As the weather has turned cold here in Chico, I've been thinking more about what it would be like not to have a home to retreat to, especially for sleeping. I imagine the local shelters are getting even more traffic than they usually do.
A book group that I'm in met this last Monday to discuss The Soloist, and we had a good discussion that tended to drift from scenes in the book to our own experiences with mental illness. Everyone in the group told of a friend, family member, or roommate who struggled with some form of mental illness. We talked a lot about how mental illness can be difficult to diagnose and to treat--what does it mean to label someone schizophrenic, or bipolar, or OCD?
The other interesting revelation in the group is that one of our members had read a book called "The Soloist" that was not Steve Lopez's book. The strange part of it all was that the other "Soloist" had some similar themes to Lopez's book, such as a protagonist who played the cello. And it was recently published, too. Apparently, "The Soloist" is a popular title. Has anyone else out there read this other book and wondered why we've focused on mental illness and homelessness in our Book in Common events?
About Me: Kristen Mahlis teaches in the Multicultural and Gender Studies Program at Chico State. She is writing a book on literature and the Haitian Revolution, and her scholarly work and teaching emphasize social justice.
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