logo

65 pages 2 hours read

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2007

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Prologue and Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue Summary

The epigraph of the book consists of a quote from Aristotle’s The Metaphysics which equates the activity of the mind to life.

Elyn Saks recounts incidents from a night at law school. She and a couple of other classmates are at the Yale Law School library on a Friday night to finish a memo assignment. Elyn starts speaking incoherently and runs onto the roof, scaring her classmates. Although she eventually comes back inside, her classmates leave in a hurry; Elyn stays on well past midnight, hiding among the stacks of books.

The next morning Elyn approaches Professor M to ask for an extension; she is still speaking gibberish. Concerned, the professor invites her home for dinner; Elyn accepts, then climbs onto a roof outside again.

Dinner at Professor M’s house does not go well, and Elyn ends up in the emergency room of Yale-New Haven Hospital. A doctor and his team forcibly strap Elyn onto a gurney and make her swallow medicine. Elyn reflects that though this is not her first hospitalization, it is “the worst ever” (4). Elyn continues to hallucinate, feeling anxious and helpless.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 65 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools