Pre-Owned Schizophrenia: A Brother Finds Answers in Biological Science (Paperback) 1421410915 9781421410913

Publishers Weekly,Chase, professor emeritus of biology at McGill University, delivers two intertwined narratives: the first is of the biosocial phenomenon of schizophrenia; the second is of the disease's impact on his own family (his brother Jim suffered from schizophrenia). Chase's account is a hybrid scientific study and memoir, one that informs not only through the scientific literature but also by poignantly describing Jim's plight: as a Jonathan Swift-enthused college student, he was prone to outbursts, his animated literary lectures fading into hollow, vacant sentences as schizophrenia-a term that remained unuttered within Chase's family-began to take hold. Jim spent most of his life in treatments centers, visited by his family until his death at age 65. Chase reveals the darkest degrees of Jim's symptoms alongside his literary and creative side, noting the glimmers of the professor Jim might have been had schizophrenia never placed him in perpetual residential treatment. But even if Jim's life had intensely tragic moments, the narrative his brother writes is ultimately uplifting. Chase notes, in his final reflections, that the shifting social perceptions and acceptance of schizophrenia have improved the situation for sufferers and families alike-a change that will only be bolstered by this sensitive and compassionate read. 11 b&w illus. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.