Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches
    The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches
    The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches

    Written by Daniel Bergner

    Narrated by Daniel Bergner

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    An important—and intimate—interrogation of how we treat mental illness and how we understand ourselves

    In the early 1960s, JFK declared that science would take us to the moon. He also declared that science would make the “remote reaches of the mind accessible” and cure psychiatric illness with breakthrough medications. We were walking on the moon within the decade. But today, psychiatric cures continue to elude us—as does the mind itself. Why is it that we still don’t understand how the mind works? What is the difference between the mind and the brain? And given all that we still don’t know, how can we make insightful, transformative choices about our psychiatric conditions?

    When Daniel Bergner’s younger brother was diagnosed as bipolar and put on a locked ward in the 1980s, psychiatry seemed to have achieved what JFK promised: a revolution of chemical solutions to treat mental illness. Yet as Bergner’s brother was deemed a dire risk for suicide and he and his family were told his disorder would be lifelong, he found himself taking heavy doses of medications with devastating side effects.

    Now, in recounting his brother’s journey alongside the gripping, illuminating stories of Caroline, who is beset by the hallucinations of psychosis, and David, who is overtaken by depression, Bergner examines the evolution of how we treat our psyches. He reveals how the pharmaceutical industry has perpetuated our biological view of the mind and our drug-based assumptions about treatment—despite the shocking price paid by many patients and the problematic evidence of drug efficacy. And he takes us into the pioneering labs of today’s preeminent neuroscientists, sharing their remarkably candid reflections and fascinating new theories of treatment.

    The Mind and the Moon raises profound questions about how we understand ourselves and the essential human divide between our brains and our minds. This is a book of thought-provoking reframings, delving into the science—and spirit—of our psyches. It is about vulnerability and personal dignity, the terrifying choices confronted by families and patients, and the prospect of alternatives. In The Mind and the Moon, Bergner beautifully explores how to seek a deeper engagement with ourselves and one another—and how to find a better path toward caring for our minds.

    Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMay 17, 2022
    ISBN9780063004924
    The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches
    Author

    Daniel Bergner

    Daniel Bergner is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of five previous books of award-winning nonfiction: the New York Times bestselling Sing for Your Life, What Do Women Want?, The Other Side of Desire, In the Land of Magic Soldiers, and God of the Rodeo. His writing has also appeared in the Atlantic, Granta, Harper’s Magazine, Mother Jones, Talk, and the New York Times Book Review.

    Related to The Mind and the Moon

    Related audiobooks

    Personal Memoirs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Mind and the Moon

    4/5

    76 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Fascinating and informative. As someone who is embarking on a career in mental health I feel fortunate to have come across this book and the questions it raises about our current system and methods of treatment.
    • 5/5
      Profound and compassionate insight into psychosis and the history of how we have tried to approach dealing with it.
    • 3/5
      This one is difficult to rate. Two stars if read as a children's book (it's WAY too morbid and complex for picture-book), four if read as a poem.
    • 4/5
      A beautiful send-off, this is Sendak's last written work, and an ode and farewell to his brother. An elegy that is so quaint, so beautiful, and so haunting, its written beautifully as a poem that most likely is best understood by one person - Jack; his brother, but thankfully we can all appreciate and understand some of it.

      I remember reading and re-reading and re-re-re-reading Where the Wild Things Are so many times as a child. Identifying so much with that small boy. And I remember Little Bear and the show and watching that nonstop as a child as well. Sendak was a treasure. And still is.
    • 3/5
      A tribute to his dead brother, Jack and the last book Maurice wrote and illustrated, based in part on Shakespeare's The Winter Tale. A little bit scary, and a little bit confusing, it was the confusing part that subtracted from the telling.
    • 3/5
      Found this beautiful but mysterious. Like when I was 14 and had to read poetry I didn't understand. I can sense meaning beneath the surface but can't break the ice.
    • 3/5
      Beautiful illustrations, thoughtful poem
    • 5/5
      This is one of those books that will stay with you long after you put it down. The illustrations are gorgeous and Sendak's poem to his brother Jack is both heartbreakingly beautiful and comforting "And Jack slept safe, enfolded in his brother's arms. And Guy whispered, "Good night..."It's impossible not to be moved by this book, especially in light of Sendak's recent death. It so perfectly captures the unwavering loss felt at the death of a loved one - a loss that does not lessen with time, but instead becomes more acute as days turn into months and then to years. As other reviewers have commented, buy one for yourself, for your sibling(s), for your friends. I can imagine giving this book as a gift to someone who has suffered a recent loss, as well. Comforting words are so difficult to find when someone we care for is grieving. This book, instead, offers a deep understanding that can only be found among those who have loved deeply and mourned with passion. Finally, it must be noted that this book is beautifully constructed, as well. With gorgeously heavy paper, forest green cloth-covered and embossed boards, and a dust jacket that is both delicate and substantial - this is a book that begs to be held and caressed. I realize that may sound a bit heavy handed to some readers, but fellow bibliophiles will be nodding in agreement.
    • 5/5
      How can you not love anything written by Maurice Sendak. This one takes only about 15 minutes to read, but will stay with you for the rest of your life. An elegant tribute to love for his brother and for his life partner is his final tour du force...a journey back through tales of Shakespeare, and through a mind as imaginative and exploratory as any writer ever possessed. A review is impossible...it's only 32 pages...buy it, treasure it, read it, again and again. And when you go, be sure to bequeath it to someone you love.
    • 5/5
      A beautiful elegy.
    • 3/5
      What a lovely gem of a book. In a short number of pages, Sendak painted images and wove a rich tapestry of poetic work.A song to his brother Jack and Eugene Glynn, his partner of 50 years, it is a haunting poem of life that transcends death. Of love that shines through the veil of darkness. Death, frozen in icy cold transcends to warmth of love that knows no boundaries.This was Sendak's last book and it is powerful.