The Edge of Every Day

Sketches of Schizophrenia

By: Marin Sardy

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

The debut of an important new literary voice: Marin Sardy's extraordinarily affecting, fiercely intelligent memoir unflinchingly traces the path of the schizophrenia that runs in her family.

Against the starkly beautiful backdrop of Anchorage, Alaska, where the author grew up, Marin Sardy weaves a fearless account of the shapeless thief—the schizophrenia—that kept her mother immersed in a world of private delusion and later manifested in her brother, ultimately claiming his life.

Composed of exquisite, self-contained chapters that take us through three generations of this adventurous, artistic, and often haunted family, The Edge of Every Day draws in topics from neuroscience and evolution to the mythology and art rock to shape its brilliant inquiry into how the mind works. In the process, Sardy casts new light on the treatment of the mentally ill in our society. Through it all runs her blazing compassion and relentless curiosity, as her meditations takes us to the very edge of love and loss—and invite us to look at what comes after.

Very well written, meaningful

Fascinating look inside the world of schizophrenia from the perspective of someone living along side of it.
Abit more gymnastics references than I could relate to (the author was a gymnast)
But overall very thoughtful, emotional, factual, informative and philosophical all at the same time.
Worth the read.

Fascinating compelling interesting and heart felt

One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. The way the author weaves disparate events and emotions in with her story makes a fascination compelling read. I’ve learned so much about the real impacts of mental illness and the love shared in families who from the outside seem “dysfunctional”. You’ll learn about David Bowie’s struggles with his brother and about the incredible fascinating life of a woman who has traveled the world inside and out rigorously honest heartfelt. Amazing moving. So much love! My mom worked with homeless mentally ill people and until now I didn’t know there were other people with hearts as big as hers. As an intellectual this book engages your mind as well and it’s an easy fast read! Hard to put down.

A shorter version would have been better

This portrait of a family's heart-rending experience with schizophrenia is expertly detailed, but... For me it was much too long and included too much minutiae. Writing as the sister and daughter of two victims of schizophrenia, I sympathize with her and understand that including every tiny thought could seem essential. The author views the circumstances of her mother and brother from many angles and tries hard to empathize with their own suffering and struggles to overcome this terrible disease as she suffers with trying to find ways help them. In so doing she waxes long into her own musings about them often seeming to be lost in her own, albeit poetic, daydreams about their lives. I found the explanations of both relatives' illness fascinating. The worst part of the treatment of both her mother and brother was how our society does NOT fully recognize the depth and breadth of schizophrenia. About this, the author does an excellent job of illustrating how both politically and medically people afflicted with schizophrenia are not treated efficiently or appropriately while their relatives are left with few or no means with which to help them. My criticism of this book is that it deals with such an important issue in our culture, but that it could have been presented more effectively had the information been less rambling and more condensed.

beautifully written

The story is great and the form incredible. Very recommendable, soecially to families that have suffered mental illness.

Balanced Insight & Excellent Narrative

A creative work of deep insight into hereditary nature and lasting legacy of major mental illness.