Author: Patrick Tracey
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0553905597
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
In this powerful, sometimes harrowing, deeply felt story, Patrick Tracey journeys to Ireland to track the origin and solve the mystery of his Irish-American family's multigenerational struggle with schizophrenia. For most Irish Americans, a trip to Ireland is often an occasion to revisit their family's roots. But for Patrick Tracey, the lure of his ancestral home is a much more powerful need: part pilgrimage, part investigation to confront the genealogical mystery of schizophrenia–a disease that had claimed a great-great-great-grandmother, a grandmother, an uncle, and, most recently, two sisters. As long as Tracey could remember, schizophrenia ran on his mother's side, seldom spoken of outright but impossible to ignore. Devastated by the emotional toll the disease had already taken on his family, terrified of passing it on to any children he might have, and inspired by the recent discovery of the first genetic link to schizophrenia, Tracey followed his genealogical trail from Boston to Ireland's county Roscommon, home of his oldest-known schizophrenic ancestor. In a renovated camper, Tracey crossed the Emerald Isle to investigate the country that, until the 1960s, had the world's highest rate of institutionalization for mental illness, following clues and separating fact from fiction in the legendary relationship the Irish have had with madness. Tracey's path leads from fairy mounds and ancient caverns still shrouded in superstition to old pubs whose colorful inhabitants are a treasure trove of local lore. He visits the massive and grim asylum where his famine starved ancestors may have lived. And he interviews the Irish research team that first cracked the schizophrenic code to learn how much–and how little–we know about this often misunderstood disease. Filled with history, science, and lore, Stalking Irish Madness is an unforgettable chronicle of one man's attempt to make sense of his family's past and to find hope for the future of schizophrenic patients. From the Hardcover edition.
Author: Frank Bures
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612193730
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
Why do some men become convinced—despite what doctors tell them—that their penises have, simply, disappeared. Why do people across the world become convinced that they are cursed to die on a particular date—and then do? Why do people in Malaysia suddenly “run amok”? In The Geography of Madness, acclaimed magazine writer Frank Bures investigates these and other “culture-bound” syndromes, tracing each seemingly baffling phenomenon to its source. It’s a fascinating, and at times rollicking, adventure that takes the reader around the world and deep into the oddities of the human psyche. What Bures uncovers along the way is a poignant and stirring story of the persistence of belief, fear, and hope.
Author: Regina O'Melveny
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0316195820
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 336
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Book Description
Dr. Gabriella Mondini, a strong-willed, young Venetian woman, has followed her father in the path of medicine. She possesses a singleminded passion for the art of physick, even though, in 1590, the male-dominated establishment is reluctant to accept a woman doctor. So when her father disappears on a mysterious journey, Gabriella's own status in the Venetian medical society is threatened. Her father has left clues -- beautiful, thoughtful, sometimes torrid, and often enigmatic letters from his travels as he researches his vast encyclopedia, The Book of Diseases. After ten years of missing his kindness, insight, and guidance, Gabriella decides to set off on a quest to find him -- a daunting journey that will take her through great university cities, centers of medicine, and remote villages across Europe. Despite setbacks, wary strangers, and the menaces of the road, the young doctor bravely follows the clues to her lost father, all while taking notes on maladies and treating the ill to supplement her own work. Gorgeous and brilliantly written, and filled with details about science, medicine, food, and madness, The Book of Madness and Cures is an unforgettable debut.
Author: B. Burstow
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137503858
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 308
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Book Description
Based on extensive research, this book is a fundamental critique of psychiatry that examines the foundations of psychiatry, refutes its basic tenets, and traces the workings of the industry through medical research and in-depth interviews.
