This is a book for the morbidly curious. If you've actually grown up with a schizophrenic sibling, the last thing you want to read are endless descriptions of the mentally ill doing weird and often violent things. The reality is far more nuanced. Like the general population, schizophrenics are complex, often highly intelligent human beings living real lives. They hold jobs, they love and hate, they experience grief, and they are no more violent than the rest of us. It is disturbing to see the usual stereotypes perpetuated here.

It's unfair to say I read this book. I read the first couple of chapters, and was immediately put off by the image of the oldest son wandering around town in a bed sheet, and by the parents' interest in falconry, a "sport" to which I am opposed. The book is poorly written and structured, needs a lot more editing, cherry picks pieces of history about schizophrenic research (the parts most interesting to me) very superficially, and ultimately leaves us with a hackneyed picture of schizophrenia so hurtful to those who have loved a family member with mental illness.

I skimmed the rest of the book, and found more of the same. I simply don't understand the favorable critical reception from reputable news sources like the NYT and NPR. This is not a good book.