Welcome to aNewsCafe.com’s maiden session of the Literary Minds Book Club, brought to you by the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency.
The book club is a brainchild of the HHSA’s Community Education Committee. The committee includes representatives from Northern Valley Catholic Social Services – Second Home, Circle of Friends, the Redding Rancheria Indian Health Clinic, Local Indians for Education, Shasta College, Chemical People, the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Shasta County, and public lay people. This committee also selected the books. (By the way, new members are also welcome. If you’re interested in checking it out, the group meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 1 to 2 p.m. at Second Home, 1250 California St.)
OK, on with the show.
I’m so glad you found us. Now, settle in and we’ll begin discussion of the first book, “Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia.”
Is everybody ready for our first book club meeting? Great. Me, too. Get a beverage. Make yourself at home.
Oh, if you wandered in a little late, last week I introduced the book club and gave an overview of the four books we’ll discuss all May, all to honor Mental Health month.
If you’ve not read this week’s book, or the other books we’ll cover this month, never fear. The Literary Minds Book Club is as much about a dialogue about mental health as it is a book club. Remember, this book club is a springboard to the topic of mental health. We welcome you to the conversation via the comments section below.
Today, we’ll start with the book club’s first book, “Divided Minds: Twin Sisters and Their Journey Through Schizophrenia,” by Pamela Spiro Wagner, and Carolyn S. Spiro, M.D.
I’ll start the discussion.
First of all, a couple of things threw me with this book. For starters, I confess that when I saw the title, I expected that the book would be written by the “healthy” twin sister – Carolyn Spiro – who grows up to be a psychiatrist, about her life with the mentally “ill” twin, Pamela Spiro Wagner – an award-winning poet who’s spent a good chunk of her life in various facilities, and always on a quest for the right medications that will do the trick of handling her illness, without totally wiping her out.
I was somewhat surprised to realize that the book is a dual memoir; with the sisters trading places throughout the book as they each give their perspective.
The book begins with Pamela’s version of the girls’ childhood, written in a clear, observant and insightful way. More than once I flipped to the book’s back jacket to make sure I was reading the “ill” sister’s part.
Next came Carolyn’s turn. Early on the twins are competitive, and Carolyn talks about how she doesn’t feel she quite measures up to her sister’s intellectual level.
In some ways, I read the book on high alert, waiting for the stage of the sisters’ development when Pamela’s illness would manifest itself, and Carolyn would go on to live a “normal” life, while Pamela would not.
I found it perplexing that Carolyn, for all her training in mental health, sometimes had stretches of many months, in some instances a few years, when she had no contact with her sister.
I was also dismayed to realize how brilliant Pamela was, but that it didn’t really matter, and didn’t necessarily help her, because her schizophrenia trumped everything.
Goodness, how rude of me. I’ve done all the talking. Enough from me. If you read the book, what were your thoughts?
Or, if you’d rather discuss related issues, here are some questions:
If you or someone you know has suffered from schizophrenia, what would you like the rest of us to know?
It’s generally agreed that in our society, mental health issues come with a strong stigma. What can we do to banish that stigma?
How well do you think our society handles those with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia. If you ruled the world, how would you improve mental health services?
What else would you like to say?
OK, while you think of what you’d like to say, here’s a reminder that next Monday we’ll discuss the book club’s second book, “Grand Central Winter – Stories from the Street, by Lee Stringer. The book club’s third book will be “Breaking the Silence – Overcoming a Family History of Alcoholism and Suicide,” followed by the final book of our Literary Minds Book Club, “The Caveman’s Valentine,” by George Dawes Green.
Independent online journalist Doni Greenberg founded what’s now known as anewscafe.com in 2007 with her son, Joe Domke of the Czech Republic. Prior to 2007 Greenberg was an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist, feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W. Scripps. She lives in Redding, CA.
