• Don't push the limit or set unrealistic goals;
• One step at a time;
• Recognize change;
• Beware of false friends;
• Live in the present;
• Hope is eternal.
Reactive: Beginning to look for ways to reengage with life
• Be comfortable with the uncomfortable;
• Pause to think;
• Find your off switch;
• Don't have negative agendas;
• Find your funny bone.
Creative: Taking charge of your life
• Find community- Don't isolate;
• Rise like a phoenix;
• Slow down;
• Get absorbed in activity.
I did not list all the tips, nor the descriptive details for each. I think the chapbook is a valuable resource for anyone, whether in recovery or not, looking to improve upon their happiness. My suggestion is to read it and use the tips you feel are best for you.

Pullout: “…we should not be looking to just return to our lives before our psychiatric breakdown occurred, but to a better more fulfilling life.”

Book Ends: "Written Off" by Philip T. Yanos

Book Ends: "Written Off" by Philip T. Yanos
A Column by Kurt Sass
Examining Stigma with a Critical Eye

Dr. Yanos, a Ph. D. and Professor of Psychology at John Jay College, has written a captivating and well-researched book on the history, foundation, and most importantly, the effects of stigma about mental illness. This stigma includes the stigma by others (media, government, community and society in general), but also the stigma mental health consumers place on themselves (Self-Stigma)

Dr. Yanos has certainly put a tremendous amount of time and effort into this book as there are almost 500 references cited. Many of these references point to a current theme: The stigma and misconception (by both society and consumers alike) that once a person has had a psychiatric episode they will never go back to having a normal life.

Dr. Yanos points out many true instances of how this stigma has affected people's lives. The Nazis, for example, started an extermination campaign of their own people who had mental illnesses in 1939 called the T-4 program. The rationale behind this (even advertised in propaganda films) was that these were "mercy" killings and acts of euthanasia, as people with mental illness were incurable.

Another example is the actress Margot Kidder, who was extremely popular from the Superman and other movies. In fact, by the 1980s, she was one of the most popular actresses in the world.  In the 1990s, however, she suffered a psychotic break, which was widely publicized. Although she has not had any episodes in many, many years, she feels that people still think of her only in terms of the breakdown, and that this has hurt her career tremendously.

Of course, it is not only celebrities who have to deal with stigma. Dr. Yanos relayed the story about a single parent in Kansas, who, shortly after giving birth in 2009, experienced a psychotic episode. Her daughter was taken into custody by child welfare authorities. The mother was treated and recovered. She petitioned to regain custody but was denied even though she never abused or neglected her daughter, even while she was symptomatic. The judge in the ruling stated that her condition "is permanent and there is no likelihood the condition can be reversed." She went on to give birth to another child in 2011 and has been allowed to keep custody of that child, but not her first born. As of 2014 things have remained the same.

The last story I would like to share from the book is how stigma from the community can cause mental health consumers to suffer from "Self-Stigma." While doing an ethnographic study in Los Angeles, a sociologist came across the case of an intelligent, outgoing man in his 30s, living in a community residence. Due to all the stereotypes he heard over the years that no one ever recovers from mental illness—although he was no longer suffering from any symptoms of his mental illness—he was desperately struggling and grappling with these negative stereotypes and stated that he had a "futureless future." He feared that he was becoming a "human rock," and that he had no hope. He eventually committed suicide.

Alas, there is hope. Research from the book has shown at least three strategies that have proven to work. The first is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The second is a National Anti-Stigma Campaign. (Note: The United States has local campaigns, but not a national one.) The last one is peer support.
I have given just a few examples of the stories showing how stigma can impact people's lives and the names of the strategies most effective in fighting stigma. I highly recommend you read this book to both read more of the stories and to find out how the strategies mentioned above work.

After Things Go Wrong Sometimes Amazing Things Happen

After Things Go Wrong Sometimes Amazing Things Happen
Book Review by Carl Blumenthal
Some Stories Have No Ending

How many of us could survive one day in New York City’s notorious Rikers Island Jail, given we have behavioral health issues? Wouldn’t admission to a psychiatric hospital be safer and more therapeutic? 

