A Mind That Found Itself: An Autobiography - Hardcover

by Clifford Whittingham Beers (Author), Mint Editions (Contribution by)

In 1905, after suffering a relapse and spending a few months at The Hartford Retreat, Clifford Whittingham Beers elected to write a book about his experiences living with mental illness and being subject to cruel treatment and physical abuse while being institutionalized.

Titled, A Mind That Found Itself, the 1908 autobiography told the story of a young man who had suffered a life full of personal tragedy, leading to feelings of intense anxiety, paranoia and depression. Slowly being engulfed by intrusive thoughts and hallucinations, Beers found himself struggling with suicidal ideation and committment by his well-intentioned family to a series of mental health institutions, each one seemingly worse than the last.

Unique in its presentation of both self-awareness and the difficult reality of working towards recovery; the book paved the way for the American mental hygiene movement and removed the stigma of mental illness among the general public.

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Back Jacket

At a time when mental illness was still greatly misunderstood to the general public, Clifford Whittingham Beers penned his autobiography, A Mind That Found Itself. Detailing his experiences of medical maltreatment and physical abuse while institutionalized, Beers brought attention to the need for mental health reform and the seriousness of losing yourself to a disease of the mind.