5-star review for Lithium Jesus by Charles Monroe-Kane
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book digs beneath the surface of mental health into the mind of a young man who is suffering from auditory hallucinations and bipolar disorder. Tearing the cover off the clinical, the author speaks from the heart and attempts to capture the bedrock of his experience.
Lithium Jesus is a memoir by Charles Monroe-Kane describing his life from youth, when he first realizes that he is hearing voices, until he decides to leave Prague in his early thirties. A globe-hopping travelogue that takes the reader from rural Ohio, to Missouri, to the Philippines, to Hong Kong, to Haiti, to Indiana, to San Francisco, to a mental institution, to Alaska, to Costa Rica, to New York City, to Amsterdam, to Norway, to Ecotopia Bulgaria, to Peace Circus France, to Oregon, and finally to Bohemia.
The personal story lurches from one end of the spectrum to the other - from being taught to avoid being a sucker by his family, to becoming a full-time sucker proselytizing for the Evangelicals; from faith-healing, to the opposite extreme of Christianity with left-leaning Mennonites and the sanctuary movement, to atheism. From wearing suits and holding the Bible up like a sword to growing a beard, putting a ring in his ear and braiding his hair down his back declaring squatter’s rights in an abandoned building.
The voice is earnest, visceral, frank. The author is introspective, well-read, curious, smart, and above all aware.
A love-hate relationship with medication is central to the story. Does lithium suppress your genius? Is thorazine “a chemical lobotomy”? Off your meds, are you a danger to yourself and others? Does a patient have any choice in the matter?
The scenes are unforgettable. Pre-teen Guerillas for God whacking the tops off coconuts with machetes; waiting at the border with a huge solar generator while his leather pants get nicked; chasing a mischievous Swedish nymph through a forest naked; a rave in the foothills of the Tatra mountains with a MiG fighter jet as a DJ booth.
With disarming charm, Charles Monroe-Kane guides us through the epic arc of this tale, his testimony.
View all my reviews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book digs beneath the surface of mental health into the mind of a young man who is suffering from auditory hallucinations and bipolar disorder. Tearing the cover off the clinical, the author speaks from the heart and attempts to capture the bedrock of his experience.
Lithium Jesus is a memoir by Charles Monroe-Kane describing his life from youth, when he first realizes that he is hearing voices, until he decides to leave Prague in his early thirties. A globe-hopping travelogue that takes the reader from rural Ohio, to Missouri, to the Philippines, to Hong Kong, to Haiti, to Indiana, to San Francisco, to a mental institution, to Alaska, to Costa Rica, to New York City, to Amsterdam, to Norway, to Ecotopia Bulgaria, to Peace Circus France, to Oregon, and finally to Bohemia.
The personal story lurches from one end of the spectrum to the other - from being taught to avoid being a sucker by his family, to becoming a full-time sucker proselytizing for the Evangelicals; from faith-healing, to the opposite extreme of Christianity with left-leaning Mennonites and the sanctuary movement, to atheism. From wearing suits and holding the Bible up like a sword to growing a beard, putting a ring in his ear and braiding his hair down his back declaring squatter’s rights in an abandoned building.
The voice is earnest, visceral, frank. The author is introspective, well-read, curious, smart, and above all aware.
A love-hate relationship with medication is central to the story. Does lithium suppress your genius? Is thorazine “a chemical lobotomy”? Off your meds, are you a danger to yourself and others? Does a patient have any choice in the matter?
The scenes are unforgettable. Pre-teen Guerillas for God whacking the tops off coconuts with machetes; waiting at the border with a huge solar generator while his leather pants get nicked; chasing a mischievous Swedish nymph through a forest naked; a rave in the foothills of the Tatra mountains with a MiG fighter jet as a DJ booth.
With disarming charm, Charles Monroe-Kane guides us through the epic arc of this tale, his testimony.
View all my reviews
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Books I have Read
I started obsessively tracking all the books I have read when I was just out of college. Over the years I have been less obsessive about it - but let's change all that. I have converted my lists to Go
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