A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse

The author asserts that everyone suffers from at least one delusion. That’s an interesting premise to keep in mind as you read what are essentially case studies of types of delusions and of people who have suffered from them. Written with compassion and sensitivity, this book gives voice to those suffering from delusions by ferreting out their lives’ circumstances, searching for the person behind the malady. This is no small task; usually the clinician working with the patient has his own agenda, viewing the delusion through a distorted lens, and even today we don’t have a good grasp on delusions’ causes. The stories are interesting, but more importantly they lead you to reflect, on what a delusion means, and why it would be adaptive to one who believes it — to hear the cry of pain that a delusion signifies. When a person’s world is turned upside down, whether through reverse of circumstances or political upheaval or technological advance or anything else, a delusion can be a refuge, imposing order on a disordered world. Thinking back on that statement that we all have some delusions, we see these sufferers not as Other, but as reflections of Self after all.