Flying with Paper Wings: Reflections on Living with Madness

Sandy Jeffs grows up in an Australian country town in the 1950s and 60s, domestic violence ripping her family to shreds. As a student in the 1970s she comes to terms with her sexuality as part of an alternative family. With the onset of schizophrenia at age 23 Sandy's world falls apart. 'Flying with Paper Wings' offers privileged insights into madness - medical, social, personal - as well as disturbing reflections on its causes and care. It is also a story of how poetry can become a personal saviour in the face of nearly irresistible forces. "Sandy's book is completely immersing and readable and manages to offer a remarkable lucidity about the world of madness, fragmentation, poetry and art. It is bracing to read" - Christos Tsiolkas