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The Center Cannot Hold Essay

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“The Center Cannot Hold” is written by Elyn Saks who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In this autobiography Elyn Saks tells her story about dealing with mental illness. She details her journey throughout her childhood and school years. She sets an example of how she moved pass her diagnosis with schizophrenia and used her career to bring attentiveness. She provides a descriptive account of how mental illness, can affect anyone. In all accounts Elyn Saks grew up in a very ordinary family. She had two loving parents and two younger brothers. Her parents always made Sunday the family day, during her childhood. Elyn grew up in a fairly middle class family, with a nice big house and a helper for her mother. Her parents were very involved …show more content…

To think what she went through during her college years and managed to graduate at top of her class and still went on to go to the prestigious Oxford University, along with getting a degree in law and becoming a professor of law at the University of California. Throughout all of her troubles and the outlook of her condition she, made the most of it. Looking through what the illness did to her in the prime of her life, made me awry. The fears she must have had gone through when in another country and going through the progress of getting treatment made me feel sorry for her. I think just reading “The Center Cannot Hold” gave me an eye opener to how much schizophrenia can mess with the mind. We see throughout Elyn Saks journey the challenges she faces. “The Center Cannot Hold” gives a prime example of how a mental illness can affect someone and make a person face hurdles throughout their lifetime. “The Center Cannot Hold” describes how mental illness was seen through the early 60’s and 70’s; showcasing the different precautions taken to approach on the subject of mental illness. Elyn Saks gives a vivid detail into the accounts of how mental illness is look upon but also how it affects an individual

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