Synopsis: The Wendell Cocktail describes a major social problem,
exemplified by the journals of a person with coexisting
conditions--mental illness and addiction. Although there are
resources for people with each of these conditions--psychiatry for
mental illness and twelve-step programs for addiction--there are
few effective resources for people with both. Since about half of
the mentally ill medicate with an addiction, an increasingly large
percentage of the American population is left without adequate
care. Wendell's journals illuminate the complexity of a tormented
mind that is nevertheless capable of exquisite enjoyment of music,
natural beauty, and delight in the observation of birds and
animals. The book's conclusion suggests approaches to understanding
and better providing for persons with addiction and mental illness.
Endorsements: "Margaret R. Miles is one of the most insightful
religious thinkers of our time. The breadth of her historical
understanding of Western thought and art, and her sensitive
observations about the changing roles of women over time, have been
clearly established in her other books. In this book she advances
our understanding of mental illness and drug addiction." --Malcolm
Young, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, California
"Margaret R. Miles has crafted a narrative marked by honesty and
wisdom. A sister's promise and devotion, added to a brother's pain
and courage, are key ingredients for The Wendell Cocktail. The
suffering and anger voiced in her brother's journal entries are
palpable. They bear convincing witness to the struggles of those
living with mental illness and addiction in a culture that does not
deal well with either." --Flora Keshgegian, Associate Professor of
Pastoral Theology, Graduate Theological Union "This unusually
personal volume is by turns painful, insightful, and disturbing,
even occasionally beautiful and humorous, illuminating the dark
corners of addiction and mental illness by skillfully interweaving
the journals of an acute sufferer with the commentary of a
compassionate observer--an observer who is also a distinguished
historian and thinker. Deliberately avoiding neat lessons and pat
answers, Margaret R. Miles nevertheless ensures that, through
sharing her brother's story, his intense pain is not wasted."
--Robert MacSwain, Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian
Ethics, The University of the South "The Wendell Cocktail considers
the fierce landscape of mental illness and addiction. By opening
her own journal alongside those of her brother, Miles speaks not
about but from the experience. . . . If you've ever wanted to get
inside the head of someone with this condition, this book points
the path. And if you've ever needed language to express your own
experience, Wendell's journals, graciously edited and shared, give
an account from a fellow-traveler." --Martha E. Stortz, Professor
for Religion and Vocation, Augsburg College Author Biography:
Margaret R. Miles is Emerita Professor of Historical Theology, The
Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. Her most recent books are
Augustine and the Fundamentalist's Daughter (2011) and Getting Here
from There: Conversations on Life and Work (with Hiroko Sakomura,
2011).
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