Summary

Chapter 1 takes place in 1951. Mimi and Don Galvin lived in Colorado Springs, where they recently discovered falconry as a hobby. Mimi came from a well-off Texan family that led her to be proud of her pedigree and to appreciate things like art, literature, and culture. However, her childhood soon became somewhat tumultuous after her parents' divorce. Mimi met her future husband Don when they were teenagers; they married in 1944, just before Don left to serve overseas with the navy in World War Two. Their first son was born in July 1945.

Chapter 2 opens in Germany in the early years of the 20th century where Daniel Paul Schreber spent several years in an asylum after a psychotic collapse. The memoir he wrote about his experience would become a significant reference point for discussions about schizophrenia for the next 100 years. From the beginning, the nature-nurture...