Strangers to Ourselves (book)
 | |
| Author | Rachel Aviv |
|---|---|
| Genre | non-fiction |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Publication date | September 13, 2022 |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 9780374600853 |
Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us is a 2022 non-fiction book by Rachel Aviv[1] that focuses on mental illness, diagnosis, and people in extreme mental distress. It was listed among the New York Times’ "The 10 Best Books of 2022".
The book explores the personal stories of mentally ill people and the history of how mental illness has been defined and treated. As an investigative reporter, Rachel Aviv investigates the lives of six people who have diverse experiences of mental illness, including herself. She selected people who had written personal diaries and letters so that she could learn how they viewed their world.[2] The book quotes medical and scholarly essays, legal documents, and personal and creative writings by Ray, Bapu, Naomi, Laura Delano,[3] and Hava.[4] Drawing on her own childhood diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, Aviv weaves her personal story into the narrative.[4]
Reception
Strangers to Ourselves was well-received by critics.[4][5] In The Wall Street Journal, Elizabeth Winkler wrote, "In writing against the limits of psychiatric narratives, into the space where language has failed, Ms. Aviv paradoxically finds language for the most ineffable registers of human experience."[6] Writing for the Washington Post, Sally Satel called it "Vivid, wrenching, and ambitiously researched."[7]
It was one of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year[8] and the New Yorker's Best Books of 2022.[9] It was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.[10]
References
- ↑ "Burning Down The Couch". This American Life. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ "Wayfinding toward a solid sense of health: Personal impacts of mental health history explored in thoughtful book". www.realchangenews.org. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ Scull, Andrew. Life turned upside down: Sketches of people with ‘unsettled minds’. Times Literary Supplement. December 23 / 30, 2022.
- 1 2 3 Hu, Jane (2022-12-23). "What Their Psychiatrists Won't Tell You". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ Szalai, Jennifer (September 7, 2022). "In 'Strangers to Ourselves,' a Revelatory Account of Mental Illness". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ Winkler, Elizabeth. "'Strangers to Ourselves' Review: The Mystery of Mental Illness". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ Satel, Sally (2022-10-06). "The stories we tell about mental illness — others' and our own". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ "The 10 Best Books of 2022". The New York Times. November 29, 2022. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ "The Best Books of 2022". The New Yorker. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
- ↑ Varno, David (2023-02-01). "NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR PUBLISHING YEAR 2022". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2023-02-03.