Pathways to Madness, V882

by Jules Henry

Focuses on the everyday life in five families, examining the complexity of family behavior and its relation to mental breakdown and disturbance

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

477 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Kallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone falling squarely on the 'Nature' side of Nature vs. Nurture should read this book, which exhaustively details family interactions in families that have one schizophrenic child and are (admirably) doing their best to avoid raising another. There is in fact a nurture (or lack thereof) factor in these parents, who have perhaps through their own upbringing not learned how to interact with very small children. The researchers record: feeding a child much too fast after shoving her into the high chair without sufficiently pulling out the tray; weirdly cold interactions; and many more such alienating interactions. As anyone who has lived with them knows, children are like sponges. Like any sensitive creature or plant, they need caring, tender, frequent attention, reassurance that they are loved, etc. The parents in these stories did well to invite observation and that at least was a genuinely loving thing to do. I don't mean with this review to suggest that nature plays no part in making us who we are, but nature can't raise a child and invest them with love and confidence and a feeling of belonging. Only parents can do that.

[Alassane Sow · Rating 5 out of 5]

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