• Crazy

  • A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness
  • By: Pete Earley
  • Narrated by: Michael Prichard
  • Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (462 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Crazy  By  cover art

Crazy

By: Pete Earley
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.62

Buy for $17.62

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Pete Earley had no idea. He'd been a journalist for over 30 years, and the author of several award-winning, even best-selling, nonfiction books about crime and punishment and society. Yet he'd always been on the outside looking in. He had no idea what it was like to be on the inside looking out until his son, Mike, was declared mentally ill, and Earley was thrown headlong into the maze of contradictions, disparities, and catch-22s that is America's mental health system.

The more Earley dug, the more he uncovered the bigger picture: our nation's prisons have become our new mental hospitals. Crazy tells two stories. The first is his son's. The second describes what Earley learned during a year-long investigation inside the Miami-Dade County jail, where he was given complete, unrestricted access. There, and in the surrounding community, he shadowed inmates and patients; interviewed correctional officers, public defenders, prosecutors, judges, mental-health professionals, and the police; talked with parents, siblings, and spouses; consulted historians, civil rights lawyers, and legislators.

The result is both a remarkable piece of investigative journalism, and a wake-up call; a portrait that could serve as a snapshot of any community in America.

©2006 Pete Earley (P)2006 Tantor Media Inc

Critic reviews

"Parents of the mentally ill should find solace and food for thought in its pages." (Publishers Weekly)
"Crazy is a godsend. It will open the minds of many who make choices for the mentally ill." (Patty Duke)

What listeners say about Crazy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    317
  • 4 Stars
    105
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    229
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    260
  • 4 Stars
    47
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • ks
  • 08-16-21

Important information about mentally ill.

Very interesting history of deinstitutionalizaion of mentally ill. Points up dire need for improvement
in treatment and care for mentally ill people. They do not belong in jail where we are presently placing them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thank You

As the tears roll down my face, honestly all I got is Just Thank You

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very important book from parents perspective

For any parent (or loved one) of a person with mental illness this is a must read. It’s an honest, thought provoking look at our extremely broken “mental health” system in this county.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Heart wrenching but important

Anyone who has been touched by mental illness, especially parents of mentally ill children, should read this book. But be prepared - it is incredibly difficult to follow Early through everything he learned about the mental health problem in the United States.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

facinating book, okay narrarator

the book is fantastic-- Perfect for my paper about mental illness for my Rhetoric course. However the voice chosen for this book is so dry that it makes it difficult to read. Also, be prepared for some uncovered injustices in the world

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really hit home

A lot of this hit home with my own struggles with the mental health system and getting my own son treatment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic insight into a world with so little.

This book is amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. Well written and well thought out.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A down in the trenches look at mental illness

An incredible piece of research exposing the terrible state of the mental ill in our country-and how it came to be that way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bravo

I really appreciate the perspective give from people who live with a deal with real cases. My mother has schizoeffective disorder and this book helped me to understand her world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not just good for nursing school

This book is eye opening to our nation's problem in handling mental illness. If we were to require high schoolers to read this book, our nation would be better off.
I would recommend this book to anyone!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful