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Elyn Saks's riveting memoir, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness, haunts with tortured, at times exquisite, melodies. The melody lingering longest is a love song to psychoanalysis. In spite of the metaphor, Saks's writing is not one bit sentimental. She takes us on a slow—at times excruciating, but always truthful—journey to and through madness. I find this memoir awe inspiring. Saks's capacity to transmit the felt experience of her madness while narrating a compelling journey toward sanity left me wondering, as a writer and a psychoanalyst, “How did she do that?”
This ought to be required reading for clinical training programs. There is much to be learned from Saks's capacity to chronicle the psychological treatment of her suffering in its devastating failures and exhilarating successes. You do not have to be a professional to relate to this book. She also has much to offer those interested in memoir writing, living courageously and generously, and learning to put your stubbornness to good use.
We live through four analyses with Saks, each different in tone and character, as were her analysts. In Saks's words, “While medication