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Elyn R. Saks

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness

Elyn R. SaksNonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2007

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Book Brief

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Elyn R. Saks

The Center Cannot Hold

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2007
Book Details
Pages

351

Format

Autobiography / Memoir • Nonfiction

Setting

USA • Contemporary

Publication Year

2007

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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Super Short Summary

The Center Cannot Hold is a memoir about Elyn R. Saks's journey with schizophrenia, detailing her life from the early signs of mental illness in childhood, through her struggles and hospitalizations during her academic years at Oxford and Yale, to her eventual management of the condition. Saks achieves professional success as a professor and legal scholar, marries, and lives a fulfilling life despite her challenges. The book includes discussions of mental health issues, self-harm, and suicide.

Informative

Emotional

Challenging

Inspirational

Contemplative

Reviews & Readership

4.5

24,795 ratings

86%

Loved it

11%

Mixed feelings

3%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

The Center Cannot Hold by Elyn R. Saks is widely praised for its raw and compelling insight into living with schizophrenia. The memoir's clarity and honesty elicit empathy and respect. Some critics feel the narrative occasionally lacks cohesion, but overall, Saks' profound bravery and resilience shine through, making it a powerful read on mental health.

Who should read this

Who Should Read The Center Cannot Hold?

Readers who appreciate powerful memoirs about mental health, particularly those who were moved by Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar or Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind, will be captivated by Elyn R. Saks's The Center Cannot Hold. They are likely interested in psychological struggles, resilience, and the intersection of illness and professional achievement.

4.5

24,795 ratings

86%

Loved it

11%

Mixed feelings

3%

Not a fan

Book Details
Pages

351

Format

Autobiography / Memoir • Nonfiction

Setting

USA • Contemporary

Publication Year

2007

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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