The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness [Paperback]

Lori Schiller (Author), Amanda Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

At seventeen Lori Schiller was the perfect child -- the only daughter of an affluent, close-knit family. Six years later she made her first suicide attempt, then wandered the streets of New York City dressed in ragged clothes, tormenting voices crying out in her mind. Lori Schiller had entered the horrifying world of full-blown schizophrenia. She began an ordeal of hospitalizations, halfway houses, relapses, more suicide attempts, and constant, withering despair. But against all odds, she survived. Now in this personal account, she tells how she did it, taking us not only into her own shattered world, but drawing on the words of the doctors who treated her and family members who suffered with her.

In this new edition, Lori Schiller recounts the dramatic years following the original publication -- a period involving addiction, relapse, and ultimately, love and recovery.

Moving, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting, THE QUIET ROOM is a classic testimony to the ravages of mental illness and the power of perserverance and courage.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schiller, raised in a loving, affluent family in a New York City suburb, was 17 when she first heard the "voices" that would take over her life. Willing herself to appear normal, she resisted the brutally disparaging voices that urged her towards violence and suicide, and she succeeded in graduating from college. But early in 1982, at age 23 and after a suicide attempt, she was persuaded by her parents to admit herself to a mental hospital. For the next seven years, Schiller's auditory hallucinations worsened, and she repeatedly attempted suicide. Diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, she underwent shock therapy and was treated with antipsychotic drugs. As the symptoms of her disease waxed and waned, Schiller was in and out of hospitals and treatment programs; her weight soared and she became dependent on cocaine. Entering a program at New York Hospital, she suggested to her therapist that she try a new drug, clozapine, which gradually helped her to cope with her illness. Schiller now works at a halfway house. With Wall Street Journal reporter Bennett, she presents her stunning story of courage, persistence and hope.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Diagnosed as schizophrenic at age 23, Schiller spent the next seven years in and out of mental institutions. This account draws upon her diaries as well as interviews with her family, friends, and doctors. A 100,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446671339
• ISBN-13: 978-0446671330
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Schizophrenia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect insight into mental illness from every angle, March 26, 2000

By 

Diana Kern (austin, tx) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness (Paperback)

when i first heard about this book several years ago, i could not wait to get my hands on it. the story attracted me as it is my own story. and i was not to be disappointed. never before had i read a book that so expressively described my own illness. since it first came out, i have read it many times. this book is honest and direct and tells our story as it needs to be heard, for lori gives the true and painful portrayal of how a psychotic brain manifests itself through behavior. i was glad that she told so forthrightly of her experiences in the hospital. it is because of such honesty that people like us can learn to tell our own stories and demystify society's understanding of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. through this telling the unfair stigma that has been placed upon us is exonerated. i also liked that the people in her life told their stories as well, for an illness such as this affects all involved. i am grateful to lori and amanda for helping me to gain insight into my own illness and understand better what my family and those closest to me have endured and still endure. i highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining an honest understanding of mental illness and the impact on the individual and their loved ones.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it in 2 days, November 24, 2004

By 

Matthew C. Keller "grad_student_in_a-squared" (Ann Arbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness (Paperback)

This is a very moving, perspective-changing book. Also a very honest one. I'm researching schizophrenia genetics now at UCLA and wanted to get an 'inside' view of schizophrenia. I began reading this book 28 hours ago and finished it this morning, never really putting it down except for a 5 hour catnap. Bless you Lori, wherever you are. I hope you're doing well. The amazing accomplishment of this book is that it truly enables the reader to have a glimpse of the life and torment of being a schizophrenic. I came away much more sympathetic to what so many of our fellow human beings go through. Absolutely the best non-scientific book I've read this year.

58 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD CASE FOR CLOZAPINE, August 27, 2000

By 

BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness (Paperback)

Lori Schiller, a high academic achiever suffered from her first mental breakdown at 17. She was a counselor at a camp in upstate N.Y. when she first heard nonexistent voices. She describes the voices and cruel and taunting. Alarmed, she tells nobody about her auditory hallucination and valiantly tries to "jump the voices away," by jumping up and down repeatedly.

Lori barely manages college, where psychotic episodes disrupt her formerly sterling academic career. Her life becomes a litany of hospitals, restraints and half way houses until she was admitted to a hospital in White Plains, N.Y.

Lori's psychiatrist, in a last ditch effort to spare Lori the inevitable trip to a state snakepit, tries administering Clozapine. The Clozapine clears Lori's mind and for the first time since she was 17, she is free of psychotic episodes. The trick is, she cannot afford to miss even one dosage.

Lori, her brothers and parents band together to try to make it possible for her to regularly receive this medicine. It is a question of her life and health. Her parents are absolutely lovely and have nothing but her best interests at heart. Her brothers will go to the mat for her and it is this loving family that Lori can count on.

Her father, who is a doctor offers his observations in this book. He paints a loving, yet hard and realistic picture of the pain and mental anguish of a family coping with a loved one seemingly lost to mental illness. There is no doubt that this man is very loving and will do anything to help his child. There is never any doubt that Lori has good back up.

This author has appeared on 60 minutes and shows describing her plight and the need for this medication. It has literally saved her life.