American Madness
Four Hundred Years of Mental Illness and Its Treatment
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American Madness
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Narrated by:
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By:
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Amy Ellis Nutt
Summary
Moonstruck. Deranged. Distempered. Whatever we’ve called it and however we've treated it, mental illness has affected Americans as long as there’s been an America to call home. The story of madness in this country is one of human suffering but also of great human perseverance.
In this remarkable narrative history, Amy Ellis Nutt takes us from pre-Revolutionary America to the contemporary moment, exploring how our national character of individualism and optimism has shaped centuries of discoveries, trauma, and trends. Through the eyes of patients, family members, doctors, scientists, mavericks, and charlatans, Nutt recounts the trajectory from colonial burial rites designed to trap demons to ecstasy-dosed octopuses teaching us about the desire to connect, from the tavern brawl that may have led to the country's first mental hospital to the leftover Nazi rocket fuel that helped make the world's first antidepressant, from the very first clinical interview to the rise of telehealth.
Nutt examines her subject with the precision of a science writer, the human insight of a journalist, and a deep sense of empathy coming from her own experiences with the mental healthcare system. This humane, nuanced record illuminates the winding path that has brought us to our current state of mental health and healthcare, and reveals how our past will shape where we might go from here.
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Critic reviews
“Amy Ellis Nutt understands that every age gets the derangement it fears and the ‘cures’ that come with it. American Madness is an insightful, compassionate account of how America has treated the troubled mind across four centuries, from asylums to SSRIs and psychedelic therapy. . . . A history of rare humanity and reach.”—Gardiner Harris, author of No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson
“Heartbreaking and hopeful in equal measure, American Madness illuminates a history that has been shrouded in shadows for too long. With deep reporting and propulsive storytelling, Nutt has produced a brilliant and kaleidoscopic book that covers a lot of ground without ever losing pace.”—Luke Dittrich, author of Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets
“Amy Ellis Nutt’s riveting book—deeply researched and skillfully told—will entertain, enlighten, educate, and enrage you. A must-read for anyone trying to understand America’s tortured history of mental health care.”—Meg Kissinger, author of While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
“Heartbreaking and hopeful in equal measure, American Madness illuminates a history that has been shrouded in shadows for too long. With deep reporting and propulsive storytelling, Nutt has produced a brilliant and kaleidoscopic book that covers a lot of ground without ever losing pace.”—Luke Dittrich, author of Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness, and Family Secrets
“Amy Ellis Nutt’s riveting book—deeply researched and skillfully told—will entertain, enlighten, educate, and enrage you. A must-read for anyone trying to understand America’s tortured history of mental health care.”—Meg Kissinger, author of While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
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