A Light in the Tower - (Rethinking Careers, Rethinking Academia) by Katie Rose Guest Pryal

About the Book

"Written from the perspective of a professor with bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, and autism spectrum disorder, A Light in the Tower is both a bracing account of the mental health crisis in higher education and a passionate and informed proposal for how to teach with mental health in mind. Katie Rose Guest Pryal argues that the systemic crisis of mental health in higher education communities is the result of systemic problems in education itself that demand a comprehensive approach. She examines the anxiety that plagues campuses as a result of exploited and overworked contingent faculty and students, the shock events like COVID-19 and campus shootings that traumatize communities, the systemic and institutional burnout that affects higher education at every level, and the market-driven culture of toxic overwork. These are large-scale problems that need large-scale solutions. As the title indicates, A Light in the Tower is not just about the crisis affecting higher education. Pryal also outlines actions that professors and administrators can take to address the problem. These include abandoning the toxic rigor that fosters an ableist and exclusionary campus culture, replacing "bad-hard" work that creates unnecessary logistical difficulties for students in favor of "good-hard" work that challenges them intellectually, listening to and assisting students who request disability accommodations, normalizing the use of laptops, and scaffolding assignments. A Light in the Tower gives practical recommendations for how to make academia a more healthy, inclusive, and accessible space for those with mental disabilities, so they can enjoy the kind of formative education that each person deserves"--

Book Synopsis

With evocative storytelling and incisive research, Katie Rose Guest Pryal brings a new eye to the mental health crisis that higher education has faced for decades. Written from the perspective of a bipolar-autistic professor, A Light in the Tower is both a bracing account of the mental health crisis in higher education and a passionate and informed proposal for how to teach with mental health in mind.

Pryal contends that higher education's mental health crisis is the result of long-term systemic problems in education that demand nothing short of a revolution. She examines the anxiety that plagues campuses as a result of exploited and overworked contingent faculty and students, the shock events like COVID-19 and campus shootings that traumatize communities, the systemic and institutional burnout that affects higher education at every level, and the market-driven culture of toxic overwork. These are large-scale problems that need large-scale solutions. Addressing the stigma that haunts mental disability on campus, the ableism that hounds our teaching, and the cascade of mental health struggles that far too many faculty and students face, Pryal provides straightforward solutions to these complex challenges.

A Light in the Tower argues that excellent education and radical support for mental health struggles can coexist and provides detailed advice for how to do so. Meanwhile, Pryal debunks claims that supporting student mental health harms educational rigor (coining the term "rigor angst" to discuss the fear that rigor is declining). She outlines actionable steps professors and administrators can take to address the problem, including abandoning ableist and exclusionary campus culture; replacing "bad-hard" work that creates unnecessary logistical difficulties for students in favor of "good-hard" work that challenges them intellectually, providing an easy path to disability accommodations; and teaching accessibly for neurodivergent students.

Review Quotes

"In A Light in the Tower, Pryal's discussion of the darkness of mental distress is riveting. The recommendations for teaching are very helpful, and I'll be using them in my courses. I really appreciated the chapter on public writing as well. Public writing is an important outlet for faculty to apply their knowledge to the wider community, but many don't know how to go about doing this. Thank you for this honest, practical, and reflective book."--Teresa Heinz Housel, editor of Mental Health among Higher Education Faculty, Administrators, and Graduate Students

"A Light in the Tower brilliantly confronts the stigma against mental disability that haunts academia. With engaging prose, Pryal gives the academic community tools to deal with mental health crises and to build a more inclusive, healthier environment in academia for all people--students and faculty--living with mental disability and experiencing mental distress. An essential, game-changing book."--Elizabeth Donaldson, editor of Literatures of Madness: Disability Studies and Mental Healthand series editor of Literary Disability Studies

"Katie Rose Guest Pryal shines a much-needed beacon on mental disability in academia and beyond--and most importantly, offers real solutions for creating equity in higher education. A Light in the Tower is a must-read for educators, administrators, and anyone else who wants to know and do better."--Camille Pagán, author of Good for You, Everything Must Go, and Life and Other Near-Death Experiences

"In this unflinching look at the crisis and stigma around mental health in higher education today, Katie Rose Guest Pryal charges us to look carefully and critically at the systems we perpetuate that exclude faculty and students with mental disabilities from equitable opportunities to thrive. A must-read for those who want to know better, do better, and teach better."--Rebecca Pope-Ruark, author of Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal

"Katie Rose Guest Pryal's new book shows how the COVID-19 pandemic revealed an ugly truth about academia: it's still one of the most inaccessible and ableist spaces in American society. Thankfully, it reveals another truth: higher education doesn't have to be this way. Throughout her book, Pryal chronicles the obstacles people with disabilities and mental illness face both as students and faculty, but also ways to remove them. A Light in the Tower is essential reading for anyone in academia with a disability, but also those without one to know how to better support their colleagues and classmates."--Eric Garcia, author of We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation