The Voices of Robby Wilde

Kytle, author of Willie Mae, notes that she was requested by the late Robby Wildehe died in 1974, a middle-aged manto relate the story of his paranoid schizophrenia. She here disguises his real name, as well as locales and the people she interviewed about him. He emerges from this account as extraordinarily intelligent, well read and gifted; two of his poems are printed in the book. But Wilde's life was blighted by ""voices'' that tormented him incessantly. He lost jobs and friendships because of his puzzling behavior, despite his efforts to be ``normal.'' His story broadens our understanding of mental illness and leaves readers dismayed by society's treatment of the afflicted. 5000 first printing. (September 14)