The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of mental illness.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. In the book’s subtitle, Rosen frames Michael’s story as “the tragedy of good intentions.” How effectively does the memoir illustrate the unintended consequences of well-meaning approaches to mental healthcare?

2. Throughout the memoir, Rosen weaves together personal narrative with broader social history and medical context. How did this approach affect your understanding of Michael’s story, and what aspects of this blended style resonated most with you?

3. The Best Minds has been compared to Sylvia Nasar’s A Beautiful Mind, which also explores the life of a brilliant person with schizophrenia. If you’ve read Nasar’s book or seen the film adaptation, how does Rosen’s approach to portraying mental illness differ, and which do you find more illuminating?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Rosen describes his friendship with Michael using the metaphor of the tortoise and the hare. In your own friendships, have you experienced similar dynamics of competition and complementary traits? How have these dynamics evolved over time?

2. Michael’s parents, teachers, and mentors find it hard to balance optimism about his potential with the reality of his illness. Have you ever had to adjust your expectations for yourself or someone you care about due to circumstances beyond your control? What helped you navigate that process?

3. Jonathan describes how his own experiences with anxiety disorder gave him some insight into mental health challenges, yet he still struggled to fully understand Michael’s schizophrenia. How has your understanding of mental illness been shaped by personal experiences or observations?

4. Throughout the book, we see how intellectual achievement is prized in American society. How has your own relationship with academic or professional success affected your sense of identity and worth?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Rosen describes how the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1960s and 70s aimed to protect the civil liberties of people with mental illnesses but often left them without adequate support. How do you see this tension between individual rights and necessary care playing out in contemporary approaches to mental healthcare?

2. The memoir explores how cultural representations of mental illness—from Ken Kesey’s One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest to academic theories that romanticized “madness”—influenced real-world treatment policies. What current cultural narratives about mental illness do you observe, and how might they be affecting care approaches today?

3. Michael’s story unfolds against a backdrop of changing legal frameworks governing involuntary hospitalization. What ethical questions arise when considering who should make decisions for individuals who may not be able to recognize their own illness?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Consider the recurring biblical motif of Cain and Abel throughout the memoir. How does this allusion deepen our understanding of Jonathan and Michael’s relationship and of Jonathan’s sense of responsibility?

2. Rosen employs the metaphor of “ripples created by a stone thrown into a lake” to describe the far-reaching effects of Michael’s crime (469). How does this imagery help illustrate the theme of interconnectedness in the book?

3. The author titles the book’s Parts after various “houses” that Michael passes through—“The House of Psychiatry,” “The House of Law,” and “The House of Dreams.” What does each of these symbolic spaces represent in Michael’s journey, and how do they structure the narrative?

4. Piggy’s brain from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies becomes a significant motif in the text. How does this literary reference foreshadow Michael’s fate and illuminate the book’s themes about reason and mental illness?

5. The memoir presents Michael’s illness and actions through the viewpoints of different characters. How does this multifaceted approach contribute to the book’s exploration of truth and subjectivity?

6. How does Rosen’s portrayal of Carrie Costello evolve throughout the narrative, and what does this evolution reveal about the broader themes of the book?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Design a public health campaign addressing the issues raised in The Best Minds. Which aspects of mental healthcare would you prioritize based on the failures and missed opportunities depicted in Michael’s story?

2. Michael was never able to complete his memoir, The Laws of Madness. What elements would you want this unwritten book to include? How would Michael’s perspective have differed from Rosen’s account?

3. How would you redesign supports for individuals like Michael who have serious mental illnesses but also extraordinary gifts? What structures might help balance optimism about their potential with the reality of their needs?

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