Going Sane

"This was my first exposure to Adam Phillips. It took me a while to get into this book and then suddenly it gripped me and didn't let go till I'd finished. Phillips is a brilliant writer and must be a brilliant man. Since reading this I have tried to find as much of his stuff as I can and every time I finish one of his books I go looking for another - he's that good. Not that he is interested in being 'good' as much as he is interested in being kind, dignified, perceptive, honest and thorough. This is a body of work that replaces anti-Freudianisms with a re-positioning of Freudian thinking at the centre of our everyday lives and pre-occupations. Above all Phillips is determined to expose our humiliations and repair them with a language and a way of thinking about ourselves that preserves or perhaps resurrects our dignity as something worth protecting and nurturing. A thought provoking, gentle, passionate and ultimately inspiring book for anyone feeling weary."
~ Written on 2008-01-19

"Finishing this book was an achievement and a relief. To say is it vague is an understatement. I get the impression the author has spent little time researching and writing this awful book. Avoid."
~ Written on 2007-12-07

"In Going Sane, Adam Phillips skilfully marshals a wide cast from literature and the literature of psychology in order to examine the many headed and currently vague notion of sanity.
How is the term used? Why is the term used? Does sanity encompass madness or exclude it?
Opening with a sceptical voice, he considers ideas such as the misuse of the word by The Party in Orwell's 1984 and Laing's consideration of madness as a rational response to circumstances.
Further on, we're challenged to regard the difficulties of an idea of sane sex and the programmed madness of adolescence.
As the book progresses, Phillips asserts his own voice more strongly, finishing with his idea of a sane life; perhaps how a life might be sane, but at least in how the thing might be recognised.
Even while arguing forcefully and eloquently, Phillips still manages to avoid being over prescriptive; his voice is too secular for that. In any case, he insists (in the introduction) that his ideas are there as a challenge.
If you're up for such a challenge and especially if you're interested in where psychology meets philosophy, then this book is for you.
"
~ Written on 2007-01-23

"I like Adam Phillips' writing generally, however I found this book slightly disappointing as the first part of this book reads more like an academic paper as he spends more time than necessary defining sane-ness. In the second half there is more to pick through and his insights provoke reflection though I wasn't totally convinced by his proposals for what a blueprint of sanity might look like. "
~ Written on 2007-01-11

"I picked up Going Sane having read newspaper interviews with Adam Phillips and been intrigued. Sadly the book infuriated me and my husband had to put up with my continual mutterings as I slogged through it. It was a frequent experience to get to the end of the page and having to start again because I hadn't absorbed anything.

Phillips particularly tended towards obfuscation when merrily quoting from other psychologists. The obtuse style of his predecessors is not Phillips fault but he hardly guides you through with ease.

If you must read it then skip section one. Section two is still hard going but there were occasional moments of enlightenment. The section on greed at least gave pause for thought: 'To want money over and above the amount one actually needs to live is an essential part of modern people's passion for ignorance about themselves'. "
~ Written on 2006-12-07