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The Witnesses
The Witness. Thomas Hennell
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1938
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 16, 2014
This is an account of schizophrenia, by a schizophrenic - a real one.
Author Thomas Hennell's misery as a victim of schizophrenia is just palpable in this book. There's nothing trendy or titillating about it, no matter what garbage Hollywood tries to foist on us with movies like "A Beautiful Life". There is no self-important "Girl, Interrupted"-style whining here, either.
In a final irony, after recovering and going on to serve in the British military, Hennell was killed in the war by a stray bullet. Meanwhile, Humphrey Osmond saw fit to try to exploit Hennell's account to promote psychedelic drug use. Apparently schizophrenics were put here in order that their misery should at least be exploited somehow... (Having lost a friend to schizophrenia, my resentment of the exploitation of schizophrenics by self-serving whiners and media scum borders on the homicidal, but, whatever... I suppose that's my "problem".)
I didn't realize this is a rare book. That's a real shame; it should be required reading for psychiatrists. Meanwhile, if some jackass makes a movie out of it, I swear to God I'll be waiting for them in Hell with an electric drill and a blowtorch.
Author Thomas Hennell's misery as a victim of schizophrenia is just palpable in this book. There's nothing trendy or titillating about it, no matter what garbage Hollywood tries to foist on us with movies like "A Beautiful Life". There is no self-important "Girl, Interrupted"-style whining here, either.
In a final irony, after recovering and going on to serve in the British military, Hennell was killed in the war by a stray bullet. Meanwhile, Humphrey Osmond saw fit to try to exploit Hennell's account to promote psychedelic drug use. Apparently schizophrenics were put here in order that their misery should at least be exploited somehow... (Having lost a friend to schizophrenia, my resentment of the exploitation of schizophrenics by self-serving whiners and media scum borders on the homicidal, but, whatever... I suppose that's my "problem".)
I didn't realize this is a rare book. That's a real shame; it should be required reading for psychiatrists. Meanwhile, if some jackass makes a movie out of it, I swear to God I'll be waiting for them in Hell with an electric drill and a blowtorch.
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July 20, 2020hypertrophied self-consciousness
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews