This chilling, inspiring journey through the mysterious tunnel of schizophrenia tells the story of a father guiding his son from despair to hope. In the tradition of "Is There No Place on Earth for Me?" and "The Eden Express", this compelling and enlightening book offers hope for the one percent of the world's population affected by the disease.

On Conquering Schizophrenia addresses the topic of schizophrenia like never written. Author Robert Francis offers a revelatory and breakthrough paradigm regarding the relegation and defeat of schizophrenia hither yet present in the topical annals. In his conceptualization, Francis offers both a theoretical clarity along with the necessary pragmatics. And along the way, in a seemingly effortless stream of topic and word, Francis also broaches the topics of metaphysics, philosophy, theology, literary form, and humor while all the while crafting a long overdue methodology to conquering schizophrenia. As the reader peruses the pages, Francis’s personal touch and affinity for his audience will quickly be experienced and felt. This is not only a book on conquering schizophrenia but also on the greater life experience, including overcoming all typical generalized afflictions. This truly is a book with no precedent!

The causes of schizophrenia are many, including extreme stress, chemical imbalance, reaction to drugs, genetic predisposition, isolation, low self-esteem, and even a damaged or weakened aura (a supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature viewed by mystics, spiritualists, and some practitioners of complementary medicine as the essence of the individual and allegedly discernible by people with special sensibilities). My personal onset of schizophrenia and depression at age forty-two was caused, I believe, by a combination of the above. Through the caring help of family, friends, medical doctors, healers, and my own insights and intuitions, I was able to become completely free of the symptoms of schizophrenia and all antipsychotic and antidepressant medications used to treat the illness. Most influential and important to my healing and recovery, however, was the utilization of both borrowed and original strategies that keep me healthy to this day. The sharing of these strategies, which include identifying one's gifts; relying on family members, friends, and caregivers; improving one's self-esteem; identifying one's authentic self; connecting with healers; being in gratitude; setting goals; and using positive affirmations for the purpose of recovering and maintaining positive mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health is the reason why I have written this book.

Here, leading neuroscientist Nancy Andreasen offers a state-of-the-art look at what we know about the human brain and the human genome--and shows how these two vast branches of knowledge are coming together in a boldly ambitious effort to conquer mental illness. Andreasen gives us an engaging and readable description of how it all works---from billions of neurons, to the tiny thalamus, to the moral monitor in our prefrontal cortex. She shows the progress made in mapping the human genome, whose 30,000 to 40,000 genes are almost all active in the brain. We read gripping stories of the people who develop mental illness, the friends and relatives who share their suffering, the physicians who treat them, and the scientists who study them so that better treatments can be found. Four major disorders are covered--schizophrenia, manic depression, anxiety disorders, and dementia--revealing what causes them and how they affect the mind and brain. Finally, the book shows how the powerful tools of genetics and neuroscience will be combined during the next decades to build healthier brains and minds. By revealing how combining genome mapping with brain mapping can unlock the mysteries of mental illness, Andreasen offers a remarkably fresh perspective on these devastating diseases.

demonstrates the physical, psychological, and social harm resulting from the label schizophrenic and the continuous need to reexamine the underpinnings and attitudes of psychiatry. Booklist Of all the books written about schizophrenianone is more comprehensive, accurate, thorough, and clearer in style and statement than John Modrows classic How to Become a Schizophrenic. Modrow, who is a recovered schizophrenic and is, perhaps, the unrecognized and unappreciated worlds foremost authority on this disorder, has performed a truly invaluable service and has made the major contribution to our understanding of the causes and cures of this pseudodisease. Robert A Baker, Ph.D., former chairman of the Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky; author of They Call It Hypnosis, Hidden Memories: Voices and Visions from Within and Mind Games: Are We Obsessed with Therapy? One of the best things Ive read on the subjectI am struck by the richness of the ideas and the research and the soundness of the conclusions. Peter Breggin, M.D., founder and director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology; author of Toxic Psychiatry and Talking Back to Prozac a very important contribution to the field. Theodore Lidz, M.D., former chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, Yale University; author of The Origin and Treatment of Schizophrenic Disorders and Schizophrenia and the Family well researched and easily readable (a difficult combination to achieve)! Judi Chamberlin, author of On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System meticulously challenges all the major research that claims that schizophrenia is a biological disorder. Ty C. Colbert, Ph.D., author of Broken Brains or Wounded Hearts: What Causes Mental Illness Before reading the book, I was largely convinced that schizophrenia was primarily a brain disease. Modrow has forced me to take a second look, however, and reconsider the psychological causes of the condition. The Vancouver Sun it is ennobling that despite bad and discouraging treatment he was able to understand himself and others, and share that acquired knowledge in an accurate and helpful way. Bertram P. Karon, PhD., professor of clinical psychology, Michigan State University; author of Psychotherapy of Schizophrenia gives clear proof that theres real hope. Truly a remarkable book! Alan Caruba, Bookviews

How does a parent make sense of a child’s severe mental illness? How does a father meet the daily challenges of caring for his gifted but delusional son, while seeking to overcome the stigma of madness and the limits of psychiatry? W. J. T. Mitchell’s memoir tells the story—at once representative and unique—of one family’s encounter with mental illness and bears witness to the life of the talented young man who was his son. Gabriel Mitchell was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age twenty-one and died by suicide eighteen years later. He left behind a remarkable archive of creative work and a father determined to honor his son’s attempts to conquer his own illness. Before his death, Gabe had been working on a film that would show madness from inside and out, as media stereotype and spectacle, symptom and stigma, malady and minority status, disability and gateway to insight. He was convinced that madness is an extreme form of subjective experience that we all endure at some point in our lives, whether in moments of ecstasy or melancholy, or in the enduring trauma of a broken heart. Gabe’s declared ambition was to transform schizophrenia from a death sentence to a learning experience, and madness from a curse to a critical perspective. Shot through with love and pain, Mental Traveler shows how Gabe drew his father into his quest for enlightenment within madness. It is a book that will touch anyone struggling to cope with mental illness, and especially for parents and caregivers of those caught in its grasp.

The New York Times bestseller “A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . .” —The Boston Globe “A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi’s book deserves high marks for original thinking.” —The Washington Post “Provocative, fascinating.” —Salon.com Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's "depressive realism" to the lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.

Conquering Jericho: The Biblical Guide to Crush Mental Illness is a testimony of the power of God through Jesus Christ to walk along your side mightily as He leads you through to victory over the present-day battles in our hearts and minds. We will discover that there are practical steps to take that will be beneficial spiritually, as well as spiritual decisions to make that will lead us to a restoration. The truth of the matter is that mental sicknesses and behavioral health issues are spiritual in essence, and the resources and arsenals that are needed to address these deep-rooted issues are through the love and truth of God’s Word and by the Holy Spirit of God.

"With an introduction by Dr. Richard O'Reilly"--Cover.