Review
“An innovative study of mental health care for the poorest and the richest of the city’s inhabitants—showing how the system fails all, albeit in different ways. . . . Few authors capture this dynamic as neatly as Gong does in Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics, his study of two strikingly dissimilar mental health treatment regimes in the same city." ― The New Republic
"In this nuanced study, UC San Diego sociologist Gong compares and contrasts two mental health 'treatment approaches' in Los Angeles. . . . Gong persuasively recommends establishing a more structured outpatient system of public mental health care (while cautioning against a return to the asylum’s prison-like potential for abuse). Mental health professionals and advocates will find much to learn." ― Publishers Weekly
"Gong grapples with the system of mental healthcare that Los Angeles has adopted in the wake of the closure of asylums. . . . He maintains hope we can build a better future for some of the most vulnerable people in our society." ― Planet Money
"Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics points the way to a more honest debate about community mental health." ― City Journal
“Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics is a heartbreaking book. Gong carefully details the way we have created a system in which the right to freedom has far outstripped the right to health care and housing—because that choice saves time and effort for the rest of us. The deep insight of the book is how differently these freedoms unfold for those with money and those without. This is a thoughtful and well-researched book that could help us to make better choices.” ― Tanya Luhrmann, author of "Of Two Minds"
“Combining rich storytelling, sharp analysis, and brave scrutiny of unpopular ideas, Gong reveals America’s mental health crisis to be as much about class inequality and cultural hypocrisy as it is about brain chemistry and medical diagnoses. Comparative sociology at its finest, from one of the most promising ethnographers working today.” ― Forrest Stuart, author of "Down, Out, and Under Arrest" and "Ballad of the Bullet"
“This book is smart, heartbreaking, and ethnographically rich and glitters with surprising insights. It’s much more than a book about mental illness: it’s about how we define and nurture freedom, personhood, and human dignity—and how we deny them.” ― Colin Jerolmack, author of "Up to Heaven and Down to Hell"
“The United States is a world leader in psychiatric science but routinely fails its vulnerable people with severe mental illness. Gong’s study provides critical information for understanding systemic challenges faced by patients, families, clinicians, and public authorities. The novel findings illuminate the half century of failure in community treatment and offer a rich and detailed study for those who aim to advance care and quality of life for the mentally ill.” ― William T. Carpenter, editor emeritus of "Schizophrenia Bulletin"
“Set in Los Angeles, epicenter of homelessness, Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics weaves an eloquent tale of the contradictions involved in mental health care for the wealthy versus the indigent. The comparison itself is innovative, as is the idea that freedom, something often prized without question, can mean neglect. It is an engaging read that poses innovative questions about how our understanding of mental health care reflects and perpetuates systems of inequality.” ― Michele Wakin, author of "Homelessness in America"
“Sons, Daughters and Sidewalk Psychotics provides an up close, on-the-ground journey into the treatment options and experiences of two strikingly disparate socioeconomic populations: the mentally ill homeless on the streets of Los Angeles and their similarly impaired but economically advantaged counterparts who reside in the upper middle class and upper class neighborhoods of western LA. Given the concerns about homelessness and mental illness across the country, this is a most timely and insightful contribution to understanding of the intersection of these two pressing issues.” ― David A. Snow, author (with Leon Anderson) of "Down on Their Luck"
About the Author
Neil Gong is assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. He is coeditor, with Corey Abramson, of Beyond the Case: The Logics and Practices of Comparative Ethnography. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and Los Angeles Review of Books.