Until recently I worked as a peer counselor in the psychiatric ER of Brooklyn’s Kings County Medical Center. I admit that I approached with caution what the police call “emotionally disturbed individuals” (EDI’s) charged with crimes. Even with one wrist handcuffed to a gurney, they were liable to react aggressively. Unfortunately, the sooner they calmed down and went to Rikers, the sooner our staff could focus on less agitated patients.

Having “done time” on psychiatric units as a non-forensic inpatient, I expected a lot more heartbreak than hope in psychiatrist Elizabeth Ford’s Sometimes Amazing Things Happen: Heartbreak and Hope on Bellevue Hospital’s Psychiatric Prison Ward (2017). I was surprised to discover a role model who all mental health providers should copy. 

Due to the revolving door between Bellevue and Rikers—the hospital has 68 beds to treat the most distressed of 5,000 inmates with mental illness—she admits, “I have come to see my success as a doctor not by how well I treat mental illness but by how well I respect and honor my patients’ humanity, no matter where they are or what they have done.” 

Ford shines a light not just on the jail’s insufferable conditions but also on prisoners’ lives that are too often defined in psychiatric and legal terms. The list of their challenges—addiction, homelessness, poverty, illiteracy, racism, etc—is as long as an indictment. To paraphrase African American psychologist, Amos Wilson, these men have learned to be the best at doing the worst. 

Ford proves one wo(man) can make a difference by never giving up on her patients even when society has cast them aside. And they do their part merely by surviving. As one peer tells another in group therapy, “You are worth it, man. You got mad courage. You just hang on and keep going one day at a time. That’s all you got to do.” 

Elizabeth Ford may never have taken a course in conflict resolution, but she’s a natural at calming potentially (self-) abusive patients and keeping the peace among staff—mental health providers and corrections officers alike. Even as she climbs the career ladder, there is always someone telling her what to (and not to) do. Yet she’s not afraid to speak truth to power. 

Her calling is to assume more and more responsibility for events others consider beyond their control, in the end becoming the current head psychiatrist of the city’s correctional health services. She prefers the intensity of working with psychiatric inmates than other populations in other settings. 

For example, Ford is in her glory (or God’s), when, like a modern-day Noah, she evacuates the prisoners to an upstate hospital during super storm Sandy and finds refuge elsewhere for those re-housed on Rikers Island, where she discovers just how poorly those with mental illness and substance abuse are treated.

Is Elizabeth Ford too good to be true? Except for a few moments of self-congratulation, burnout seems to be her only shortcoming, but that’s because she cares too much. Her family and therapist keep her on an even keel; she recognizes her racial, social, and economic privileges. And there are events out of her control, such as the beatings, murders, suicides, and escapes she learns about second-hand. 

Ford’s memoir has the pace of a well-directed movie with enough drama to satisfy the most avid consumer of stories about abuses at mental hospitals. Her prose is straight-forward. Her eye for detail demonstrates the mindfulness necessary to survive amidst daily trials and tribulations. She enables us to witness what others can’t or refuse to see.    

Thus, it’s the small blessings that give her and us hope: A phone call home by a scared teenager, a grungy prisoner’s unexpected shower, proper clothes for a court appearance, a sing-along in community meeting, ping-pong on a makeshift table, and a patient forgiving a doctor’s mistake. 

She concludes Sometimes Amazing Things Happen with these words: “A story without an ending is still a story worth telling.” Meaning these are snapshots of lives—sometimes like our lives—that we must honor, no matter how difficult to appreciate. 

Yet, much as she treats our peers humanely, Ford doesn’t hesitate to use both diagnostic labels and psychiatric medication for what she believes is our own good.

Based on my experience in the psychiatric department at Kings County, I now see the language is a shorthand and the meds are shortcuts to get people out of the hospital as quickly as possible. (After all, who wants to be confined in a mental hospital?) It may be only with long-term community services that peers have a better chance to educate clinicians.

