The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity

by Mark Vonnegut

Paperback, 2002

Status

Available

Call number

616.89092

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Seven Stories Press (2002), Paperback, 304 pages

Description

Biography & Autobiography. Psychology. Nonfiction. HTML: The Eden Express describes from the inside Mark Vonnegut's experience in the late '60s and early '70s--a recent college grad; in love; living communally on a farm, with a famous and doting father, cherished dog, and prized jalopy--and then the nervous breakdowns in all their slow-motion intimacy, the taste of mortality and opportunity for humor they provided, and the grim despair they afforded as well. That he emerged to write this funny and true book and then moved on to find the meaningful life that for a while had seemed beyond reach is what ultimately happens in The Eden Express. But the real story here is that throughout his harrowing experience his sense of humor let him see the humanity of what he was going through, and his gift of language let him describe it in such a moving way that others could begin to imagine both its utter ordinariness as well as the madness we all share..… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member NateJordon

A beautiful, terrifying memoir about one man's descent into mania and insanity. As the only son of a father who was a paranoid schizophrenic, who died before I got a chance to know him and understand his condition, Vonnegut's book answered many questions I've had for a long, long time. What the

disease does to the diseased, the consequences it has on friends and family, social and cultural implications...Vonnegut approaches all these themes and ideas while maintaining a cohesive narrative that is both entertaining and educational.

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LibraryThing member otman

A fascinating treatment of mental illness, which happened to be that of the author. I had the opportunity to spend some time with Dr. Vonnegut who did a rotation at the clinic I worked at. I remember him as a solid individual, and I have no doubt that he became an excellent pediatrician.

LibraryThing member danconsiglio

Very scary, very visceral description of Vonnegut's struggles w/ schizophrenia. I feel a little guilty about being so entertained by someone else's suffering, but this is why Behind the Music is so successful.
Mark's writing deals much more w/ internal action than his dad's. He spends a lot of time

studying his own perceptions of and reactions to the world around him. His writing becomes very ominous in that you can never tell when the walls are going to gradually start melting and the giant laughing purple face will show up again. Very different than Kurt's holistic rejection of suspense.

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LibraryThing member krazy4katz

Eden Express is a book that brings you very close to the heart of Mark Vonnegut as he searches for his place in the world of the early 70's when there was so much division between establishment and grassroots, parents and children, the hippies and the straights. This world intersects with an attack

of what was then considered schizophrenia, but was later diagnosed as bipolar disorder. His ability to convey these struggles with a sense of humor, grace and total honesty might be familiar to fans of his father, Kurt Vonnegut's writing. He draws you in as a friend in this wonderful memoir. It is also rewarding to see that he emerges from the darkness with his compassion and optimism intact. Highly recommended!

A note to Kindle fans: the digital version has a large number of typos. I would guess that the book was scanned using OCR and never proofread. I complained to Amazon and they offered me a refund, but I liked the book so much that I refused. Hopefully they will contact the publisher and the book will be corrected.

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LibraryThing member lemuel

A favorite from college when I was a psychology major, I recently re-read the book having long ago switched to another field. The book is still good though. For me it covers two interesting topics: communes and insanity. I was old enough at the time to think hippies were cool but not old enough to

participate, so reading about their commune is part of the draw for me.

The other part, of course, is how experience and dealt with insanity. The key lesson from the book is that it is a biochemical problem, not something going wrong in your mind. Vonnegut had been a fan of Thomas Szasz and R.D. Laing, but found there really is something physical to mental illness. There are other useful lessons from the book, but I don't want to spoil too much.

He does ramble on a lot about what was going on during his periods of insanity, and I'll admit to some skimming so that I could get to the point. I wonder how he remembered so much detail from then, although I suppose there was a lot more that he didn't remember.

You can learn what happened to Vonnegut after the book by reading the Wikipedia article about him.

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LibraryThing member bell7

Mark Vonnegut, son of the famous writer and self-described hippie, recounts his experience after college of starting a hippie commune in Vancouver and having a mental breakdown, for which he is eventually hospitalized.

I would never have heard of this book except that it turned up on my library book

discussion list. It was published in 1975, just a few years after the events described in the book, which goes from about 1969-72. Mark writes about that time period, hippie culture, and his own experience with mental illness with a unique perspective. When he first starts having episodes of hallucinations and detachment from the world, it's hard to piece out how much is reality, his illness, or the drugs (mostly pot, but mescaline too) - an intentional choice that reminded me of Challenger Deep with its dreamlike and muddled quality showing that confused state of mind. I'm glad our book club brought it to my attention, and I'm interested in following up with Mark's more recent memoir, Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness, Only More So.

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