Download PDF Mind Without a Home A Memoir of Schizophrenia Kristina Morgan 9781616494605 Books
Download As PDF : Mind Without a Home A Memoir of Schizophrenia Kristina Morgan 9781616494605 Books
This book brings readers straight inside the tortuous nature of the disease of schizophrenia, chronicled in short, journal-like chapters that narrate the author’s incredible story.
Experience the inner world of a woman with schizophrenia in this brutally honest, lyrical memoir.Have you ever wondered what it is like in the mind of a person with schizophrenia? How can one survive day after day unable to distinguish between one's inner nightmares and the everyday realities that most of us take for granted?In her brutally honest, highly original memoir, Kristina Morgan takes us inside her head to experience the chaos, fragmented thinking, and the startling creativity of the schizophrenic mind. With the intimacy of private journal-like entries and the language of a poet, she carries us from her childhood to her teen years when hallucinations began to hijack her mind and into adulthood where she began abusing alcohol to temper the punishing voices that only she could hear.This is no formulaic tale of tragedy and triumph We feel Kristina's hope as she pursues an education and career and begins to build strong family connections, friendships and intimacy-and her devastation as the insistent voices convince her to throw it all away, destroying herself and alienating everyone around her. Woven through the pages of her life are stories of recovery from alcoholism and the search for her sexual identity in relationships with both women and men. Eventually, her journey takes her to a place of relative peace and stability where she finds the inner resources and support system to manage her chronic illnesses and live a fulfilling life.
Download PDF Mind Without a Home A Memoir of Schizophrenia Kristina Morgan 9781616494605 Books
"I have a close relative with this illness so I found it fascinating to experience it from the patient's perspective. I recognized the frustrations and confusion. I admire her for her ability to keep going and her faith in God despite the tremendous challenges she faces daily. Enlightening."
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Mind Without a Home A Memoir of Schizophrenia Kristina Morgan 9781616494605 Books Reviews :
Mind Without a Home A Memoir of Schizophrenia Kristina Morgan 9781616494605 Books Reviews
- This memoir by Kristina Morgan is a hidden literary gem. I happily underscore the word "literary." Before writing any further, I highly recommend "Mind Without a Home" to two sets of readers. The first is the reader who appreciates and loves "literary" writing, especially as memoir. This is the real deal. The second is a huge segment of the population that struggles to comprehend and understand addiction (both alcohol and drugs) and mental illness (in this case, schizophrenia). In so many cases, the two are inextricably connected. This memoir has very different audiences! Perhaps they can connect, in the search for truth.
Several voices are at work in these pages, which is unusual in a personal essay or memoir. First, the author reveals herself to us using easy-to-understand, reportorial language, guiding us through several years of her extraordinary difficulties, along with a few victories. She opens the doors of understanding for us to witness and feel what she and hundreds of thousands of others face when plagued by the insidious combinations of addiction and mental illness. Each of these are permanent, fatal illnesses. When combined, the human impact is almost impossible to comprehend. Hence, society often prefers to hide addiction and/or mental illness behind closed doors, like they are some ridiculous form of personal choice, or perhaps a contagious disease. Indeed, even the addict often runs from acceptance of the possibility of having mental illness.
Ms. Morgan doesn't preach to us or seek pity. She chooses to present a series of true-life essays, as vignettes, each imparting some degree of emotion that connects us, leading to the possibility of understanding. There is no room for doubt, as she is not presenting her opinions. She presents real life events. You can't doubt what is real. Her episodes give light, in the hope that comprehension follows.
I mentioned that her memoir is written with several voices, which makes it delightfully rewarding reading. The typical first person storyteller, common to memoir, becomes several characters. This is subtle and innovative writing. At once, she is the reporting narrator, "the reporter," as described above. Then, very subtly she describes "the other realities," the voices dressed in black coats that try to tempt her to leave the common reality and join theirs...promising her safety and peace in suicide. The author breaks into poetic prose, interspersed between real-life vignettes. After all, the highest form of "literary" writing, including poetry, is when it becomes "art"...the search for beauty and truth. Who would ever expect a memoir rooted in the raw tales of addiction and mental illness suddenly to turn into poetic voice? One could even depict the nature of the schizophrenic voices and the author's resilience in understanding them. The play of the language used in different voices is at once alluring, as well as refreshing. Ms. Morgan is skilled as a poet and author.
I know the publisher of Christina Morgan's memoir must be trying to reach and educate an audience about mental illness and addiction. This book contributes to that important purpose. But for all those readers who enjoy "literary writing," meaning writing that approaches an art form, this is a special memoir, not to be missed. As the editor of a literary journal, I found this work a wonderful rarity. - This book is not just about Schizophrenia. It is really about Dual Diagnosis patients who suffer from two Axis I psychiatric disorders at once. In Morgan's case, these are Schizophrenia and Alcoholism. Mind Without A Home makes a needed contribution to the field of memoir literature since accounts about this type of recovery are scarce.
There are times that the pacing of the book zig zags in ways that may cause the reader to feel perturbed or lost in Morgan's narrative land. However, this serves to enhance our empathic glimpse into a brain struggling to build logical, linear thinking that we, who are not psychotic, take for granted every day. There are passages in the book that are beautiful and brilliant "When time finally caught her alone, like lightning catching thunder, introspection was bruised by alcohol. Then the dialogue she had with herself and others was diluted with pity, fear, and sadness, the children of Tanqueray and Jim Beam."
As a therapist who has worked frequently with those diagnosed with addiction and psychotic disorders, this book rings true. Even with thirty years of professional experience behind me, Morgan's book gave me new insights about this population of patients. As a writer, I am challenged by this author's obvious passionate love of language and magical imagery.
Morgan makes her mark as a new writer who offers a powerful voice that is lyrical, unpredictable, crisp and singular. Her talent is one to follow in future works. - This is a surprisingly lyrical book written by a woman with schizophrenia. I had picked it up to refer to a patient, but I found myself mesmerized by the prose that the author uses to describe her perceptions, both reality and non-reality based.
This is a woman with deepened insight on the human condition after her long struggle to come to terms with her illness. Schizophrenia is badly misunderstood by most people, and I think this book highlights many of the extraordinary insights that can occur when the usual associations on thought are loosened. Not to misunderstand, these visions are ones that Kristina would willingly abandon in exchange for a freedom from voices and questionable judgment. Her discussion of her recovery in AA stands as a solid addition to this book and one that is a testament to the AA movement. This is well worth reading for those effected, those who are related, and those who wish to understand their fellow human. - I have a close relative with this illness so I found it fascinating to experience it from the patient's perspective. I recognized the frustrations and confusion. I admire her for her ability to keep going and her faith in God despite the tremendous challenges she faces daily. Enlightening.
- This is a tour de force--a book that captures abstract states of consciousness and at the same time tells a coherent story about the loneliness, terror, and beauty of the schizophrenic mind. I could not put it down. What a gifted writer! Because of the author's literary skill and wisdom, I gained tremendous insight into the illness.
I feel such gratitude to Kristina Morgan for enduring all she endured, surrendering all she surrendered, and mastering all she mastered to bring this book to the world. This story told me hard truths yet left me with hope. Five stars!
