Erin reviewed The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang
Review of 'The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I enjoyed this a lot. There are memoir aspects to this, but it also reads as educational non-fiction. It strikes the perfect balance for me. I don't enjoy a lot of memoirs, but this was non-memoir enough to work for me. I recognize that the exact opposite will true for many other readers!
Wang writes about her experience very matter-of-factly, but wow. I can't imagine.
I really enjoyed the last essay which describes her openness to alternative medicine and spiritual practices. I feel like I've come full circle on that kind of thing. Starting out spiritual, becoming less spiritual, and then being open to more spiritual again. I can relate to where she's at in that essay.
I do not struggle with anything /nearly/ as difficult as Wang, but I have long dealt with migraines that result in aphasia and visual disturbances. Thankfully, I have late in life discovered that …
I enjoyed this a lot. There are memoir aspects to this, but it also reads as educational non-fiction. It strikes the perfect balance for me. I don't enjoy a lot of memoirs, but this was non-memoir enough to work for me. I recognize that the exact opposite will true for many other readers!
Wang writes about her experience very matter-of-factly, but wow. I can't imagine.
I really enjoyed the last essay which describes her openness to alternative medicine and spiritual practices. I feel like I've come full circle on that kind of thing. Starting out spiritual, becoming less spiritual, and then being open to more spiritual again. I can relate to where she's at in that essay.
I do not struggle with anything /nearly/ as difficult as Wang, but I have long dealt with migraines that result in aphasia and visual disturbances. Thankfully, I have late in life discovered that caffeine is a huge trigger for me. I'm very lucky to now be able to avoid migraines largely by avoiding caffeine. But that journey of trying to figure out what triggers an episode, what medications will help, hating the life disruption of the illness, that's familiar. I think anyone who deals with chronic illness or difficult to diagnose/treat illnesses will relate to Wang.
