Books like Imagining Robert by Jay Neugeboren
*Imagining Robert* is a powerful family memoir that traces the lives of Jay and his brother Robert from their post–World War II childhood through Robert’s first mental breakdown at nineteen. The book documents Robert’s long series of hospitalizations and the harsh treatments he endured—including lobotomy, shock therapy, megavitamins, insulin shock, and psychoactive drugs—while detailing his imaginative struggle to stay alive.
Through intimate narrative, Neugeboren reveals the anguish, despair, joy, and frustration experienced by a family living with chronic mental illness. He also chronicles his tireless efforts as caretaker, aiming to make the institutional system more responsive to Robert’s needs. A moving account of sibling love, institutionalization, and the everyday triumphs that emerge from enduring devotion.
First publish date: 1997
Genre: Memoir/Family Memoir
Authors: Jay Neugeboren
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