This is a book review for
Ascension: A Story of Mental Illness
by Daniel Trump,
which I posted on Goodreads.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mental illness is a scary topic, especially when it comes out of the blue for someone young and previously healthy. Dalton Lewis, the protagonist of Ascension, was a bright college graduate in his early twenties when something went seriously wrong with his mind. For me the book’s greatest strength is that it reads like a good fiction, showing, rather than telling, what it feels like to live with paranoid schizophrenia.
In Dalton’s own words: “I know that sometimes I felt like I couldn’t communicate with people or finish sentences. Think of how much better I am on this new medication. Think of the next medication, or the next, or the next. I might be able to articulate ideas more effectively. I might be able to write better. Who knows? I might be able to write something that moves someone, truly, in their mind, heart and soul. That’s the goal…”
I don’t know what in his story is based on facts (the author of Ascension has mental disability) or what is fiction. Nevertheless, it moved me from the beginning to the end.