Library / Living With Mental Illness
Read this when
The Center Cannot Hold
Schizophrenia diagnosis. Yale Law. MacArthur 'genius' grant. Both things were true at once. 🧠
Who it's for
Saks, now a law professor and MacArthur Fellow, describes psychotic episodes from the inside with unusual clarity: thoughts that come apart, frightening convictions, and the terror of losing herself, alongside a brilliant academic path through Vanderbilt, Oxfo.
Feelings it meets
What it is
The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (Hyperion, 2007) is law professor Elyn R. Saks's memoir of living with schizophrenia, the diagnosis she describes publicly. She says her symptoms began in childhood, and her first major episode came while she was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford.
Where to find it
In print (Hachette); widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: Self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
Age: Ages 16+
“Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the thing with feathers” (poem 314)
