5 comments about Songs from the Black Chair: A Memoir of Mental Interiors (American Lives).

1. This book is a great read. From the opening scenes of a suicide in a New England farmhouse to the following chapters that tell of youthful adventures and the descent into madness, Charlie Barber knows how carry us through what would have been tortuous material in less skilled hands. This book gives us a personal account of the terrors of mental illness and loss of control over ones thoughts and destiny. The slow path to healing, and the refreshing acknowlegement of how medications brought back his sanity are a welcome departure from the usual rants against the medical industrial complex. I also greatly enjoyed the view of the sleepy college town and the caring yet uncomprehending parents that all of us can identify with, both as teens and as uncomprehending parents. I highly recommend this book.



2. This book is little more than an embarassing catharsis from an author for whom no amount of privileged education succeeded in helping him to grow up. It surely reaffirms my own conviction that mental health professionals should continue in the direction of treating their work more as science and less as the virtually worthless "sympathetic listening" currently being peddaled as "social work."
   Mental disease deserves an informed, medical, scientific approach, not inane pop culture "I'm getting OK- you're getting OK" babble from people who can't deal their own demons, much less help others to deal with theirs.
   Mr. Barber's approach of sponging off of the troubles of others in order to feel better about his own inadequacies does little to help either side of the exchange. Don't bother reading this book unless you enjoy listening to someone feel sorry for himself. It's written by someone who been feeling sorry for himself his whole life, and he's singing the same old tune.



3. Songs from the Black Chair was awesome. Admittedly, it was more about the author's own struggles than about any of the people he has helped, but that's not a criticism... it is noted simply because the title, which suggests that the book will be about his patients, is misleading.
   
   All the same, it was a story that touched and moved me deeply. As do many primary care providers, I have cared for and treated the mentally ill almost 15 years, and what Barber writes about the need to simply LISTEN - and how the more highly-trained the professional, the less this ability - hits home very hard.
   
   Sadly, psychiatry today is no longer about listening to people; it's about categorizing their symptoms and then trying to abolish these with medication. In fact, the content of a sick person's hallucinations, fears, and dreams is no longer important; what the patient has to say to us, to society, is left uncovered, ignored, or derided. What would Freud and Adler and Frankl say?
   
   Buy it, read it -- be unsettled by it -- and pass it to a friend.



4. Does anyone really need to read more fatuous cries for attention like this? The song being sung here is "Oh, please, I have troubles, pay attention to me." Then the discordant refrain kicks in: "I'm so helpless, buy my book so I can I tell you how helpless I am, and I'll tell you about all the other people who can't cope."
   But it's the constant background whining of Barber's chorus that sounds the most unoriginal note, and is so embarassingly out of tune. Do we really need to feel sorry for yet another spoiled little rich kid complaining about how the everyday challenges of life were, and are, and always will be, just so, so, very difficult for sensitive little twits like him? Moreover, does anyone need to listen to immature moans posing as songs? It's likely the "American Idol" tryouts fulfill that particular need, or "empty chasm of emotional isolation," as they intone in the world of pseudo-psychological cliches.



5. This memoir was moving, almost beyond words. I was poignantly and thankfully reconnected to the reasons I most wanted to be a therapist many years ago. Mr. Barber's efforts have produced a work of distinction for its openness, sincerity. and fearsome humanity. Kathryn J. Mas, Ph.D.

No comments about Catch Me Before I Fall.

No comments about Pain in the Arms of Joy: Thoughts of a Borderline Personality.

4 comments about If Your Dreams Are Big Enough, the Facts Don't Count.

1. I met Michael today at our Rotary Club where he spoke. The man is one of the finest speakers I have heard. He's cute, funny and enlightening. For all of us with children, he reminds us of the importance of patience and never giving up on our kids. In fact his book ought to be required reading for teachers and those in youth services. Never understimate a kid's potential. Always set standards which allow the child to reach for and to "live up to".



