The Outsider

A Journey Into My Father's Struggle With Madness

By Nathaniel Lachenmeyer | Publisher: Crown

About the book

An unsentimental yet profoundly moving look at one family’s experience with mental illness.

“A haunting, poignant story of a son’s life with, and without, his father. A rare and moving portrait of one of life’s major struggles—the devastation created by severe mental illness.” —John Oldham, M.D., Director of New York State Psychiatric Institute

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, schizophrenia—a devastating mental illness with no known cure—would 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 Outsider is 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.

• Recipient of the Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library Book Award
• Winner of the 2000 Bell of Hope Award

Editions of The Outsider

Hardcover
ISBN 9780767901901
Paperback
ISBN 9780767901918
EBook
ISBN 9780767908986

Read an Excerpt

An unsentimental yet profoundly moving look at one family’s experience with mental illness.

“A haunting, poignant story of a son’s life with, and without, his father. A rare and moving portrait of one of life’s major struggles—the devastation created by severe mental illness.” —John Oldham, M.D., Director of New York State Psychiatric Institute

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, schizophrenia—a devastating mental illness with no known cure—would 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 Outsider is 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.

• Recipient of the Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library Book Award
• Winner of the 2000 Bell of Hope Award

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Outsider about?

An unsentimental yet profoundly moving look at one family’s experience with mental illness.

“A haunting, poignant story of a son’s life with, and without, his father. A rare and moving portrait of one of life’s major struggles—the devastation created by severe mental illness.” —John Oldham, M.D., Director of New York State Psychiatric Institute

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, schizophrenia—a devastating mental illness with no known cure—would 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 Outsider is 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.

• Recipient of the Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library Book Award
• Winner of the 2000 Bell of Hope Award

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in The Outsider?

Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Biography and non-fiction prose > Memoirs

Where can I read a sample of The Outsider?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780767901901

Who is/are the Author/s of the book The Outsider?

Nathaniel Lachenmeyer

Who is the Publisher of the book The Outsider?

Crown

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

The Outsider is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780767901901) and paperback(ISBN 9780767901918) and ebook(ISBN 9780767908986)

Where can I buy The Outsider online or support local independent bookshops?

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Where can I buy The Outsider?