I volunteer for the American Friends (Quaker) Service Committee’s Prison Watch to end solitary confinement, which causes and worsens mental illness. Agencies such as CASES, the Fortune Society, and the Osborne Association now rely on peer specialists to connect with ex-prisoners living with behavioral health challenges. I recommend that readers of City Voices get involved in these efforts if not doing so already.

Book Ends: First Mover. First Maker by Mark A. Rivera

A Column by Kurt Sass

Lots of Plot, Confusing Ending 

As a change of pace, I have been asked to review a short novel. This book has nothing to do with the topic of mental health, but was written by a mental health consumer.

I must preface this by stating that I do admire anyone who has the fortitude, grit and determination to put pen to paper and write an entire novel, as although I have written for many years, a 20-page short story has been my personal limit.

The story starts out innocently enough, where the main character Samantha, who believes she has by chance run into her former and long admired (as well as pined for) mentor, Saul. She answers his invitation to his apartment hopeful for a romantic rendezvous, only to be given a mystery in an envelope and a promise that all will be answered the next day.

Mark A. Rivera

But this is not to be, as what follows is a series of flashbacks, cross country trips and even more mysteries. Mr. Rivera does a very good job of keeping the reader interested while adding layer upon layer to the intrigue. Whether it be a sudden death, remarkable medical test results, crop circles, or time travel, we are continually kept on edge awaiting the outcome.

Unfortunately, as much as we are kept on edge, I was disappointed at the confusing ending. There was so much going on in such a short period of time, it was extremely difficult to follow. Samantha attempts to explain what has just transpired, but to quote the character of Jack on the last page: “I'm gonna pretend I understand you.” If the ending was laid out in more detail it would have lived up to the promise of the remainder of the book.

I myself can easily see how difficult novel-writing can be.

Editor’s Note: Mr. Rivera’s book is available on Amazon.com in paperback or digital for Kindle as well as BarnesandNoble.com, and Google Books. Any retailer can order a copy for the customer. If you are a mental health consumer, a family member or a mental health professional and have a book that you would like reviewed, please write to CityVoices1995@gmail.com with “Book Ends” in the subject.

Book Ends: “When Cries are Silenced” by Debra Faes-Dudden

Book Ends: “When Cries are Silenced” by Debra Faes-Dudden
Reviewed by Kurt Sass
Debra Faes-Dudden is a multi-faceted artist who has written a book titled “When Cries Are Silenced,” containing her poetry, artwork and a song.
Ms. Faes-Dudden was sexually abused at a very young age by her grandmother’s live-in boyfriend, who died when she was seven. She said she had repressed almost all the traumatic experiences and that it has taken her over 20 years to heal from these repressed memories. She credits her use of the creative arts as one of the major tools in her recovery.
Ms. Faes-Dudden's poetry is a mixture of a range of emotions from fear to despair to hope, joy and pride and the many subtleties in between.  She is honest and lays bare he reality while remaining pragmatically optimistic.
Her poem, “A Struggle For Peace,” speaks of fear, with: “I feel so alone and out-of-control, I lay paralyzed, every breath pain-filled,” and, “The struggle to find this elusive peace continues.”
In the poem, “Locked Inside the Untold,” she communicates despair with: “But it’s so cold within this cell” and “I'm not truly not living, I only exist.”
An example of hope can be found in last two stanzas of her work, “So Many Children Cry in the Silence of the Night,” with such lines as: “A renewal of energy begins to grow” and “She's able to see that beyond the rain there lies a rainbow.”
“Proclamation,” evokes joy with such phrases, “I flourish in change and movement, in wind and in waves.” and “Change is my nourishment, movement, my dance of creation.”
Pride can be felt in her piece, “It's Good to be a Woman,” with the lines, “We, who can offer warmth, acceptance, and shelter, just with the opening of our arms” and “Oh, yes, it is good to be a woman.” 
There are many more examples of the emotional spectrum contained within the 36 poems. This diversity of emotions is what kept me hooked. Many books about one's recovery from mental illness and/or personal trauma (whether poetry, biography or fiction) often lean dramatically to the horrors they have gone through or focus solely on the successful, happy, fulfilled life they are leading today. Ms. Faes-Dudden portrays the broad spectrum of her life and experiences.
“When Cries are Silenced: Writings During My Journey in Healing Repressed Childhood Trauma” is available in paperback for $11 at Amazon.com.
Note: You can write to Debra Faes-Dudden, P.O. Box 7223, Indian Lake Estates, FL 33855.

