The Outsider

The Outsideris an unsentimental yet profoundly moving look at one family's experience with mental illness. In 1978, Charles Lachenmeyer was a happily married professor of sociology who lived in the New York suburbs with his wife and nine-year-old son, Nathaniel. But within a few short years, schizophreniaa devastating mental illness with no known curewould cost him everything: his sanity, his career, his family, even the roof over his head. Upon learning of his father's death in 1995, Nathaniel set out to search for the truth behind his father's haunted, solitary existence. Rich in imagery and poignant symbolism,The Outsideris a beautifully written memoir of a father's struggle to survive with dignity, and a son's struggle to know the father he lost to schizophrenia long before he finally lost him to death. The Outsideris a recipient of the Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library Book Award and is the winner of the 2000 Bell of Hope Award, presented annually by the Mental Health Association of Philadelphia to honor "significant and far-reaching contributions benefiting those facing the challenge of mental illness."

A frequent lecturer on mental health and homeless issues, Nathaniel Lachenmeyer lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife.