"A Disability of the Soul is an extraordinary description of the lived experience of schizophrenics in the context of an impressive northern Japanese community program. Here we have patient stories interleaved with the history of psychiatric care for psychosis in Japan, which in turn is the context for description and analysis of a truly remarkable intentional community movement, including careful examination of its founders, sustainers, and outcomes. The book is beautifully written with great sensitivity to the tragic and ironic consequences of schizophrenia. Recovery programs such as this one are at the very cutting edge of global mental health and this is one of the first descriptions from Asia."—Arthur Kleinman, author of Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture
"This is a terrific book—moving, clear, and compassionate. It not only illustrates the way psychiatric illness is shaped by culture, but also suggests that social environments can be used to improve the course and outcome of the illness. Well worth reading."—T. M. Luhrmann, author of Of Two Minds: An Anthropologist looks at American Psychiatry
Press and Media Interviews
Science writer Karen A. Frenkel interviews anthropologist Karen Nakamura for the FPR, cross-posted to somatosphere.net and cbdmh.org.
Erica Rockhold writes a review of A Disability of the Soul for somatosphere.net:
It takes a strong heart and an open mind to study something like schizophrenia. No doubt many anthropologists have taken on this courageous task, many to be eventually rewarded with pieces of literature that have truly shifted our thinking about psychiatric disability. A Disability of the Soul, by Karen Nakamura, is one among these brave ethnographic accounts – however, the intimacy with which it was carried out brings us deeper into the world of Japan’s psychiatrically disabled than we’ve ever traveled before. [read more at Somatosphere.net]
Academic Reviews
Baker, Diana (2014). Disability & Society. DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2014.888830
Hashimoto, Kenji (2014). American Journal of Psychiatry. 2014 Feb;171(2):231. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13091206
- Japanese translation: http://ip-j.org/archives/1618
Littlewood, Roland (2014). American Anthropologist Volume 116. Issue 2. June 2014 (Pages 467 - 467). DOI:10.1111/aman.12090_30
Myers, N. A. L. (2014). Medical Anthropology Quarterly. DOI: 10.1111/maq.12099
Ozawa-de Silva, Chicako (2015). Ethos. DOI: 10.1111/etho.12076