Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl: The True Story of "Renee" [Paperback]

Marguerite Sechehaye (Author), Frank Conroy (Foreword)

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Plume (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452011337
• ISBN-13: 978-0452011335
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #82 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Schizophrenia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite Good, December 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl: The True Story of "Renee" (Paperback)

I would have given this book 5 stars, but the Freudian analysis by Dr. Sechehaye at the end of the book is obsolete; indeed, it makes for better reading if one simply skips that section. In fact, even Freud himself thought psychoanalysis would not do schizophrenics any good.

This book should be read by anyone interested in a first-person account of what it's like to suffer from schizophrenia. It's nice that the story has a happy ending for the anonymous sufferer, often not the case for schizophrenics in the days before modern medications. Even today, it's horrible; but the chances of leading a normal life are better.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Thoughts on the diary of "Renee", July 23, 2008

By 

E. Jensen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl: The True Story of "Renee" (Paperback)

I was extremely disappointed when I read this book. I am a mental health counselor and work with people who have chronic schizophrenia. This book was confusing and unclear and I thought much of the meaning was lost in the translation of the book. This book unfortunately did not well illustrate what it is like to have this disease or what it is like to work with someone who does. Honestly, if you want to get a better feel for schizophrenia because you simply want to learn more about it or because you know someone who has it, I would recommend The Quiet Room by Lori Schiller.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Step Into The Mind Of A Schizophrenic., August 24, 2007

By 

Scott Kaplan (United States Of America) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Autobiography of a Schizophrenic Girl: The True Story of "Renee" (Paperback)

I have read a few psychology books and journal articles that dealt with schizophrenia, but the view I almost always had of the disease was the view of a detached scientist trying to understand the disease, not trying to understand how the person with the disease actually felt. This was one of the few times I got a look at what it's like to have shizophrenia from the viewpoint of the person with schizophrenia. It was very disturbing, but I would think also very helpful for a person who wants to be a therapist and work with people who have schizophrenia. You will understand the pain a person with (a certain type of) schizophrenia is experiencing if you read this book.

On the other hand, this book is very old, the events in the book took place before 1952 (the copyright of the book is 1951), when effective medications for shizophrenia first came out. Renee's story might have been very different if it had happened today, especially since the symptoms of schizophrenia that she suffers from are the type that would probably respond very well to medication (she clearly suffers from positive symptoms of schizophrenia rather than negative symptoms, and positive symptoms do respond better to medications). Also, as another reviewer kind of mentioned, Freudian analysis, the kind Renee received, is no longer widely considered an effective therapy for this disease. When Renee recovered from her illness, I had the impression that it wasn't because of any therapy she received but it was because she is one of the fortunate people who sometimes get better on their own. Studies even indicate that most people's symptoms do lessen as they get older, apparently on their own.