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The Eden Express
The Eden Express | Mark Vonnegut, M.D.
9 posts | 10 read | 31 to read
One of the best books about going crazy . . . required reading for those who want to understand insanity from the inside.The New York Times Book Review Mark Vonnegut set out in search of Eden with his VW bug, his girlfriend, his dog, and his ideals. But genetic predisposition and a whole lot of **** going down made Mark Vonnegut crazy in a culture that told him mental illness is a myth and schizophrenia is a sane response to an insane society. Here he tells his story with the eyes that see from the inside out: a moving remembrance of an era and a revealing look at mental illness . . . and getting well again.
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Caffeinated_Reader
The Eden Express | Mark Vonnegut, M.D.
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#37 and I am reading on the front porch today so I can get some sun in early. I miss going for drives, music blasting, windows down, and being able to go out as long and as far as I want 🙇🏻‍♀️

Caffeinated_Reader There were quite a few sentences that made me stop and think, ones that will stick with me for a while. I enjoyed reading his hippie memories and experiences. Schizophrenia sounds terrifying and I‘ve never done LSD but after reading this I definitely do not want to. Well done! 5y
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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

“Knowing that you‘re crazy doesn‘t make the crazy things stop happening.”

This memoir chronicles Mark Vonnegut‘s life living on a hippie commune farm in Canada; his battle and recovery from schizophrenic breaks. Much like his father, Mark is a talented and engaging writer. This story is open, uninhibited, and kind of bonkers.

#audible

AmyG I can‘t imagine. I had no idea Kurt‘s son was schizophrenic. 7y
britt_brooke @AmyG It‘s crazy, and I don‘t fully understand, but it sounds like it can be very treatable. I think he lives a pretty normal life now. 7y
haileybean @britt_brooke I think he‘s a doctor, but I could be wrong. It was briefly mentioned in one of Kurt‘s non-fiction books. 7y
britt_brooke @haileyhugsbooks Yes, you‘re correct. 👍🏻 7y
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britt_brooke
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Aaronlisa
The Eden Express | Mark Vonnegut, M.D.
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“Apartments were pretty expensive and the job situation was dismal.” This is about Vancouver in July of 1970. The housing situation is pretty much the same.

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SpiderGoddess
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For #seductiveshakespeare - #prospero and #awesomeautumnbooks - #manicmonday I've chosen Eden Express. Many speculate that Prospero was an autobiographical character for Shakespeare. He was a very complex character. This book being about one man's struggle living at the edge of Sanity/Insanity feels right for both challenges.
@jess7 & @jenniferw88

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EnidBiteEm
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Pickpick

Vonnegut went to live off the land and dodge the draft in the hippy era, he went insane and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Fortunately for him and us, he survived. His recollection of his thought processes as his mind lost its grasp on reality is incredibly informative, if sometimes difficult to process as a narrative given his irrationality at the time. He went on to study medicine at Harvard and wrote a sequel. #bestreadsofseptember

EnidBiteEm @Zelma @BookishFeminist You may find this interesting given your discussion about Haig's Reasons To Stay Alive although this discusses a different type of mental illness. Vonnegut makes the point that seeing mental illness as a biochemical problem is helpful. "No one's to blame. Psychological heroics are not required to improve things." 8y
EnidBiteEm @Zelma @BookishFeminist He's a doctor who understands there is no one straightforward 'prescription' 😉 8y
Zelma @EnidBiteEm thanks so much for the recommendation! Looking forward to this when I am emotionally ready. 👍😀 8y
EnidBiteEm @Zelma You're very welcome 😀. No pressure! It may not be what you're after (only the last chapter really delves into the issues I mentioned above), but at the very least it's an alternative. 8y
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EnidBiteEm
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A #bookrainbow two days AFTER the rainbow challenge ?: #blameitonlitsy #septphotochallenge #somethingforseptember. "I don't pretend to know any more than anyone else about what happens after death, but if there is such a thing as hell and it's anything like some of the things I went through when I was nuts, and you can avoid it by doing things as pretty as not coveting your neighbour's ass, by all means, DO NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOUR'S ASS." ?

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EnidBiteEm
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Book+drink: water in a plastic cup. With three young people, melamine is how we roll. Vonnegut is as witty and funny as his old man, but with an even greater self-awareness of mental illness. A flower child of the 60s, he pulls a Thoreau and decides to live off the land just as schizophrenia descends. He writes this book years later, as a paediatrician (he applied to 20 schools and all rejected him except for Harvard?!) So far, it's insanely good.

Dogearedcopy It's somewhat ironic that Harvard accepted him! I remember in the mid- to late-eighties in Boston when the homelessness issue started getting more widespread attention. It seemed like so many of the homeless in need of psychiatric attention were former Harvard *law* students! I don't really have anywhere to go with this comment; but I think I'll file away this author in my mental files for future reference 🙂 8y
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EnidBiteEm

Book+drink: water in a plastic cup. With three young people, melamine is how we roll. Vonnegut is as witty and funny as his old man, but with an even greater self-awareness of mental illness. A flower child of the 60s, he pulls a Thoreau and decides to live off the land just as schizophrenia descends. He writes this book years later, as a paediatrician (he applied to 20 schools and all rejected him except for Harvard?!) So far, it's insanely good.