Book Review: “Left of the Dial” by Christina Bruni

Book Review: “Left of the Dial” by Christina Bruni

By William Jiang, MLS

Fashion, Romance, Music, Ambition and More

Christina Bruni’s memoir Left of the Dial (Createspace, 2015) is a tour de force. Christina is a storyteller, first and foremost. Schizophrenia is the backdrop to her hopeful story, which is full of fashion, romance, music, ambition and more. Since the first chapter was fortissimo engaging, I could not put her book down, and so ate it whole the very first day. Needless to say, I was aching for more.

In this powerful memoir, Christina reveals she studied English Literature during college (tops in her classes, I’m sure). Bruni’s writing flows with passionate energy while maintaining a subdued mellow feel. If still waters run deep, she tells it best.

Throughout her book, Miss Bruni’s life philosophy, “normal is boring” (and I strongly agree), is loud and clear. Like the Chinese axiom, “May you live in interesting times,” translating as “May you live an interesting life,” are exemplified by her experiences and biographical anecdotes. People who live with serious and persistent mental illnesses seem to live, by default, more colorfully than those who float by on a cloud of normalcy. Perhaps, Christina’s story would also do well on the silver screen. 

Like Bruni, the lot of us who battle mental illness have larger-than-life personal stories. Indeed, our life chronicles take us from heaven to hell and back again. When I read a story like Christina’s, I am reminded that in some way I am blessed to be able to share my own story of schizophrenia with others. As a Buddhist monk once said to a woman who was a victim of rape, “You are so fortunate to have survived your ordeal. Just by living, you will be able to give other women who have survived rape and sexual abuse much needed hope.” If more people had the courage, vision, optimism and storytelling ability of Christina, it would suit me just fine.

I disagreed strongly with one thing Ms. Bruni said in her book toward the end. It was something to the effect of “this is my only story.” My hunch is that we are in for another treat in the future. I feel that her book publishing career has just begun. “Bravo, Christina e gratzie!” My sincere hope is to someday talk to Ms. Bruni on the phone and maybe meet up for a coffee one author to another. Buy the book and experience the ride. The way you think about schizophrenia and your life may never be the same after you read Left of the Dial.

Life is best lived left of the dial.

Editor’s Note: William Jiang, MLS, is the author of A Schizophrenic Will: A Story of Madness, A Story of Hope and Guide to Natural Mental Health, and eighteen other books on Amazon.com.

