Book dossier

9 Highland Road

by Michael Winerip

Twenty years ago, most of the chronic mentally ill lived in crowded, rundown state hospitals and asylums. Since then, due to federal court intervention and remarkable advances in antipsychotic medicine, there has been nothing less than a revolution in the care of the mentally ill. More and more handicapped adults live in publicly funded housing or group homes. Group homes not only offer the most effective care for the mentally ill, but also are a solution to our most pressing social problem: the homeless. 9 Highland Road is an unprecedented and riveting account of the life and lives of a group home for the mentally ill: the residents, their families, and the counselors, social workers, and psychologists with whom they work. Focusing on five residents in particular, Michael Winerip charts their fortunes and misfortunes, progress and setbacks, over a period of three years. In astonishing detail, we see the content and quality of their daily lives, the different ways in which their families cope, and the role of the mental care establishment and of state bureaucracies in decisions relating to their care. Above all, we see five men and women struggling to gain control over their lives, and to find a true measure of dignity and satisfaction in that achievement. With exceptional acuity and empathy, Winerip has penetrated a heretofore closed world. He has written a book that will permanently alter our prejudices and perceptions about the mentally ill.