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The Collected Schizophrenias

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( 19,942 ratings, 2,347 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang is a powerful memoir exploring the author's experiences with schizoaffective disorder. Blending personal narrative with scientific research, Wang delves into the complexities of living with mental illness, touching on themes of identity, resilience, and the quest for understanding. Her compelling prose offers insight into the challenges of navigating both the medical system and societal perceptions.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you are interested in an insightful exploration of mental health challenges, particularly concerning schizophrenia. It offers a deeply personal perspective from the author, drawing on both her own experiences and broader societal observations. Readers who appreciate thoughtful essays and nuanced discussions on identity, resilience, and the complexities of living with mental illness will likely find this memoir compelling and enlightening.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The phenomenal New York Times bestselling account of mental illness that remakes the nature of memoir.

"I've inherited a love of a writing and a talent for the visual arts from my mother, as well as her long and tapered fingers; I've also inherited a tendency for madness."

Esmé Weijun Wang was officially diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in 2013, although the hallucinations and psychotic episodes had started years before that. In the midst of a high-functioning life at Yale, Stanford, and the literary world, she would find herself floored by an overwhelming terror that 'spread like blood', or convinced that she was dead, or that her friends were robots, or spiders were eating holes in her brain. What happens when your whole conception of yourself is turned upside down? When you're aware of what is occurring to you, but unable to do anything about it?

Written with immediacy and unflinching honesty, this visceral and moving book is Wang's story, as she steps both inside and outside of her condition to bring it to light. Following her own diagnosis and the many manifestations of schizophrenia in her life, she ranges over everything from how we label mental illness to her own use of fashion and make-up to present herself as high-functioning, from the failures of the higher education system to how factors such as PTSD and Lyme disease compounded her experiences. Wang's analytical, intelligent eye, honed as a former lab researcher at Stanford, allows her to balance research with a haunting personal narrative. The Collected Schizophrenias cuts right to the core and provides unique insight into a condition long misdiagnosed and much misunderstood.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang has been praised for its honest and eloquent depiction of living with mental illness. Reviewers have highlighted Wang's ability to combine personal narrative with analytical insights, offering a unique perspective that demystifies schizophrenia. The book's fragmented structure and Wang's poetic writing style add depth and immediacy, making it a profound and illuminating read that challenges societal misconceptions about mental health.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141991535

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 June 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 170g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Esme Weijun Wang is the author of The Border of Paradise. She received the Whiting Award in 2018 and was named one of Granta's Best of Young American Novelists of 2017. She holds an MFA from the University of Michigan and lives in San Francisco.

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