Book Ends: “Guide to Natural Mental Health” by William Jiang, MLS

Book Ends: “Guide to Natural Mental Health” by William Jiang, MLS
Book Review by Columnist Kurt Sass
William Jiang was the Chief Librarian of the New York State Psychiatric Institute Patient and Family Library for seven years. His experience is deftly demonstrated in his well-researched resource guide titled “Guide to Natural Mental Health.”
In this guide, Mr. Jiang cites a tremendous amount of scientific articles, as well as medical studies and research as examples of how various “natural” methods of improving one’s mental health has proven beneficial. The most frequently used sources for his information and data come from The National Institute of Mental Health, Medline Plus and the online version of the Physician’s Desk Reference.
One thing I like about Mr. Jiang’s approach towards natural treatments is that he takes a very responsible, open-minded approach. For example, he prefaces his findings by stating that “the information in the book is not intended to be used for a medical doctor’s advice.”
One may be misled by the title. Upon first glance, it would be easy to think that this is just another book hawking the miracles of the latest magic herb or pushing the wonders of a one week seminar. There is no sales pitch or wheeling-dealing going on here—just information.
Sure, there are some sections about how vitamin D, fish oil and some natural supplements have been proven beneficial in helping those with depression, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric disorders; but much of what Mr. Jiang writes about when he uses the term “natural” has to do with topics such as exercise, meditation, significant others, eating right, pets, socialization, work, education and what he calls sleep hygiene.
Now we all know that it is better for us to get more sleep, and to exercise, be more sociable, etc. What Mr. Jiang has done for us, however, is all the leg work by answering some of the questions we have, such as: how do we know that this may really work? Has this ever been proven?  
Not only does Mr. Jiang give concrete examples of how these treatments have been proven effective, he has even gone the extra step to separate them into different sections for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and schizophrenia. So, if you are looking for help with one particular diagnosis, it will be easy to find.
Mr. Jiang has also updated the book to include an entire section on digital addictions. In fact, Internet gaming disorder has just recently been recognized in the DSM-V.
In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought that anything such as exercise, light therapy, yoga, pets, meditation, etc. may improve their mental health but has been hesitant to try one of these or similar methods because they have never seen any sort of backup proof in black and white.
Note: Guide to Natural Mental Health is available on Amazon.com. William Jiang is also the author of A Schizophrenic Will: A Story of Madness, A Story of Hope.

Book Ends: Left of the Dial by Christina Bruni

Book Ends: Left of the Dial by Christina Bruni

Reviewed by Columnist Kurt Sass

Christina Bruni’s book, Left of the Dial, is an uplifting, triumphant account of her ongoing battle with schizophrenia, a battle she is winning every day. I found there to be three main messages in her book: 1) Never give up, no matter who tells you what you can or can not accomplish; 2) Acceptance of an illness is a major component in the battle; and 3) that service to others in life will bring you joy.

The very first thing that struck me about Ms. Bruni’s book is that she pulls no punches and gets directly to the core. No five to ten leading chapters on how I grew up and how grade school was and this and that. The very first sentence, “It happened that night,” within the first chapter of the book we find Ms. Bruni in the psychiatric ward. No pussy-footing around with this memoir.

And no pussy-footing around with Ms. Bruni, either. While still in the hospital, her doctor tells her that she would probably never go to grad school or get into writing again. She also reads in the hospital that only 30% of people with schizophrenia fully recover. Rather than resign herself to the opinions of the “professionals,” she makes a conscious decision “to be determined to be the 30%” and begins to set up goals for herself. Immediately upon her release, she buys a computer (one goal) and was soon writing (another goal).

Shortly after this, Ms. Bruni’s journey takes her to a day treatment program. She is still feeling optimistic about the future until she reads in another “professional journal,” a book titled “Surviving Schizophrenia,” that only 6% of people with schizophrenia go on to obtain full-time jobs. At first she retreats into herself and bows to the pressure, but then summons up the courage to fight the stereotype once again.

Ms. Bruni eventually graduates from the day treatment program into a halfway house, and enrolls in a journalism class. Her hopes are crushed on the first day, however, when one of the requirements are that she keep a journal of news reporter mistakes each night on television, a task she knows will prove impossible, as the halfway house has only one shared television set for all the residents.

There does come a point in which Ms. Bruni believes that once she does in fact find full-time work, she can stop her medication and be drug-free. This day does come as her dreams of becoming the “6%” come true. Unfortunately, even though she tapers off the medication in accordance with her doctors instructions, she suffers a psychotic break and is hospitalized. This break teaches her a valuable lesson, and she comes to the realization that schizophrenia is just one part of who she is. She decides, rather than fight the diagnosis, to work with it.

After accepting her diagnosis, Ms. Bruni continues to flourish. She enrolls in a Masters of Library Science program, finding it a perfect fit. She finds love and loses it when her partner gets an out-of-state career opportunity, but is not crushed. Today Ms. Bruni continues to work full-time as a public service librarian and writer.

