The Dinosaur Man: Tales of Madness and Enchantment from the Back Ward [Hardcover]

Susan Baur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1991

The Dinosaur Man fuses Susan Baur's clinical observations with a deep affection for her patients and a forthright admiration of their courage and wit. She uncovers cunning metaphorical truths in the histories sch8izophrenics create for themselves, and demonstrates that the ways and reasons they tell their stories inextricably link them to us all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Compassion and an eager spirit of inquiry unhindered by predetermined expectations are twin engines powering this account of a psychologist's observations, culled over nine years, of mentally ill patients encountered as outpatients and residents in long-term-care facilities. By listening for, and to a degree participating in, the narratives underlying schizophrenics' delusions, Baur ( Hypochondria: Woeful Imaginings ) found herself better able to penetrate the defenses expressed by these elaborate fantasies and to connect with the person behind them. Becoming "dinosaur daughter" to the man of the title, who called himself Nicodemosaurus, and willing witness to the pain of many others, she developed deep respect for those who "crafted reality into the shields or canes or costumes they needed to survive." Her eloquently told tales, despite the sensationalistic subtitle, encourage in readers a similiar generosity toward those whose stories are often dismissed.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Everyone has a story. The stories that make up this book are neither ordinary nor extraordinary. They derive from Baur's work with schizophrenic patients, many of whom have been hospitalized for years at a place disguised for this telling as "Mountain Valley Hospital." Some patients are painfully aware that they are ill. Many are unable to distinguish between experienced and imagined events (the subject of Baur's dissertation was memory). Throughout the work, Baur ( Hypochondria: Woeful Ima ginings , LJ 4/15/88) is both participant and observer, as she brings into focus those among us who are frequently forgotten. This sensitively written book is recommended. It has been optioned by Orion Pictures for a film produced by and featuring Jodie Foster, so there may be some demand.
- Marlene Charnizon, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 203 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (July 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060165383
• ISBN-13: 978-0060165383
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Importance of Story, February 15, 2011

By 

Frederic C Putnam (Hatfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dinosaur Man: Tales of Madness and Enchantment from the Back Ward (Paperback)

Few readers of this review will consider themselves to be schizophrenic. After reading the stories shared by Susan Baur in this book, however, you will see that being human gives us many things in common, especially our habit of telling stories about ourselves to ourselves. We constantly retell ourselves stories about our past (yesterday, twenty years ago, it matters not), and revise them so that our perception of who we were fits who we are, and vice versa--we interpret our situation and experience now in terms of how we view our lives.

As she learned to listen to schizophrenic clients--to give them her genuine attention--Baur discovered that their often wildly sexual and violent, and apparently random stories about their lives were actually attempts to protect themselves from aspects of their past, and to make sense of their present in that light. Although her conversations with the "Dinosaur Man" are woven throughout the book, she tells other stories that illustrate this theme, including that of a Vietnam vet struggling with dreams that came from his wartime experiences, of a family apparently more dysfunctional than most, and that of a client who remembered the "best doctor ever".

Her patience and compassion, so strikingly illustrated in "Confiding" (another 5-star book), eventually encourage them to reveal their deep need to be accepted and respected for who they are (even if their description and explanation of their experiences seem difficult to swallow), which is (as she points out) no different than anyone else's.

This book challenges the perception that schizophrenia requires primarily chemical treatment, and encouraged me to see the human in everyone. I recommend this most highly.