The Collected Schizophrenias

Wang’s story is devastating… she is wise and eloquent, and heart-rendingly honest on the effects of the illness * Spectator *Wang writes about how mental illness is framed both within the medical system and by society…The word [“schizophrenia”] is often misused and trivialised…Wang’s narrative, without pulling punches, goes a long way to dispelling such views…many would benefit from this book and I highly recommend it, both for the author’s clarity and, ultimately, her expression of hope * The Lancet *Fragmented by design, the book’s structure heightens the immediacy of its testimony * New Yorker *Impressive … we learn what schizophrenia feels like from the inside. Wang strikes a perfect balance between explanation and implication * Brooklyn Rail *In Wang’s kaleidoscopic essays, memoir has been shattered into sliding and overlapping pieces… . The images and insights Wang summons are … often dazzling, and well worth the reconstructive work… . Her multifaceted arguments can be gratifyingly mind-expanding. * The New York Times Review of Books *[An] utterly unique book of essays: a deep, illuminating, and explosively written dive into a life of living with mental illness * Entertainment Weekly *Wang … is an implicitly trustworthy guide to this netherworld of psychosis and chronic illness… . Her characteristic nuance more often carries the ring of wisdom, hard won * Washington Post *The Collected Schizophrenias is riveting, honest, and courageously allows for complexities in the reality of what living with illness is like–and we are lucky to have it in the world * NPR *[The Collected Schizophrenias is] resoundingly intelligent, often unexpectedly funny, questioning, fearless and peerless, as Wang makes for brilliant company on 13 difficult walks through largely uncharted territory * Los Angeles Times *Going beyond her personal story, Wang applies her experience as a former lab researcher at Stanford to add an analytical perspective to The Collected Schizophrenias, which gives readers an inside look into the often-misunderstood intricacies of mental health * Time *

Esme Weijun Wang is the author of The Border of Paradise. She received the Whiting Award in 2018 and was named one of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists of 2017. She holds an MFA from the University of Michigan and lives in San Francisco.