What’s Normal?: Narratives of Mental & Emotional Disorders

While The Tyranny of the Normal: An Anthology is a collection of different perspectives on the lives of people whose physical appearance places them outside cultural norms, What’s Normal?, the companion volume, examines the issues of “abnormalities” in mental health, intelligence, and sexual behavior. Both volumes are comprised of selected literary and fictional readings and commentary by health care professionals and medical ethicists.The first section of What’s Normal? presents a wide-ranging collection of essays and articles written by renowned clinicians who address clinical, ethical, and social issues related to mental illness and disorders. The second section uses fiction, poetry, and drama to portray mental and behavioral abnormalities, sometimes from “inside” the perspective of the deviant and sometimes from the experiences of family, friends, and other engaged observers. Excerpts that examine the treatment of mental health, intelligence, and sexual conduct are cited from such literary works as Equus, Of Mice and Men, Like Water for Chocolate, and Sula.