by
Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
mentally ill people have lives beyond what we might ever hope to see."
--Newsday
"In a style reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, [Lachenmeyer] wonderfully evokes the pathetic
beauty of his father’s attempts to retain his dignity as he struggled with inner torments
and the indifference of others. Highly recommended."
--Library Journal
“Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, estranged from his [schizophrenic] father Charles since early
adolescence, engaged in detective work and countless personal interviews to trace his
father’s history. Many points in this history are heart wrenching, especially the great
divide between a father and son who loved each other. Nathaniel forges a last link with his
father [through] this extraordinary book, one of the best about schizophrenia to have
come out in recent years.”
--National Institute of Mental Health's Advocate publication
The Outsider is available from Broadway Books (ISBN: 0767901916). The revised paperback
edition is the recommended edition.
I want to say thank you to all the readers who have written letters and emails to me over the
years to express what The Outsider has meant to them. My goals in writing The Outsider were to
honor my father's memory and life, and to show the heroism inherent in the homeless mentally
ills' struggle to survive on the street. It has meant a lot to me that The Outsider has affected so
many people. There are only two things I would change about The Outsider if I could write it over
again: the title and subtitle, "The Outsider: A Journey Into My Father's Struggle with Madness."
The title is too familiar and the subtitle is clichéd and hackneyed--and the book is none of these
things. (The title I wanted was The Transient.)
The Outsider is a recipient of the Kenneth Johnson Memorial Research Library Book Award and
is the winner of the 2000 Bell of Hope Award, presented annually by the Mental Health
Association of Philadelphia to honor “significant and far-reaching contributions benefiting those
facing the challenge of mental illness.” The Outsider is required reading in psychology and
sociology classes at universities around the country. The Outsider has been translated into
Chinese and Swedish, and has been published in five countries.
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