Obscure #NonfictionReviews “No One Cares About Crazy People”
“No One Cares About Crazy People″ by @RonPowersauthor (Part One)
“No One Caes About Crazy People” by Ron Powers is informative—often disturbing—and nonfiction, making it all the more pointedly sad. In this book, Powers tells the story of mental illness in America in more ways than one.
What I love about this book:
This book is a fearless and candid look not just at how poorly mental illness is handled nationwide but what our collective neglect looks like on an individual level. Powers gives you the history of how the mentally ill were treated globally, domestically in the United States, and finally, what that looked like for his sons, who both struggled with schizophrenia. One of which, sadly, did not survive his struggles with depression and schizophrenia. That’s what makes this book so brave. He invites the world into his home, to his family—and to their pain.
The title of this book is an actual quote from a government official, and it’s a perfect distillation of a pure lack of empathy. She wasn’t saying it to lament the idea that there isn’t enough care and consideration for the mentally ill—it was a statement of she—and how she perceived the rest of us feel about the mentally ill. That’s why Powers made that statement the title of this book because it’s revolting. No matter how functionary or bureaucratic one’s job is—if they hold such opinions and are employed by the government, a light needs to be shined on them—for that is how we start to chase the cockroaches out.
Powers gets right into the nitty-gritty details of mental illness—primarily schizophrenia—he talks about the medications, the treatments, the biology, the pain, and most of all, the stories of its sufferers and their families. It’s a hard subject. But one that can strike anyone.
Reading about the wrenching injustices, which sometimes, and often, led to the deaths of mentally ill people, while not enjoyable, I feel it is vital. For change to happen, discomfort is necessary. Powers includes a story where a mentally unstable person was shot to death while brandishing a screwdriver. It was said to be an icepick, but it was a screwdriver, and while that individual needed to be dealt with—I hardly believe bullets were the only or even the best option.
Want more? Get my full review here:
https://www.writinginobscurity.com/2021/07/no-one-cares-about-crazy-people-by-ron.html
