Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia by Pamela Spiro Wagner, Carolyn Spiro Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
(Click here)
Book Reviews of Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia
Book Review: Helped me understand my schizophrenic sister
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi, I have a schizophrenic sister, and this book is about the best I've seen for getting the experience right. Quite amazing as it's written in alternating chapters by the schizophrenic sister and the saner one... An easy read too, and often a lot of fun actually (schizophrenia definitely has a hilarious side) tragic though it is...Book Review: Great book.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book reminded me of A Beautiful Mind, in that it helped me develop a deeper understanding of how somone with Schizophrenia might be feeling and how it is for families to have a member with this illness. Book Review: Journey into Madness....
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very well written book that details the life of twin sisters as they suffer the life long disorder of schizophrenia. While only one is clinically affected by this disorder, the other twin suffers its affects as she tries to cope with a 'crazy' twin. As an undergraduate psychology major, I found this book to be a worthwhile read, as it not only shows the course of schizophrenia and the disorder's affects on family members, but it also proved to be an excellent perspective on the history of mental illness and treatment options in the United States.
Schizophrenia is a truly devestating disorder, so don't expect this to be a feel good kind of novel. However, it is an interesting read that provides a solid account of schizophrenia in an easy to understand style.
Book Review: Living Fully with Schizophrenia
Summary: 5 Stars
In their intimate memoir, Pamela Spiro Wagner and her identical twin, Carolyn S. Spiro, share the story of their ongoing struggle with Pam's disease. Divided Minds is an affirmation of Pam's ability to be a productive and inspirational force despite schizophrenia. A poet and accomplished writer, she has won several prizes, for both her poetry and prose. At the same time, Carolyn also eloquently shares with us the demands on her supportive role, again and again finding medical help and convincing her sister to keep fighting rather than end her life. This book is a must-read for patients struggling with mental illness, their families, the medical profession, and is a gift for anyone who appreciates honesty in fine literature.
Book Review: Fascinating tale of twins and mental illness
Summary: 5 Stars
Because I have an identical twin sister, I was drawn to this book because of its reflection of the unique and special relationship that twins share, one that can span the spectrum from flashes of guilt and envy to moments of deep devotion and pride. The alternating voices of Carolyn and Pamela reflect this as they impart their struggle to become individuals and be seen as unique from each other as they develop through adolescence while also staying true to the innate devotion twins share. This is all turned on its head when Pamela, the smart, outgoing achiever, begins to hear voices....
Carolyn struggles with her will to be successful in her own right while feeling guilty that she is somehow betraying her sister. Pamela, battling the demons that keep getting louder, tries desperately to hang on to the achievement that once came so easily but finds it increasingly difficult as she succumbs to the nightmare of her disease. Their relationship as twins changes as they evolve into young women and this role-reversal occurs.
The twin bond is extraordinary and I believe that that bond, shared mentally and relationally, often overshadows relationships with other people, even other family members. The exclusivity of this deep bond is illustrated in the twins' siblings' and parents' isolation and denial throughout this ordeal. It is as if Pamela and Carolyn are an entity apart from others. Carolyn's relationship with her own husband and children even takes second priority when Pamela is in crisis.
Pamela's first-person account of the manifestations of her illness, the roller-coaster uncertainty of treatments, and the struggles with side effects and compliance issues is heartbreaking, but makes for a fascinating, page-turning read, while the issues that Carolyn is conflicted with are at times shocking but thought-provoking. (This reader was forced to examine the "what ifs?") At times she uses avoidance to cope and seems neglectful and uncaring, but paradoxically, she, true to her 'twin-dom', is also the steady rescuer who comes when Pamela is on the edge of madness.
It is an eye-opener not only to the issues of mental illness and the stigma surrounding it, but also to the challenges these diseases present for the families of those affected.
I recommend this book because it not only illuminates the world of schizophrenia and mental illness and the real issues regarding mental health and the attitudes these issues invoke, but it is a fascinating account of a relationship with its many facets and many seasons that culminates in a picture of acceptance, love and devotion.