{"product_id":"the-devils-castle-isbn-9781640097995","title":"The Devil's Castle:Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry's Troubled History Reverberates Today","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle \u003c\/i\u003edelves into the forgotten history of eugenics and links it to present-day psychiatry to explain how we as a culture continue to get mind care so wrong\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle\u003c\/i\u003e, Susanne Paola Antonetta weaves a haunting narrative that confronts the darkest chapters of psychiatric history while offering a bold vision for the future of mental health care. In 1939, the eugenics movement growing throughout the West did its worst in Nazi Germany. Through the Aktion T4 euthanasia program, five asylums and an abandoned jail were transformed into gas chambers. Tens of thousands of lives—predominantly adults with neuropsychiatric conditions—were extinguished in those structures, ultimately paving the way for the horrors of the Holocaust.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInterlacing her experiences of psychosis with the complex history of psychiatry, Antonetta sheds light on the intersections of madness and societal perceptions of mental difference. She brings to life the stories of Paul Schreber and Dorothea Buck, two historical figures who act as models for mind care and acceptance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis gripping exploration traverses the spectrum of neurodiversity, from the devastating consequences of dehumanization to the transformative potential of understanding and acceptance. With \u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle\u003c\/i\u003e, Antonetta not only unearths the failures of our past, but also envisions a more compassionate, enlightened approach to consciousness and mental health care. This is a story of tragedy, resilience, and hope—a rallying cry for change that dares to challenge the limits of how we define and support the human mind. | \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOur Culture Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, A Most Anticipated Book of Fall\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Ms. Antonetta calls for doctors to pay closer attention to what their patients are experiencing, even, or especially, if it seems delusional or disordered. She reminds us that the line between sanity and madness can be both fine and, depending on social context, changeable . . . The moral challenge Ms. Antonetta identifies is with us still—in new forms . . . When the time comes, these words from Ms. Antonetta will merit consideration: 'Programs of euthanasia and sterilization don’t just live in the past, terrible but finished. Their aftershocks are terrible and here.'\" —Charles Lane, \u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle \u003c\/i\u003eis a very important and informative book . . . This book will be of special interest to scholars of Nazism, the history of medical ethics and practices during the Reich under Hitler, and other World War II atrocities.\" —Louis R. Franzini, \u003ci\u003ePittsburgh Post-Gazette\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A compelling overview of the history of psychiatry and its place in the Nazi regime . . . Antonetta outlines rehearsals for death on a mass scale, from shootings to injections to gassings, with protocrematoria to dispose of the remains. But she also reminds us through her personal story and her examination of psychiatry itself, that while the T4 program is a horror of the past, it casts long shadows, with deep implications and indeed echoes in the practice of psychiatry today.\" —Sharrona Pearl, \u003ci\u003eLilith\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Cas­tle\u003c\/i\u003e is a sober­ing and dis­heart­en­ing—yet impor­tant—text. It shines a light onto a neglect­ed his­to­ry of World War II and onto a pop­u­la­tion that, too, has been neglect­ed and mistreated.\" —Ben­jamin Selesnick, \u003ci\u003eJewish Book Council\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Poet and memoirist Antonetta offers a striking study of the evolution of modern psychiatry . . . Unique in its tone and its passion, this is an arresting and deeply resonant book.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A solid history of eugenics that calls for compassion.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Susanne Antonetta draws memories from histories of oppression, violence and brutality in past psychiatry in Europe. And she connects these to the contemporary state of American psychiatry in a personally driven narrative. In a compelling style, she maintains the precarious balance between substantive engagement and anger, and ironic distance. This is an obligatory page-turner for anyone interested in the downside of the smug success stories of medical science.\" —Wouter Kusters, author of \u003ci\u003eA Philosophy of Madness: The Experience of Psychotic Thinking\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"As always, Susanne Antonetta treats the darkest and most persistently dangerous foundations of neuronormative humanity with a combination of terrifying clarity and redemptive tenderness. This forced reflection is as terrible as its distilled agony and as persistently poignant as a late-spring flower. I would, without hyperbole, call her the greatest writer of the century—but her encompassing expressions defy human ideas of time and space. I am proud to share the same mad soul.\" —Dawn Prince-Hughes, author of \u003ci\u003eSongs of the Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle\u003c\/i\u003e, which no one else could have written, Susanne Antonetta uses, like her heroes Paul Schreber and Dorothea Buck, her own 'mad career' to advocate 'letting go of the madness of fearing madness.' Only by confronting the murderous inhumanity of German and American eugenics and by acknowledging their all too living embers in the fireplace of contemporary psychiatry, can we leave the pathology paradigm for good. We needed an exquisitely talented poet and nonfiction writer, in possession of scrupulous research skills and a fair-minded activist bent, to point us toward 'living image[s] that . . . do psychic work.' I couldn’t put \u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle\u003c\/i\u003e down. It's an extraordinary book.\" —Ralph James Savarese, author of \u003ci\u003eSee It Feelingly: Classic Novels, Autistic Readers, and the Schooling of a No-Good English Professor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Poetic, shocking, darkly illuminating and deeply optimistic—\u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle\u003c\/i\u003e offers a powerful rallying cry for us to cherish the diversity of minds that enrich our societies and our worlds. An important and timely book.” —Anil Seth, author of the international bestseller \u003ci\u003eBeing You: A New Science of Consciousness\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Castle\u003c\/i\u003e is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the deeper complexities of the Holocaust and the historical context that allowed such horrors to unfold. It is a compelling and necessary addition to the discourse on human rights and dignity. Prepare to be challenged, moved, and forever changed by this extraordinary work.\" —Sandy Bourque, producer of CBC Radio IDEAS documentary series \"Myth of Normal\" | \u003cb\u003eSUSANNE PAOLA ANTONETTA\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Terrible Unlikelihood of Our Being Here \u003c\/i\u003eand numerous other works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Her accolades include a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book, an American Book Award, a \u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e Best Science book, and others. She writes for \u003ci\u003ePsychology Today, The New York Times, Ms., The Huffington Post, The UK Independent, The Hill, Orion\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e and has been featured on CNN. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.","brand":"Counterpoint","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48759518396645,"sku":"NP9781640097995","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781640097995.jpg?v=1775598859","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-devils-castle-isbn-9781640097995","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}