Author: Will Hall
Publisher: Madness Radio
ISBN: 9780996514309
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 402
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Book Description
Outside Mental Health: Voices and Visions of Madness reveals the human side of mental illness. In this remarkable collection of interviews and essays, therapist, Madness Radio host, and schizophrenia survivor Will Hall asks, "What does it mean to be called crazy in a crazy world?" More than 60 voices of psychiatric patients, scientists, journalists, doctors, activists, and artists create a vital new conversation about empowering the human spirit by transforming society. "Bold, fearless, and compellingly readable... a refuge and an oasis from the overblown claims of American psychiatry" - Christopher Lane, author of Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became an Illness "A terrific conversation partner." - Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness "Brilliant...wonderfully grand and big-hearted." - Robert Whitaker, author of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America "Must-read for anyone interested in creating a more just and compassionate world." - Alison Hillman, Open Society Foundation Human Rights Initiative "An intelligent, thought-provoking, and rare concept. These are voices worth listening to." - Mary O'Hara, The Guardian "A new, helpful, liberating-and dare I say, sane-way of re-envisioning our ideas of mental illness." Paul Levy, Director of the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, Portland, Oregon "A fantastic resource for those who are seeking change." Dr. Pat Bracken MD, psychiatrist and Clinical Director of Mental Health Service, West Cork, Ireland
Author: Clare O'Farrell
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349131067
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 199
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Book Description
A discussion of the writings of Michael Foucault, focusing particularly on "Histoire de la Folie" written at the beginning of his career and "What is Enlightenment?" written at the end. Foucault's work is examined as a reflection on the "limits" of history, society and culture.
Author: Paul-Gordon Chandler
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538181231
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 209
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Book Description
“A profound spiritual exploration into the life and work of the beloved poet Kahlil Gibran, a much-needed guide for our times.” –Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth In Search of a Prophet is a fascinating journey through the spiritual life of Kahlil Gibran, the great Lebanese-American poet and author of The Prophet, a book originally published in 1923 that has sold over 10 million copies and been translated into dozens of languages. Capturing our imaginations and enriching our spirits, Paul-Gordon Chandler explores this beloved writer and artist, a celebrated mystic who sought to build bridges and tear down walls and who remains a cultural icon among all people of goodwill. This is not a traditional biography but a compelling spiritual journey through Gibran’s writings, art, and the places he lived. From Gibran’s birthplace village high in the snowy mountains of Lebanon, Chandler leads us through his immigration to Boston, art training in Paris, and career in New York, and to the far-reaching places of influence his writings and art have traveled, alerting readers to Gibran’s continuing relevance for today. This paperback edition, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Prophet, includes a foreword by Bishop Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, as well as a new preface by the author.
Author: Alejandro Nava (Author on hip hop)
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520293541
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
In Search of Soul explores the meaning of “soul” in sacred and profane incarnations, from its biblical origins to its central place in the rich traditions of black and Latin history. Surveying the work of writers, artists, poets, musicians, philosophers and theologians, Alejandro Nava shows how their understandings of the “soul” revolve around narratives of justice, liberation, and spiritual redemption. He contends that biblical traditions and hip-hop emerged out of experiences of dispossession and oppression. Whether born in the ghettos of America or of the Roman Empire, hip-hop and Christianity have endured by giving voice to the persecuted. This book offers a view of soul in living color, as a breathing, suffering, dreaming thing.
Author: José Guilherme Merquior
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520060623
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 196
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Book Description
Offers a brief profile of the French philosopher, examines his writings on madness, sexuality and power, and discusses the political implications of his work
Author: Tahir Shah
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
ISBN: 9781559706414
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
King Solomon, the Bible's wisest king, was possessed of extraordinary wealth. The grand temple he built in Jerusalem was covered in gold. Over the ages, many have sought to find the source of the great king's wealth -- but none with so much flair, wit, or whimsy as Tahir Shah. Intrigued by a map he finds in a shop not far from the site of the temple, Shah assembles a multitude of clues to the location of Solomon's mines. From ancient texts to modern hearsay, all point across the Red Sea to Ethiopia. Shah's trail takes him on a wild ride by taxi, bus, camel, and donkey to the gold-bearing corners of this storied and beautiful country. He interviews the hyena man of Harar, is hauled up on a rope to enter a remote cliff-face monastery, and stumbles upon an illegal gold mine where thousands of men, women, and children dig with their hands. But the hardest leg of the journey is to the accursed mountain of Tullu Wallel, where legend says the devil keeps watch over the entrance to an ancient mine shaft... Book jacket.
