The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity

mark vonnegut kurt vonnegut jr.

The Eden Express describes from the inside Mark Vonnegut's experience in the late '60s and early '70s—a recent college grad; in love; living communally on a farm, with a famous and doting father, cherished dog, and prized jalopy—and then the nervous breakdowns in all their slow-motion intimacy, the taste of mortality and opportunity for humor they provided, and the grim despair they afforded as well.

That he emerged to write this funny and true book and then moved on to find the meaningful life that for a while had seemed beyond reach is what ultimately happens in The Eden Express. But the real story here is that throughout his harrowing experience his sense of humor let him see the humanity of what he was going through, and his gift of language let him describe it in such a moving way that others could begin to imagine both its utter ordinariness as well as the madness we all share.

Genres nonfictionmemoirpsychologybiographymental healthmental illnessautobiographybiography memoirmedicalhealth

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1975

This edition

Format: 304 pages, Paperback
Published: November 5, 2002 by Seven Stories Press
ISBN: 9781583225431
ASIN: 1583225439
Language: English

About the author

mark vonnegut

Mark Twain Vonnegut is an American pediatrician and memoirist. He is the son of the late writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and his first wife, Jane Cox. He is also the brother of Edith and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a hippie, son of a counterculture hero, B.A. in religion, (with a) genetic disposition to schizophrenia."