It is easy for any mental health consumer who has ever been told by a mental health professional that he or she can’t do something to relate to this book. In 1998, while in my deepest, darkest depression, I was told by a therapist that I would not get much better, and I would just have to learn to deal with it. Today, I celebrated my 10-year anniversary with the non-profit company I work for, so I know, to some extent, what Christina had to go through. I recommend this book very highly for any consumer in the mental health system, or, for that matter, anyone who has ever been told “You can’t do that.” Christina Bruni retorts “Yes you can.”

Book Ends: A Vision of a Dream by Angelina Darling

Book Ends: A Vision of a Dream by Angelina Darling
Reviewed by Columnist Kurt Sass
A Vision of a Dream is a book that I recommend for anyone that is in recovery from mental illness as well as family and friends. Its main message, at least to me as a mental health consumer, is that the definition of recovery is different to each of us. It is a personal definition. As a consumer, my recovery should not be based upon what my family/friends feel it should be, or what society thinks it should be. My recovery is my own.
The book starts out with a laundry list of “how to help a loved one struggling with depression” and “strategies for dealing with depression.” As with any of these lists, some items are extremely useful, while others not. Simply pick the ones that are applicable for your situation. On the list of helping a loved one, there are a lot of basics (cooking, shopping, etc), but the three I found the most helpful on the list to be: being kind, donate time and patience. On the list of strategies, the ones I found most helpful were: protect your sleep, make provisional appointments with friends and keep your chores down to three simple steps. Ms. Darling definitely knows the importance of self-care.
Ms. Darling then goes on to tell her life story, which includes numerous hospitalizations, (one in which she almost dies from an overdose of haldol), as well as having family members with bipolar disorder, some with tragic results. She describes how stopping her medications leads her into a psychosis in which she believes the mafia are after her. She also has bipolar disorder, and is a rapid cycler, sometimes transferring from mania to depression and vice versa in a manner of minutes. She has tried ECT (Electro Convulsive Therapy or “shock treatments”), but they did not work, either. She had to stop after four treatments because they caused her mental confusion.
At the end of the book, Ms. Darling describes how her life is in the present. To be honest, at first I was feeling sorry for her, as her descriptions of her current job status, love life and even grooming habits had me feeling that she was not in a very good place in her recovery. But then I continued to read about how she has good energy, good clarity of mind, decent concentration and is no longer in the “worry mode.” She also feels that she has won the battle against her bipolar disorder, on what she says are the five fronts she was fighting: the illness; the denial; the side effects of medications; the self esteem; and society’s projection that she is worthless.
After reading this, it is obvious that I had no right to pre-judge Ms. Darling as to her recovery, just as my recovery belongs only to me.

Book Ends: Silent Screams by D. Cross

Book Ends: Silent Screams by D. Cross

Reviewed by Columnist Kurt Sass

Silent Screams is a brutally honest, well-written account of the life of a woman who has endured a myriad of hardships most of us could barely imagine.

Although the first four chapters are devoted exclusively to her experiences with (and failures of) the mental healthcare system, the remainder of the book is a biography of a life full of setbacks, and more importantly, uncaring people.

The book is full of countless example of how people in all facets of life had failed her. For example, growing up, many doctors would dismiss her many symptoms until her condition grew worse and worse. This neglect continued until she finally got diagnosed with tuberculosis, far later than necessary. In addition, the nuns refused to believe her when she said she had difficulty walking up stairs.

Years later, while in a psychiatric hospital for six weeks, she was never told her diagnosis, participated in completely silent group therapy and psychiatry sessions and was discharged even though told that she had no home to go to.

Ms. Cross also reveals later in the book about an illness later in her life and the many many delays in getting a proper diagnosis and treatment, all the time while in constant pain.

If all this wasn’t enough, throw in some uncaring relatives and three “predators” and you can see what a brutal existence this women had to deal with.

