Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang

16 reviews

marywahlmeierbracciano's review

challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

I loved Esmé Weijun Wang’s book of essays, The Collected Schizophrenias.  Well-researched yet compact, this book follows Wang’s mental health journey through misdiagnoses, forced hospitalizations, and hallucinations to eventually land upon a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type.  Each chapter follows a few different storylines, a nonlinear examination of Wang’s experiences paired with eloquent cultural commentary and sometimes a bit of data regurgitation to provide context.  This book humanizes the schizophrenias in ways that society, and even mental health practitioners, have repeatedly denied.  Also including the author’s experiences with delayed-onset PTSD and late stage Lyme disease (which is also bafflingly controversial in the medical community)—as well as her loving long-term relationship with her husband—The Collected Schizophrenias is an ultimately hopeful book which grants autonomy and power to those who know its namesake.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Minor: Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide

mendthecat's review

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

Minor: Rape, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

skudiklier's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book was really interesting, and I both feel for the author and feel like I learned a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

shakakan's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

balladofreadingqueer's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

This memoir in essays was not what I expected. It discusses Wang’s diagnosis, involuntary hospitalisations and leaving Harvard. It to some extent discusses her relationship with her partner C, her family, friends, doctors and patients.

It is not an emotive or descriptive memoir. It focuses on using scientific language and includes lots of descriptions from DSM.

It seems formal and detached, maybe that was necessary for Wang to write about her experiences but it did make it difficult to connect to.

I’m not sure if I would recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

og_tomatogirl's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is one of those works that improve reader's empathy. A very important and well written work I recommend for anyone trying to better understand the impact of mental illness on a person's life. The essays seemed so intimate yet casual as if you were listening to a friend. As someone with a mental illness this book made me gasp as I saw myself in some of her essays. As a nurse this book made me realize how much work needs to be done to improve the care in psychiatry. I will forever rave about this book and push it into the hands of anyone and everyone.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Medical trauma

Minor: Suicide attempt