What separates the mental patient of the lunatic asylum from the person deemed healthy, living in society at large? Over the course of this magnificent experiential account of his time working at and running the Yellow House-the Lipotmezo asylum, in Budapest, Hungary-Istvan Hollos poses this question and reaches the verdict: if not nothing, a hair's breadth; at most, circumstances, determined so often by social inequalities.Originally published in 1927, this book is a manifesto that aims to rethink the practical and theoretical bases of psychiatric care. An incredibly moving summative statement of a life's work and thought, and relationality with others, it has been luminously translated into English by Adrian Courage. Included within the pages of this edition is further biographical material; contextual correspondence from Sigmund Freud and others; a preface by Eva Gero-Brabant; and an introduction by Antal Bokay, Monika Perenyei, Raluca Soreanu, and Monika Takacs. Its message and goal resonate in today's landscape, and live on.
