The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness

by Elyn R. Saks

A woman with cancer isn’t Cancer Woman; a man with heart disease isn’t Diseased Heart Guy; a teenager with a broken leg isn’t The Broken Leg Kid. But if, as our society seemed to suggest, good health was partly mind over matter, what hope did someone with a broken mind have?

If and when they can, people who have been traumatized will tell what happened to them, over and over. The telling and retelling may become tedious for friends, but it’s healthy and important, and good friends encourage it.