In Whose Eyes?

Anne Bergeron reenters college life in 1978, seven years after dropping out. She seeks an "honors degree in economics," and the academic pressure leads her into a nervous breakdown and paranoid schizophrenia.

She works with a young professor, and he plays with her mind for his own self-interest, knowing she has a misplaced "school girl crush" on him. She seeks out a college psychologist who completely misses her psychosis, but Anne miraculously manages to graduate with a BA degree in 1980.

Six months after graduation, she comes close to death after a self-imposed 38-day fast. Then, amazingly she gets up and travels cross-country on a bus to see her family, who commits her involuntarily to a mental hospital. This happens six more times over the years, and she always reconciles with her husband.

Anne writes straightforward accounts of her experiences, though of course many of the thoughts reflect her paranoia and schizophrenia. But she recounts the details with sharp insight, an enjoyable but tragic story that "ends" well. One percent of the U.S. population has schizophrenia, and most of them are gentle souls, in spite of people's misconceptions.