Insanity, Addiction, and Belonging in America
Darin Weinberg and Bryan S TurnerThere is little doubt among scientists and the general public that homelessness, mental illness, and addiction are inter-related. In Of Others Inside, Darin Weinberg examines the way insanity has become synonymous with these afflictions. He links this phenomenon to the transformation of addiction treatment from a redemptive process to a punitive one, and explores the connection between addiction rehabilitation centers and the criminal justice system.
Seeking to offer a new sociological understanding of the relationship between social exclusion and mental disability, Of Others Inside considers the general social condition of the homeless population in the U.S. Weinberg also explores questions about American perceptions of poverty, and examines in great detail the social causes of mental disability and drug addiction without reducing people's suffering to simple notions of biological fate or social disorder.
"Of Others Inside is brilliant and fascinating. The author has done a commendable job charting a middle ground between the equally unsatisfying positions that mental illness and addictions are things-in-themselves or arbitrary social constructions."
—Spencer Cahill, University of South Florida
"Well written and unique in its empirical scope, Of Others Inside is a groundbreaking analysis of the relationship between social exclusion and mental disorder in America.... (A) major contribution to debates about the relationship between community solidarity and mental health."
—Jaber F. Gubrium, University of Missouri
"Based on scrupulously careful historical analysis and penetrating ethnography, Weinberg liberates us from the idea that insanity and addiction are either human constructions or independent realities. He illuminates how they are equally social products and causal factors in shaping expected paths toward wellness. Although focused on the marginalized ill, this work provides a more general model for getting beyond radically objectivist or subjectivist explanations that stifle progress in the human sciences. This will be the book's most enduring contribution."
—David A. Karp, author of Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness and The Burden of Sympathy: How Families Cope with Mental Illness
"Weinberg's book brazenly undertakes to explain the intersecting influences of mental disability, addiction and poverty. This is without doubt a complex, multi-faceted and daunting task, and one Weinberg succeeds at.... (I)t is written in a manner that mirrors the complexity of the issue under study... although the text is in-depth in nature, it simultaneously provides the reader with a clear understanding of its intents and variously synthesizes the multiple areas it covers.... (A) fascinating account of ethnographic research..."
—The Canadian Journal of Sociology Online
"Weinberg's Of Others Inside is a treasure trove of groundbreaking research and theoretical insights for anyone interested in deviance and social problems."
—Contemporary Sociology
"Recommended."
—Choice
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