2. If Your Dreams are Big Enough, The Facts Don't Count! is a wonderful story about a man with a disability living his life and telling about it in his own words! I read it in ONE day! This book is inspirational to ALL human beings!



3. it's excellent because it's said in his own word



4. This is a factual account of perseverance against great odds by a young boy & man that will make you cry & laugh. If only those of us with everything going for us could be as focused as Michael Long. A joy to read. He is NOT a whiner but a doer.

2 comments about The Gift: Learning to Appreciate the Value of Life.

1. BASED ON A TRUE STORY! This book is a great book. It tells a story about a inner city youth with a drug additced teenage mom who has many situations to deal with. This youth grows up to be a sucessful journalist and a kidney donor to his cousin. If his cousin doesnt get this kidney he will die. Read this great book to find out the rest of the story. A must read for everybody. Tell your friends and family about it. Rated 5*****.



2. BASED ON A TRUE STORY! This book is a great book. It tells a story about a inner city youth with a drug additced teenage mom who has many situations to deal with. This youth grows up to be a sucessful journalist and a kidney donor to his cousin. If his cousin doesnt get this kidney he will die. Read this great book to find out the rest of the story. A must read for everybody. Tell your friends and family about it. Rated 5*****.

No comments about Night Out With the Boys, A.

No comments about Birth in a Chicken House: A Collection of Stories.

1 comments about I Don't March to the Beat of a Different Drummer: I'm the Whole Band: Perceptions of a Bipoloar Life.

1. This book is for children,adolescents,adults,nurses,social workers,school councelors, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and Doctors, as well as the general public. This book tells a story about the writer,with humor and also medications are listed. There is a chapter containing the names of famous people that are or have,in the past been Bipolar. There are several pages of web sites to go to for more information and over all, the book serves to educate the public on mental disorders and for answering problems in the workplace for Bipolar People and the Mentally ill. I have heard that the book is selling well in several countries in Amazon stores.There is a section on addictions as well.The index tells you about the humor, as well as a serious look at Bipolar issues, and I highly suggest that the customer be aware that this book is not meant to cast a funny look at the disorder but to offer healing and recovery.
   One chapter called We're not in Salem any more Toto: chastises the people that refuse to learn how to help the Bipolar and the Mentally ill. I hope that this helps. five stars!

5 comments about God Knows His Name: The True Story of John Doe No. 24.

1. This is an incredible story of a deaf man who was found wandering the streets of Jacksonville, IL and subsequently institutionalized at Lincoln State School and Colony. It is an easy-to-read account that tells about all of the horrors and abuses that John Doe No. 24 endured and the way he survived it all. When he also went blind, he was almost totally disconnected from he world. Yet, somehow, he maintained a sense of humor and enjoyed the simple things of life.
   
   Anyone interested in the beginning of what is now called "Special Education" should read this book. Highly recommended.



2. A very interesting story and topic best summed up by Mary Chapin Carpenter herself when she penned the words in her song that she included on John Doe 24's tombstone, "Well there's no doubt that life's a mystery, but so too is the human heart." I would suggest that many readers are drawn to this book through Mary Chapin Carpenter. For those that are, you are apt to find a 'Lewis' that is different than the one you may have envisioned since you first heard Ms. Carpenter's haunting melody. In many ways it is hard to distinguish the human being that lives inside this deaf and mute body. It is difficult to read because it tears us from the comfort of our own 'perfect' lives.
   
   The song apart, I learned a great deal about the history of institutional care through the journey that Lewis stumbles into in 1945. The picture is not pretty. Still, it is important to understand that institutional culture does exist in America. Having read this book, I am now compelled to learn where it is today with the hope that it has improved dramatically since the events I read in Mr. Bakke's book.
   
   Not a particularly 'fun' book to read, but one that should be on your list.



