Is There No Place on Earth for Me? Audiobook By Susan Sheehan cover art

Is There No Place on Earth for Me?

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Is There No Place on Earth for Me?

By: Susan Sheehan
Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith, Kate Reading
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This renowned journalist's classic Pulitzer Prize winning investigation of schizophrenia - now reissued with a new postscript - follows a flamboyant and fiercely intelligent young woman as she struggles in the throes of mental illness.

"Sylvia Frumkin" was born in 1948 and began showing signs of schizophrenia in her teens. She spent the next seventeen years in and out of mental institutions. In 1978, reporter Susan Sheehan took an interest in her and, for more than two years, became immersed in her life: Talking with her, listening to her monologues, sitting in on consultations with doctors - even, for a period, sleeping in the bed next to her in a psychiatric center.

With Sheehan, we become witness to Sylvia's plight: Her psychotic episodes, the medical struggle to control her symptoms, and the overburdened hospitals that, more often than not, she was obliged to call home. The resulting book, first published in 1982, was hailed as an extraordinary achievement: Harrowing, humanizing, moving, and bitingly funny. Now, some two decades later, Is There No Place on Earth for Me continues to set the standard for accounts of mental illness.

©1982 Susan Sheehan; Foreword by Robert Coles (P)2014 Audible Inc. Medical Mental Health Professionals & Academics Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Health Funny Schizophrenia Memoirs

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Enlightening Story • Absorbing Storyline • Vivid Descriptions • Real-life Portrayal • Beautifully Written
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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes it was for the most part. Very interesting.

Would you recommend Is There No Place on Earth for Me? to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably depending on the friend

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite were when Sylvia seemed very "normal". She was extremely bright.

Could you see Is There No Place on Earth for Me? being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Can't stand this question

Any additional comments?

While this is a great book, it could have been much shorter. Way too much repetition. Also, her family was horrible to her! I'm sure it had to be extremely difficult for them, but the comments they'd make to Sylvia were just cruel.

Great book too long

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this book gave me some perspective of things that are possible to come and for that I thank you for this book. However it is also excellent in its own right regardless of my personal standing. I would definitely recommend this to other people, especially people with schizophrenia

I have schizoaffective disorder; depression type

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I feel for all the family and am troubled by the lack of attention to her details by professionals, although they are sorely overworked.

curiously intetesting

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Narration was great! I have a new perspective on mental illness, as I deal with a vast cross section of the population, and have gained more empathy. I drive a Greyhound bus and see it often.

very interesting and insightful!

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A wonderful book , written in love and illustrating the real picture of mental the anguish of a schizophrenic person Very real and beautifully written .

Is there no place on earth for me ?

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I found the book interesting especially since it contains a lot of information from the 60s and 70s and mental health practices

good historical perspective

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Long and drawn out, which is how life really is for these people. My only negative is that after going through years with lady, we are not told what she dies of. With all the meds and treatments she had, the reader is left to wonder.

A Good Look At Life with Mental Illness

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What made the experience of listening to Is There No Place on Earth for Me? the most enjoyable?

I found the author's understanding of the mental health system for young people in America very enlightening. I was amazed by the number of drugs tried by sufferers of mental illnesses and the fact that Drs. do not understand how the drugs effect each patient differently. This is an eye opening study of painful life one human who tried hard to fit in but could never please herself or others. She was a lost soul who kept searching for the cure to her diseased brain.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the fact that her sister stood by her through out her illness and tried to understand and love her in spite of her strange, childish, and often violent behavior.

Have you listened to any of Kaleo Griffith and Kate Reading ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listen to Kate Reading before and I think she is a very good reader. She did an outstanding job conveying the pain of the main character of this biographical study of a mentally ill young American.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I wanted to learn if the Drs. ever found the medication(s) that could keep this bright women from self destruction and other psychotic behaviors.

Any additional comments?

An eye opening true story of the failures of modern medicine to help the mentally ill young people living among us try to exhibit "normal" behavior patterns. As we learn about the number of youth who are mentally ill. We all need to listen to this book to truly understand their frustration with the mental health system in the U.S.

Sad But True

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really struggled to finish it, the narrator had such a monotone, I would literally fall asleep! also repeated things so many times.

good enough story.. way to long though.

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The reality of this book made it hard to finish. My son is schizoaffective and it's sadly familiar. I can find no place on earth for him either. I appreciate the honesty.

Thank you for being a friend to Sylvia

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