9 Highland Road: Sane Living for the Mentally Ill

Julie Callahan, victim of her father's sexual and physical abuse, suffers multiple personality disorder. Anthony Constantine, a paranoid schizophrenic, wrestles with tormenting voices whose power is reduced somewhat by the drug clozapine. Stan Gunter, a polyglot pianist, plunged four stories after he heard God commanding him to jump over a balcony; miraculously he survived. These are some of the residents of a group home for the mentally ill in Glen Cove, N.Y., the focus of this harrowing account by New York Times national educational correspondent Winerip. Having spent two years at the home on a daily basis, he makes us care deeply about these people, their crises and breakthroughs in therapy. Beginning with coverage of community protests that aimed to prevent the home from opening in 1987, this narrative highlights warring state and local agencies, funding cutbacks and bureaucratic snafus; in so doing, it exposes glaring weaknesses in the mental health system. (June)