A Mind Apart - by Susanne Antonetta (Paperback)

About the Book

This fascinating blend of memoir, journalism, and science reveals how much "normally" functioning people can learn from those with neurological disorders such as depression, multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, and autism.

Book Synopsis

This beautifully written exploration of "the unusual abilities of those who are differently wired" (Psychology Today) received a Ken Book Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness for outstanding literary contribution to the world of mental health.

In this fascinating literary memoir, Susanne Antonetta draws on her personal experience as a manic-depressive, as well as interviews with people with multiple personality disorder, autism, and other neurological conditions, to form an intimate meditation on mental "disease." She traces the many capabilities-the visual consciousness of an autistic, for example, or the metaphoric consciousness of a manic-depressive-that underlie these and other mental "disabilities."

A stunning portrait of how the world shapes itself in minds that are profoundly different from the norm, A Mind Apart urges readers to look beyond the concept of cures to the gifts inherent in many neuroatypical conditions. Employing a wide-ranging approach to her subject, Antonetta provides a rare glimpse into the wildly varying landscapes of human thought, perception, and emotion.

About the Author

Susanne Antonetta is the author of the award-winning memoir Body Toxic, as well as five collections of poetry.