Reading and writing are in themselves subversive acts. Mark Vonnegut More Quotes by Mark Vonnegut More Quotes From Mark Vonnegut There was a point when I was 15 or 16 that I realized that my father wanted me to be a loner. I decided, 'It's okay to be an introvert, but I don't want to be a loner. I want a few other people in my life. Mark Vonnegut lonerfatherpeople Without writers fooling themselves about what their books might accomplish there would be no books at all. Mark Vonnegut would-bemightbook I take care of military families. Their sacrifices are very real. Mark Vonnegut sacrificerealmilitary Knowing that you're crazy doesn't make the crazy things stop happening. Mark Vonnegut schizophreniacrazyknowing Most adults have forgotten what they had to do to survive childhood. Mark Vonnegut childhoodadultsforgotten What occurs to people when they read Kurt [Vonnegut] is that things are much more up for grabs than they thought they were. The world is a slightly different place just because they read a damn book. Imagine that. Mark Vonnegut differentbookpeople I don't think the people today who start hearing voices, stop eating and sleeping, and run amuck are likely to get good treatment. Having more knowledge, better diagnostic capabilities, better medications with fewer side effects, can't make up for the fact that most patients are being treated by doctors, therapists, and hospitals, who are operating under constraints and incentives that reward non-treatment, non-hospitalization, non-therapy, non-follow-up, non-care. Lost to follow-up is the best outcome a health insurer can hope for. Mark Vonnegut sleeprunningthinking My mother, who was radiant, young, and beautiful even as she lay dying, heard voices and saw visions, but she always managed to make friends with them and was much too charming to hospitalize even at her craziest. Mark Vonnegut voicemotherbeautiful Once you've been talked to by voices, it's not possible to go back to a world where talking voices is not possible. Mark Vonnegut voicetalkingworld Life for the unwell is discontinuous and unpredictable. Things just come out of nowhere. People try but mostly do a lousy job of taking care of you. Mark Vonnegut unpredictable-thingsjobspeople Writing was a spiritual exercise for my father, the only thing he really believed in. Mark Vonnegut spiritualwritingfather I didn't like the '60s because it was too important what people who had nothing to do with the war thought about it. Mark Vonnegut importantwarpeople My only hope was to be polite. Mark Vonnegut polite Well, I thought, last night I paid my dues. I faced death. Now I can stay. Mark Vonnegut mental-illnesslastsnight As well as being one of the worst things that can happen to a human being, schizophrenia can also be one of the richest learning and humanizing experiences life offers. Mark Vonnegut mental-illnessschizophreniaworst