The major point I got from this book, unfortunately, is that no matter where you turn, especially the ones in whose hands you put your life, they will disappoint you. Ms. Cross’s viewpoint, as stated in the end pages of the book, has been one of acceptance.

While I recommend this book to most people, there are some that definitely should not be reading this. To most people, this book is a good example of how, in some cases, the medical/mental health care system, in the regard to how they treat people, has not changed (in some cases) over the years. Great strides have been made, and patients for the most part, have been treated with more dignity, but this book will show as evidence that much more needs to be done. For this reason, I recommend this book, especially for mental health and medical healthcare advocates. While I am glad Ms. Cross has found peace in acceptance, I wish she had an advocate during her times of need to help get the proper care and treatment she needed.

On the other hand, this book should not be read by anyone who is currently undecided about their opinion of mental health or healthcare professionals in general or anyone who is contemplating seeing a therapist or healthcare professional for the first time. It does not give a full representation of healthcare professionals. This is just one person’s experience and is not typical. It is also a very depressing book.

Book Ends: "Eyebrows and Other Fish" by Anthony Scally

Book Ends: Eyebrows and Other Fish by Anthony Scally

Reviewed by Columnist Kurt Sass

“Eyebrows and Other Fish” is a self published book written by a mental health consumer from England. I found the book to be both extremely impressive and interesting.

The impressive parts of the book is what I found to be the amazing insight Mr. Scally has into his schizophrenia, its manifestations and consequences. The truly impressive part is his keen awareness of the full picture even when he is going through the worst of his symptoms, including extreme paranoia and obsessiveness, for example. He is able to identify when he is being paranoid and obsessive, and can relate it in full detail, which I will give a partial example of later.

Mr. Scally also does an excellent job when it comes to defining what he is facing and what he has to deal with when going through an episode. One example is that absolutely everything he reads, hears or sees takes on added significance and he must analyze it backwards, forwards and sideways. Things such as advertisements, license plates and colors all have special, important meanings that must be figured out. It becomes a mission to him.

The interesting parts of the book to me are the details of the thought patterns that go on while Mr. Scally is going through an episode. Just one of the many examples in the book is as follows: His girlfriend’s mother had given him a present of aftershave with the word BOSS on it (I’m assuming Hugo BOSS). This immediately got Mr. Scally to thinking this was a way of the mother letting him know that his girlfriend was sleeping with her boss and that is how he got the crabs he had just contracted a few weeks ago, and that this was her way of warning him about her daughter. Or perhaps, he then thought, the gift was the mother’s way of saying that she was the boss and that she holds all the cards. Then his thoughts raced to the possibility that maybe BOSS stood for something, perhaps “Back Off, She’s Sorry,” or “Brain Operation Soon, Scally.”

This book chronicles Mr. Scally’s life from 1990-2006. During this time he has many good phases and some dark ones, too. As with many people that have psychiatric disabilities, he has stopped taking his medications on numerous occasions, and that is usually when his symptoms started to reoccur.

It would be so easy to condemn Mr. Scally for ceasing to take his medication while they were obviously working, but once again, he does an excellent job in explaining their debilitating side effects. He writes that, in addition to the various side effects he suffered, from muscle stiffness, Parkinsonism, erectile dysfunction, constant dry mouth and sedation, that the medication also “impedes my momentum for life itself.” After reading that, it is very easy to see the struggle of medication vs. side effects.

I did not even get into Mr. Scally’s childhood, which sadly was horrific, nor his support system, which between his girlfriend, social worker and advocacy group is for the most part pretty good. You’ll have to read the book to find out more, which I totally recommend you do.

Book Ends: The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Saks

Book Ends: The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Saks

Reviewed by Columnist Kurt Sass

A “broken brain” that accomplished a great deal

In the very last chapter of Professor Elyn Saks’ book The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness, she states that the reason she writes and speaks out is: “to bring hope to those who suffer from schizophrenia, and understanding to those to those who do not.” I just have one message for her: Mission accomplished! After reading about all the trials and tribulations that Ms. Saks has endured and survived, I believe anyone who is fighting the daily battles with schizophrenia, or any other psychiatric disability, will come out of the experience with a renewed spirit. Also, I believe anyone who has never experienced schizophrenia will find reading this book an extremely educational, eye-opening experience.

