âUnravel[s] the national psyche that brought our politics to this moment.â â Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
A landmark book, from âone of the worldâs most prominent psychiatristsâ (The Atlantic): Allen Frances analyzes the nation, viewing the rise of Donald J. Trump as darkly symptomatic of a deeper societal distress that must be understood if we are to move forward. Equally challenging and profound, Twilight of American Sanity âjoins a small shelf of essential titlesâArlie Hochschildâs Strangers in Their Own Land is anotherâthat help explain why and how the Trump presidency happenedâ (Kirkus).
It is comforting to see President Donald Trump as a crazy man, a one-off, an exceptionânot a reflection on us or our democracy. But in ways I never anticipated, his rise was absolutely predictable and a mirror on our soul. ⊠What does it say about us, that we elected someone so manifestly unfit and unprepared to determine mankindâs future? Trump is a symptom of a world in distress, not its sole cause. Blaming him for all our troubles misses the deeper, underlying societal sickness that made possible his unlikely ascent. Calling Trump crazy allows us to avoid confronting the craziness in our societyâif we want to get sane, we must first gain insight about ourselves. Simply put: Trump isnât crazy, but our society is. âfrom TWILIGHT OF AMERICAN SANITY
More than three years in the making: the world's leading expert on psychiatric diagnosis, past leader of the American Psychiatric Associationâs DSM (âthe bible of psychologyâ), and author of the influential international bestseller on the medicalization of ordinary life, Saving Normal, draws upon his vast experience to deliver a powerful critique of modern American societyâs collective slide away from sanity and offers an urgently needed prescription for reclaiming our bearings. Widely cited in recent months as the man who quite literally wrote the diagnostic criteria for narcissism, Allen Frances, M.D., has been at the center of the debate surrounding President Trumpâs mental stateâquoted in Evan Osnosâs May 2017 New Yorker article (âHow Trump Could Get Firedâ) and publishing a much-shared opinion letter in the New York Times (âAn Eminent Psychiatrist Demurs on Trumpâs Mental Stateâ). Frances argues that Trump is ""bad, not mad""--and that the real question to wrestle with is how we as a country could have chosen him as our leader. Twilight of American Sanity is an essential work for understanding our national crisis.