Beyond the Crazy House: Changing the Future of Madness

William Glassman is a professor of psychology at Ryerson University in
Toronto.

Pat Capponi’s Beyond the Crazy House is a combination of memoir,
biographical vignettes, and impassioned critique of the way Canadian
society deals with mental illness. Capponi is herself both a
“psychiatric survivor” and an eminent activist on behalf of those
whom society has often failed to help, but instead has demonized. (Her
efforts have led to her receiving the Order of Ontario and the CMHA’s
Hincks Award, among other awards.)

The book is structured to explore a variety of aspects of mental
illness, including origins, treatment, and long-term coping. (It is
worth noting that Capponi herself typically avoids standard terminology
like “mental illness,” in part because of her vivid awareness of the
negative impact of labels.) Given her own lifelong struggles with both
her problems and the structures society has created to deal with
“madness,” Capponi is well situated to provide insight, and her
writing is vivid and impassioned. Whether describing her own
experiences, relating those of people she’s known, or commenting on
the limitations of institutions, treatments, and social attitudes, she
provides an articulate and involving account. Occasionally, the
portrayal is less than objective—for example, she sees one woman’s
setting a fire in a hospital as a cry for help, with no apparent concern
for the risks this behaviour posed to others. However, she never makes
any claims to neutrality, and most readers will recognize when such
biases intrude. This is a warts-and-all account, and one that will
provide valuable reading to anyone, professional or layperson, whose
life has been touched by the impact of “madness”—which is to say,
nearly everyone.