North Carolina is so often overlooked as the subject for a beautiful coffee table book. Yet it's a "natural," with so much variety (seashore, steamy lowlands, Piedmont, rugged mountains). So I was dubious that an affordable book like this could do the job. But congratulations to Carol Highsmith and Ted Landphair for pulling it off. The photography is absolutely magnificent. There's a compact introduction with delightful old photos that sort of sets up the "tour" of the state. And then a very logical trip across North Carolina. I especially loved the unexpected and quaint shots, like the old general store exterior in Catawba, two guys playing checkers inside another general store in Valle Crucis, and some nostalgic shots of tobacco farms and wildflowers and a Civil War re-enactment. The photographer and writer even managed to include a great shot of the Dismal Swamp. Next to taking a month and touring the Tar Heel state on your own, this surprising book is the best way to see North Carolina.

Dr. North is not the first or the only one to pursue a successful career in spite of being afflicted by a severe mental illness. Dr. Frederick J. Frese, a psychologist who for many years headed a department in a well-known mid-western university, and made the videotape "Surviving in the World of Normals" (Wellness Productions) is another mental health professional whose account should be experienced. Unlike North, Frese admits that he is still coping with the illness. Colleagues of North have admitted, privately, that she still experiences visual difficulties when under stress. I suspect that her physicians hit upon dialysis as a way of convincing her that she was cured. Like diabetes, schizophrenia does not vanish. It's sad that society is so unready to accept the idea that people can cope with mental illness while living productive lives.

I've always been torn over what I want to do with my education, but after reading this book I'm positve. Med school. On to psychiatry I go, and I have this book to thank for helping me make up my mind. The story of Carol North is gripping, you feel for her, and you don't really think of her as 'insane' as you read. I recommend this book. Don't just check it out from the library, buy it.

This is an outstanding story of Dr. North's struggle with schizophrenia and recovery. It is quite intense reading. Of course the ending is very dramatic.

It seems to me that there are a few things Dr. North did which contribute to the skepticism with which some people view her account. First, she changed names and other identifying details so that facts are difficult to verify. Second, she told the story in fairy-tale format, with dramatically worsening symptoms followed by miraculous cure with few details of life after recovery. Third, she chose not to have any other medical doctors involved with this book. If her psychiatrist had written an introduction and the doctor who proformed the dialysis had written an afterword, the story would have been better documented.

Finally, it seems to me that adjusting to being "normal" after spending one's formative years seriously mentally ill would be a major struggle in itself. I hope she follows up someday with "my life after schizophrenia" and includes real names and places.

Even with these caveats, it's a wonderful book that deserves five stars, in my opinion.