'THE Center Cannot HOLD – Elyn R. Saks' Essay for a book called 'The Center Cannot HOLD – Elyn R. Weber State University. Abnormal Psychology (PSY 3010) Uploaded. Vanessa Dzmurova. The center cannot hold. The ‘me’ becomes a haze, and the solid center from which one experiences reality breaks up like a bad radio signal. 13)” These words are the description of schizophrenia, written by a woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Elyn Saks. The Center Cannot Hold is an opera (music by Kenneth Wells, libretto by Kenneth Wells and Elyn Saks) based on the memoir by USC Law Professor and MacArthur Fellow Elyn Saks. ‘The center cannot hold’ is a book by Elyn Saks. In her book, Saks discusses candidly and frankly about her struggle with Schizophrenia. Saks is a distinguished lawyer, professor, and psychiatrist but has suffered from schizophrenia for a large chunk of her life and still continues to have bouts of the illness.
Why you should listen
As a law scholar and writer, Elyn Saks speaks for the rights of mentally ill people. It's a gray area: Too often, society's first impulse is to make decisions on their behalf. But it's a slippery slope from in loco parentis to a denial of basic human rights. Saks has brilliantly argued for more autonomy -- and in many cases for a restoration of basic human dignity.
In 2007, deep into her career, she dropped a bombshell -- her autobiography, The Center Cannot Hold. In it, she reveals the depth of her own schizophrenia, now controlled by drugs and therapy. Clear-eyed and honest about her own condition, the book lent her new ammunition in the quest to protect the rights and dignity of the mentally ill.
In 2009, she was selected as a MacArthur Fellow.
Read more on io9.com: I’m Elyn Saks and this is what it’s like to live with schizophrenia »
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The Center Cannot Hold Elyn Saks Documentary
“Saks has worked for years advocating for men and women with psychological illnesses, and she wrote this brutally honest book partly to make a public statement that no one suffering from any disorder, mental or physical, should be stigmatized.” — E. Bukowsky, Amazon.com reviewer
Elyn Saks’ TED talk
Elyn Saks Schizophrenia
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Elyn Saks
A tale of mental illness — from the inside