So how do you define crazy? I have a feeling that no matter how you tend to use the word “crazy” , it will apply to this memoir of growing up in a completely crazy environment.

The book is very well written  but I do not agree with any of the reviews that say it is funny. I felt shocked, upset and sad.

How can it be that a child could grow up, in the city, and not trigger a single red flag in the system?! Nobody noticed that his parents were dysfunctional (and yes, mentally ill) and that he basically moved from barely attending school to not at all? Not a single person took note that a psychiatrist was having some of his patients live at his home (calling it a dysfunctional home is an understatement) and “treating” several of the women patients undergoing crises in a motel bedroom?!

I find that incredibly sad.

I could never use such a book in my own classroom setting,  but I did imagine discussing one point that came up several times in the book: The author had what many teenagers would envy – absolute freedom. As a teenager no one ever told him what to do or when to do it, he could do anything he wanted (including tearing down a ceiling) and nobody cared. And that made him miserable. It made him feel trapped, going nowhere. That’s something I would be glad to have a few of my students ponder.

I understand there is a movie version but I’m not going to see it. The book is well written and I think the style of writing counts a lot in this memoir. Without it I suspect one is left only with craziness.