Reddit reviews Mad In America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, And The Enduring Mistreatment Of The Mentally Ill

I think like most things the answer is not black and white. There is mistreatment of the mentally ill in America and there’s plenty of evidence that many mental disorders that we treat as chronic, or lifelong, in America are temporary ailments in less western cultures. I suggest reading Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of our mentally ill. if you’re interested in reading more on the topic. I read this book about 10 years ago and it had a long lasting effect on how I feel about mental illness and the American psychiatric association. I think there are schizophrenics that are absolutely mentally ill but how we go about treating them is not humane or effective.

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer. Definitely not boring.

Also maybe some Hunter S. Thompson - try Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or The Rum Diary or Hell's Angels (if you're looking for something a little more in-depth and serious).

And if I can use your having picked up Fast Food Nation as a guide... I also recommend Mad in America (about the way the country has dealt with mental health in the past and how they deal with it now) and Say You're One of Them (fiction-but-could-easily-be-true short stories about Africa). That last one was really unsettling.