''The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity'' () is a 1975 memoir by

Mark Vonnegut Mark Vonnegut (born May 11, 1947) is an American pediatrician and author. He is the son of writer Kurt Vonnegut. He is the brother of Edith Vonnegut and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a hippie, son of ...

, son of American writer

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

, about Mark's experiences in the late 1960s and his major

psychotic break In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoher ...

down and recovery. After his recovery, he undertook the study of medicine and

orthomolecular medicine Orthomolecular medicine is a form of alternative medicine that claims to maintain human health through nutritional Dietary supplement, supplementation. It is rejected by evidence-based medicine. The concept builds on the idea of an optimal nutrit ...

, although he later disavowed the latter. The foreword was written by Kurt Vonnegut, who said, "his ark Vonnegut'swish is to tell people who are going insane something about the shape of the roller coaster they are on." ''The Eden Express'' is an autobiographical account of Mark's years immediately after college, his thoughts, experiences and descent into and eventual emergence from mental illness. It starts with the words, "June 1969: Swarthmore Graduation. The night before, someone had taken white paint and painted "Commence What?" on the front of the stage." It continues with an account of his journey in a VW Bug to the wilds of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to build a commune with his girlfriend and college friends. The book continues until two years later, on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

, 1971, Vonnegut had suffered from a

psychotic episode In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incohere ...

and was committed to Woodlands Psychiatric Hospital in New Westminster, about 10 days after taking

mescaline Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, and in chemical terms 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a natural product, naturally occurring psychedelic drug, psychedelic alkaloid, protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, found ...

, which left him unable to sleep and uninterested in eating. He was diagnosed as having

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...

. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' describes the book as:

Mark Vonnegut’s depiction of his descent into, and eventual emergence from, mental illness. As a recent college graduate, self-avowed
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
, and son of a counterculture hero, Vonnegut begins to experience increasingly delusional thinking, suicidal thoughts, and physical incapacity. In February 1971 he is committed to a psychiatric hospital... (an) honest, thoughtful, and moving account of the illness of schizophrenia. Required reading for those who want to understand insanity from the inside.

The book was translated into

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

as ''Express till paradiset''. It was also translated into

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

as ''Eden express'' (transl. Sherill Howard Pociecha i

Lech Janerka Lech Andrzej Janerka (born 2 May 1953 in Wrocław, Poland) is a Polish songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. In the 1980s he was leader of a notable Polish post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerge ...

, Wrocław/Breslau 1992) and into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

as ''Eden Express - Die Geschichte meines Wahnsinns'' (transl. Johann Christoph Maass), Berlin 2014.

References

External links

Edited extract
at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Eden Express Psychology books 1975 non-fiction books American memoirs