The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays
Powerful, affecting essays on mental illness, winner of the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and a Whiting Award
An intimate, moving book written with the immediacy and directness of one who still struggles with the effects of mental and chronic illness, The Collected Schizophrenias cuts right to the core. Schizophrenia is not a single unifying diagnosis, and Esmé Weijun Wang writes not just to her fellow members of the “collected schizophrenias” but to those who wish to understand it as well. Opening with the journey toward her diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, Wang discusses the medical community’s own disagreement about labels and procedures for diagnosing those with mental illness, and then follows an arc that examines the manifestations of schizophrenia in her life. In essays that range from using fashion to present as high-functioning to the depths of a rare form of psychosis, and from the failures of the higher education system and the dangers of institutionalization to the complexity of compounding factors such as PTSD and Lyme disease, Wang’s analytical eye, honed as a former lab researcher at Stanford, allows her to balance research with personal narrative. An essay collection of undeniable power, The Collected Schizophrenias dispels misconceptions and provides insight into a condition long misunderstood.
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Community Reviews
This is such a refreshing and important book. I've read quite a few different books/memoirs about various mental illnesses, but I haven't read much from someone with schizoaffective disorder — and I especially feel that it is important to read from an Asian-American perspective as well. Mental illness is not often spoken about in Asian communities, and I've been sorely lacking hearing from other people who are like me when it comes to mental illness. I found the author super honest and readable, and although there were some parts that I liked more than others. But I thought she really illustrated how mental illness can affect anyone, and that privileges don't protect you from developing a mental illness.
But tbh, what I liked most about this book was the Asian-American perspective, since she wrote about her parents' reactions and such as well. I know that mental illness is often stigmatized in Asian communities, which makes it especially hard to talk about within families, so in addition to talking about her experiences, I feel that Wang is helping with destigmatizing mental illness. Finally, most of the readings I do about mental illness are about anxiety and depression, and having the opportunity to hear from someone with a more severe disorder is super important tbh, especially since there are a lot of negative stereotypes out there about schizophrenia.
This was a terrible review because I'm in the middle of something else, so my writing isn't very good at the moment, but BASICALLY this book is very important and clinical psych programs should have their students read at least parts of this in whatever general pathology/disorder classes that first years have to take.
But tbh, what I liked most about this book was the Asian-American perspective, since she wrote about her parents' reactions and such as well. I know that mental illness is often stigmatized in Asian communities, which makes it especially hard to talk about within families, so in addition to talking about her experiences, I feel that Wang is helping with destigmatizing mental illness. Finally, most of the readings I do about mental illness are about anxiety and depression, and having the opportunity to hear from someone with a more severe disorder is super important tbh, especially since there are a lot of negative stereotypes out there about schizophrenia.
This was a terrible review because I'm in the middle of something else, so my writing isn't very good at the moment, but BASICALLY this book is very important and clinical psych programs should have their students read at least parts of this in whatever general pathology/disorder classes that first years have to take.
You can tell that this is a fantastic book about psychosis and schizophrenia because I had to stop reading it early.
This author is fantastic at describing the pain that can come with psychosis, as I've experienced myself, without dipping into trauma porn territory. If you've never experienced psychosis, *please* read this.