A Mind That Found Itself

Great book. What a sense of humor he had all through dark times. Wonderful story of being at times greatly benefited by a "retreat" and also nearly killed by the mistreatment there. He put himself through hell so that he could gather information for this book, which started as a grand delusion and ended up real and helping to bring about real changes in the world :) Like William James said, it reads like fiction, but it isn't. Well worth reading, especially as his mission still isn't complete more than 100 years on.

You can listen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1K0UrtMM6A&t=18674s

And read here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11962?msg=welcome_stranger

this is interesting for what it tells us, both of the institutions and the way mental health was (is) viewed, but also the author's state of mind, which does not feel entirely sane at his writing. that interest isn't enough to carry the book, though. this would have been an excellent article or exposé on the treatment of mental patients. it didn't need to be a book. but it's important enough to warrant at least 1 star.