One very strong point about Ms. Saks’ writing is her honesty and candidness, especially when it comes to her struggles with remaining on her medication. Ms. Saks points to many instances when she is doing fairly well, but then decides to lower or stop taking her medication altogether and then almost immediately relapses into psychosis. Many writers would not write anything at all that might shine a negative light on themselves, but Ms. Saks explains the reasons why she (and many others) make these decisions about stopping medications.

It took Ms. Saks many years to come to terms with the fact that the medication does help keep the psychotic thoughts away and that she must continue to take it, even when feeling well. She discovered the reason she would stop taking medication was that she would feel that each time she put a pill in her mouth it was a reminder that her brain was profoundly broken and defective, and that by taking pills she wasn’t being her authentic self.

In addition, Ms. Saks said she had to come to terms and accept that she had a mental illness. She tells the story of an analogy a friend told her about a riptide, that your first instinct is to fight it, and you use all your energy fighting it. Ms. Saks was using all her energy fighting her diagnosis of mental illness by stopping her medication. Once she accepted the diagnosis and allowed the medication to do its job, things continued to get better.

Ms. Saks also goes into great detail about the importance of talk therapy as well as medication in her recovery. There were many examples in the book when she was completely off medication and feeling psychotic and either reached out to others (friends, therapists, etc) or they reached out to her.

Perhaps the most powerful part of the book is the amazing disparity of treatment she received while going through her various psychotic episodes. Many times it simply came down to a matter of who noticed the behavior or which hospital she was admitted to. The most blatant example of this was when she was admitted to one hospital (she was talking incoherently, but not behaving violently at all) and put in four-point restraints for days. Just a short time later, exhibiting the same exact behavior, a different hospital nearby felt that no restraints were necessary at all. And it turns out they weren’t needed.

Professor Saks is a Graduate of Oxford University and is a Professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She was able to achieve all this while having numerous psychotic episodes throughout the years.

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness has won numerous book awards and was on the Time magazine top ten best-sellers list for Non-Fiction books.

Pullout: “...each time she put a pill in her mouth it was a reminder that her brain was profoundly broken and defective, and that by taking pills she wasn’t being her authentic self.”

Book Review: “The Fool” by Jeffrey V. Perry

By Kurt Sass

I must admit, I was a little bewildered for quite some time while reading “The Fool,” Jeffrey V. Perry’s book of, by the book cover’s own description, “Poetry and Other Works.”

The reason for my initial confusion was because the book was given to me to read to review for New York City Voices, and for the first 95 percent of it I saw practically no writings concerning mental health. Most of the poetry and essays had to do with the topics of God and love. While these writings were very well written, with a style showing engagement, fluidity, strength and insight, I still could not fathom how a review of this book would benefit New York City Voices readers.

That is until I read what Mr. Perry called his “Bonus Material.” Buried within the final 15 pages of the book are two essays about mental health peers, one in particular on the topic of the  peer as provider.

After reading the essay, I would have no qualms in stating that I feel that Mr. Perry is so well versed on the subject the he could pen an entire book on the subject alone. As a mental health peer provider, many of his points truly hit home and got me thinking about items I haven’t (but should) be thinking more about. He writes about the obligation and responsibilities we have as peer providers, and that we should not simply be satisfied in “getting in the door.” He adds that we should also critique ourselves and be very careful not to fall into the same traps as many non-peer providers, such as acting with our peers only in a “clinical” mode, or forgetting where we came from.

Mr. Perry went on to give an example of what helps him as a peer provider. He wrote that when he sees someone going through a trauma he goes back to his days on the Bowery and remembers that what worked best in his own recovery were those who did their job well and with an open mind.

To sum up, if you like good poetry about God and love, this book is for you. If you want to read a great essay about mental health peers, this book is for you.