Upstairs in the Crazy House: The Life of a Psychiatric Survivor

by Pat Capponi

Book Overview

Outspoken social activist pat Capponi travels from coast to coast to investigate the lives and communities of this country's poor and examine the changes that have beset the disadvantaged in this new... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670838985
• ISBN13: 9780670838981
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Must read first hand commentary on the poor in Canada.

Pat Capponi the undisputed expert on the poor in Canada and the author of Upstairs In The Crazy House and Dispatches From The Poverty Line adds another thought provoking and engaging work to her credit with the War at Home. In a unusual combination, the author herself has been counted amongst the forgotten and as a result her essay on the poor feels undisputedly real and her gritty no holds barred expose of the struggles of the poor in Canada, is as close to the truth as most people are likely to get. As a born Canadian who eagerly jumped over the border six years ago, I think potentially that this intense study serves not only as a wake up call to Canadians but also as a yield sign for liberal Americans who hold up Canada's safety net social system as a model for blind social funding meant to improve quality of life here in America.The heart rendering portrayals of everyday people who have been betrayed by life, luck and their country, known worldwide for its generosity to immigrants... will cause the most cynical to reexamine their views on the plight of the poor and the efficiency of the celebrated Canadian system, one of the best funded and acclaimed social systems in the world.The book is not all grim though, Canadians in particular will identify with her quick wit and ability to pick off the most ironic circumstances with eloquence. While surely this book was written to wake up the Canadian public about the injustice sitting on their doorstep, it is actually a thorough study that speaks to every community in the world that counts the poor among its ranks. Only the most hard hearted will be able to walk away from this book and not feel a responsibility to reach out to the community around them and do more.. both in their personal contributions to society and equally important their voice as a voter.Throughout the book a saying I have not heard in twenty years kept coming back to me " There but for the grace of god go I".A must read for everyone.