A true mastery of journalism, Susan Sheehan documented and encased the story of schizophrenic Sylvia Frumkin in Is There No Place On Earth For Me?. The book was published by Random House Inc. in New York in 1983. It is the First Vintage Books Edition, has 333 pages, and retails for the price of $16.95. In this book you are taken through roughly two and a half years of Sylvia Frumkin life as she struggled through her schizophrenia, being in and out of Creedmore Hospital which is a mental institution in Queens. As a reader, you get to watch her go through her psychotic episodes, doctors appointments, and much more making it feel as if you are watching her first hand. Susan Sheehan does a fantastic job of capturing the scene so the reader is able to really get a grasp on the severity of the situation. This would definitely intrigue many people who really want to know about mental illnesses, specifically schizophrenia. I feel like other books that discuss mental illness never discuss in detail the psychotic illnesses and it is more so the illnesses that are more self-harm focused. This book relays the knowledge that many people thirst for on these illnesses that make people actually “crazy”. Schizophrenia, along with many other mental illnesses, is viewed as taboo and this book makes it very real as well as the issues in mental institutions. Mental illness to this day is still not viewed as severely as physical illness, and those who do not understand how malicious it truly is should pick up this book. Overall, it is a great read and I highly suggest it for those who have an interest in mental illness.

Reviewed by Katie Matsen