3. Mr. Bakke has written a riveting book about a nearly unbelievable life. The reader is rapt by the circumstances 'Mr. Doe' meets at every turn, and Mr. Bakke has penned his words in a way that allows the reader to feel something of the feelings Mr. Doe must have experienced. The story told by the book is at once heartrending and hopeful; Mr. Doe is 'trapped' in 'the system,' but he is often shown mercy by compassionate people who even now deserve to be honored for their efforts.
   
   One question remained when I had finished the book: Why did no one---the police, a social worker, ANYBODY---allow Mr. Doe to take them back down the trail he had traveled? Let him be a passenger in a car, pointing his way back to his place of origin?
   
   Great book, though. I'd recommend it for almost anyone of any age. THANK YOU, MR. BAKKE, for showing us the twists and turns of this lost human riddle.



4. that not that long ago in this country someone was found wandering the streets and there were no means to identify him. How sad that someone had raised him for 16 years and then "lost" him. This is a story about one man's dignity. Unlike a lot of stories involving institutions, it seems as though John encountered an awful lot of caring people employed at these places. I find it interesting that although he learned to communicate with others, he never discussed his past or gave any real clues as to his beginnings.

   It's a well written book about a sad subject. I recommend it.




5. On October 11, 1946, a black boy of indeterminate age was found wandering the streets of Jacksonville, Illinois. When police discovered he was deaf, mute, and suspected to be retarded, he was sent to the Lincoln State School and Colony, a state facility that bore little resemblance to its name. Had he been permitted to stay at the School for the Deaf, his life would have been completely different, but that school was not permitted to take retarded people.
   The Lincoln School was a self-contained city having a farm with price-winning cattle and a dairy processing plant. It generated its own power and returned thousands of dollars to the state treasury, thanks to the free labor provided by the residents (really inmates). These people varied from the very severely retarded to those of borderline intelligence. The place was vastly overcrowded, and the pecking order among residents was often established violently.
   John Doe, as he was called since they were unable to identify him at all, was given an I.Q. test, but much like any test, if you don't understand the value or importance of the test, there will be little incentive to do well, even assuming you can understand what is expected of you. A special test was used that had been designed for the deaf, but the examiner had difficulty conveying the purpose and instructions for the various tests that were disguised as games or puzzles. John's deafness and inexperience were a huge impediment, and, not surprisingly, he scored very low on the test. This result was to haunt him for years to come. After several unsuccessful escape attempts, John gradually adapted to his surroundings. He had no known relatives so there was no one to claim him nor to send him packages or money that might help alleviate his situation.
   By the mid-sixties, thanks in part to JFK's commitment to improving conditions and education for the mentally retarded and an Illinois commission, facilities and conditions were improving at the Lincoln School. John Doe had now been there close to two decades. Unfortunately, it was also the time of Chlorpromazine that the psychiatric profession had discovered could turn unruly or violent patients into virtually catatonic, but untroublesome, individuals. It soon became the drug of choice for nearly everyone in an institution. Despite regular doses, John was becoming one of the best students in the ASL class that had been started for the deaf residents. He became a trustee and was placed in charge of several other patients, helping them to dress and to get ready for the day.
   By 1973 the side effects of the drugs began to manifest themselves and John was inflicted with diabetes and glaucoma. In 1975, the Lincoln School was converted into a state prison, and John was sent to the Jacksonville Developmental Center. He was now totally blind, but thanks to a few dedicated individuals, his talents were recognized and he was sent to the Helen Keller School. This provided him with the skills he needed to subsequently live in a series of group homes.
   He died a few years later, but to this day no one has still been able to track down his identity.

1 comments about The Angel Wore White Sneakers.

1. This is a fabulous account of one family's life and how it was changed by having a disabled child. It talks about a number of issues including struggling with getting the right education, medical problems, facing up to public ridicule, family relations, and ultimately dealing with untimely death and it repercussions. I would recommend this to any family with a disabled child, or anyone looking for a pick me up.