Operators and things: The inner life of a schizophrenic [Hardcover]

Barbara O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1975

Reissue of the 1958 classic true story of a woman's descent into schizophrenia and her journey back to sanity.

"O'Brien has produced a work of brilliance and power, evoking a combination of Kafka and Joyce, with a touch of Orwell." Robert R. Kirsch, Los Angeles Times

"An absorbing account of life in the dream world of a schizophrenic." Publishers Weekly

"For six months she travels around the country on Greyhound buses, captive of the Operators, who push and pull, torment, confuse, and exhaust her. And at the end of her time of madness, she understands precisely what has been happening. Her insight is penetrating and irresistible. Her writing is delectable. She displays gut-wrenching humor and pungent metaphor with an eloquent, eminently readable style. This book is enthusiastically recommended." Coevolution Quarterly

"Astonishing recollections." Punch

"Striking autobiography." Phenomenological Sociology

"Brilliantly reveals what the unconscious is like." Publishers Trade List Annual

"...the author is contributing irreplaceably to our knowledge." Archives of General Psychiatry

"A beautifully lucid autobiographical description of a psychotic episode that lasted six months whose healing motion is clear." R.D. Laing, The Politics of Experience

"With penetration and satisfying imagery, Miss O'Brien (a pseudonym) describes her psychosis, from which unaccountably and spontaneously she recovers." William F. Buckley, National Review

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barbara O'Brien is a pseudonym for a woman who experienced a six-month psychotic break during the 1950s and wrote about it in Operators and Things, originally published in 1958. She was last heard from in 1976, when she wrote a new chapter entitled "The New Minority" for a paperback edition of the book. At the time, her author's biography read: "Barbara O'Brien is now fully recovered and lives outside Los Angeles, California."

Michael Maccoby, Ph.D., is a psychoanalyst and anthropologist globally recognized as an expert on leadership for his research, writing, and projects to improve organizations and work. He has authored or co-authored twelve books and consulted to companies, governments, the World Bank, unions, research and development centers and laboratories, universities, and orphanages in twenty-six countries. He lives in Washington, DC.

COLLEEN DELEGAN's first life was an advertising creative director. Her second life is a screenwriter, novelist, and television writer. She is hoping for a third and final life as a wealthy nomad. She currently lives in Chicago.

MELANIE VILLINES is a critically acclaimed novelist, playwright, screenwriter, television writer, and biographer. Born and raised in Chicago, she lives in Los Angeles.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 166 pages
• Publisher: A. S. Barnes (1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0498016641
• ISBN-13: 978-0498016646
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,586,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Madness and Beyond, August 6, 2003

By 

Mr. Jef A. S. Gooding (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Operators and things: The inner life of a schizophrenic (Hardcover)

This easily gets into my top 5 books list - maybe number 1 because it's so under-rated (or maybe un-rated because so few people have heard of it). Barbara O' Brien doesn't seem to have written another book, which is a shame - maybe she's dead, maybe she's mentally incapable, maybe she has nothing else to say.

The book chronicles her descent into madness (and atypically her rapid ascent out of it). It starts with some background to her breakdown - the oppressive office environment she worked in. This section in itself is fascinating. Here she highlights all the underhand manoeuvrings her managers and colleagues operate to advance their careers - more than a touch of Machiavelli.

The rest of the book chronicles her travels around America whilst under the control of the voices in her head. I'm guessing sufferers of Schizophrenia don't usually have such an entertaining (for the reader) journey they could form into such a clear narrative - i'd assume memories would be more disjointed (if remembered at all). I like to think she hasn't embellished the story much - at times, the sheer terror she describes mark it as both unique and authentic.

This book works both as a work of fiction (with the imaginary characters in her head coming to life on the page) and an educational introduction to mental illness. However, instead of the dry facts and neurological features you would find in a text book you get to feel empathy: a true sense of the confusion and un/ultra-reality many of us are lucky enough to never experience.

This book has been out of print for a while. Searching the internet indicates it's fans are legion (and passionate) and it commands absurd prices second hand. About time for a reprint I would say. Barbara O Brien herself is an enigma/unknown. Anyone with any opinions or info please add a review.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An obscure classic, April 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Operators and things: The inner life of a schizophrenic (Hardcover)

This book reads like a piece of exciting fiction but it is supposedly based upon the real-life experiences of a young professional woman in the uptight, male-dominated business world of the late 1950's who wakes one day to find herself the pawn of invisible entities, the "Operators," who control and influence humans, or "things," like puppets. Before long she has developed into a full-blown scizophrenic, though one who retains a certain amount of self-control. At the urging of a group of "operators" who claim to be looking out for her best interests, she takes off across the country on a journey of self-discovery, all the while hounded by various entities and psychic forces. I wasn't exaggerating when I said it reads like a piece of fiction, this book beats most of the fiction of its day, not to mention our day, in the imagination department. Not only that, it features a strong-willed female heroine who reclaims her self-determination without the aid of men, unless you count the male entites she encounters. Eventually, she finds herself on the west coast and reaches a state of personal revelation & healing, curing herself of her scizophrenia. A real-life Cuckooo's Nest, this book still reads well today and would make a great movie due to its strong central character and several evokative, chilling scenes that seem torn straight out of a David Lynch film. READ THIS BOOK!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse into the mind of a Schizophrenic, November 28, 2007

By 

Lynne Grey (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Operators and things: The inner life of a schizophrenic (Hardcover)

I found this book to be incredible. To see what a schizophrenic sees is very astounding. And to follow this woman on her long journey, being led around by these beings that only she could see, was a ride in itself. That she came out of it safe, and sound, is amazing.

The thing is that those that she saw, the operators and hook operators described people that we see every day. And the descriptions of them and what they do were also relevant to how the predatory types in our world operate. It's almost as if she could see 'behind the scenes' at what is really going on in our world.

This is a great book and the fact that it is true makes it even more spectacular.