Algis Valiunas, The Great Breath of Hell

Mental illness has become almost trendy: books and pamphlets name historical figures touched by some form of madness; newsweeklies announce an explosion in childhood diagnoses; advertisements everywhere proclaim the latest drug to cure the blues. Yet blistering psychosis, impossibly far removed from ordinary experience, still bears a stigma. What is life really like for those afflicted by a major mental illness? Algis Valiunas reviews four recent books that provide a window into the modern way of madness.