Synopses & Reviews
Most people know Joe Pantoliano from his memorable roles in
The Sopranos,
The Matrix,
The Goonies,
Risky Business,
Memento, and
The Fugitive. But before he became one of Hollywood’s most successful character actors, he was “Joey Pants” from Hoboken, the son of a fiercely controlling schizophrenic mother. Growing up, Joe always knew something was different with him, too. “It was as if I was born with a huge hole inside of me,” he writes. Not until much later in life was Joe diagnosed with clinical depression. Now he has a message for the millions of people who suffer from mental illness, and for the friends and family who care for them: You are not alone.
Before Joe was diagnosed he tried to fill the hole inside of him with alcohol. Then he stopped drinking because the alcohol had stopped working, and instead took up to twenty Vicodin a day in an effort to numb his emotional and physical pain. Even after being diagnosed Joe faced roadblocks, such as when he couldn’t get insured on a film because of his antidepressant medication.
Asylum is the story of Joe’s Hollywood success, his undiagnosed mental illness and substance abuse, and how that all led to his eventual awareness, diagnosis, recovery, public activism, and advocacy. Interweaving deeply personal experience with informative discourse, Pantoliano creates a highly relevant and unflinchingly honest memoir that will resonate not only with victims of mental illness, and witnesses to its devastating effects, but the general reader curious about the working of the human mind.
Review
Andy Garcia andldquo;A must read! Joey Pants gives us insights so valuable that one can onlyand#160;call his courage to share a blessing for all.andrdquo;Tommy Lee Jones
andldquo;Joey has written a brave, fascinating book. It is astonishing what people will put themselves through for the privilege of acting. Maybe we just canandrsquo;t help it.andrdquo;
Andrew Davis, director ofand#160;The Fugitive
andldquo;Bravo! Joe Pantolianoandrsquo;s very honest, moving, hilarious, and tragic telling of a lifeandrsquo;s journey is both profound and enlightening. Asylum will make anyone who reads it a more generous and understanding human being.andrdquo;
Robert Irvin, M.D., Instructor of Psychiatry,Harvard Medical School
andldquo;Pantolianoandrsquo;s book reveals his ever-evolving understanding of himself and his disease through a retrospective analysis of his lifeandrsquo;s most painful and jubilant experiences. The book provides a model of inspiration and courage for those who suffer from mental illness in silence to come forward and seek the life-changing help that is currently available.andrdquo;
Jacqueline Lerner, Ph.D., Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology, Boston College
andldquo;Joey Pantoliano shows insight, humor, and brilliant storytelling as he unpacks his life to understand his challenges. Joey has opened himself up so that others can benefit from what he has discovered about mental illness. No one should miss this candid and richly told memoir.andrdquo;
Richard M. Lerner, Ph.D., Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science; Director, Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University
andldquo;With honesty, humor, and integrity, Joey Pantoliano uses his life story to inspire hope that each of us can thrive despite emotional challenges and family turmoil. Joeyandrsquo;s story exemplifies the fundamental human capacities for resilience and positive growth.andrdquo;
Synopsis
In this deeply moving and resourceful memoir, the beloved actor and New York Times bestselling author takes aim at the stigma attached to mental illness by writing candidly and humorously about his own struggle with clinical depression.and#160;
Synopsis
In this deeply moving and resourceful memoir, beloved actor-director and New York Times bestselling author Joe Pantoliano takes aim at the stigma attached to what he calls "brain dis-ease" by writing candidly and humorously about his own journey through clinical depression and addiction. Most people know Joe Pantoliano from his memorable roles in such blockbuster movies as The Matrix, Risky Business, The Fugitive, and Memento, or from his Emmy-winning performance on The Sopranos. But despite all this success, the actor, known as "Joey Pants," struggled with what he later found out was clinical depression--or brain dis-ease, as he calls it. Asylum is the story of Joe's quest for the Hollywood success he was sure would cure him, and the painful downhill spiral into depression and addiction that followed his success. Weaving deeply personal experience together with informative discourse, this memoir creates an unflinchingly honest portrayal of the true nature of the disease, as well as Joe's own eventual diagnosis, recovery, and ongoing efforts to educate others and remove the stigma from mental illness.
Synopsis
Most people know Joe Pantoliano from his memorable roles in
The Sopranos,
The Goonies, The Matrix, The Fugitive, and
Risky Business, but the Emmy-winning artist has another important role—as an outspoken advocate for smashing the stigma of mental illness, or mental “dis-ease” as he prefers to call it. As a kid in Hoboken, New Jersey, he was just “Joey Pants,” the son of a fiercely controlling, schizophrenic mother. As he grew up, Joey always knew he was different. “It was as if I was born with a huge hole inside of me,” he writes. Much later in life he would be diagnosed with clinical depression, and now he has a message for the millions of people who suffer from mental illness, and for the friends and family who care for them: you are not alone.
Asylum is the story of Joe’s Hollywood success, his undiagnosed mental illness, and substance abuse, and how all three led to his awareness, diagnosis, recovery, and public activism. Picking up where his first memoir, Who’s Sorry Now, left off, this unflinching memoir will resonate with victims of mental illness and others who have witnessed its devastating effects and will give all his readers understanding and hope for the future.
About the Author
Joe Pantoliano was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He has more than one hundred movie, TV, and stage credits, and won an Emmy Award for his work on The Sopranos. His first book, Whoandrsquo;s Sorry Now? The True Story of a Stand-up Guy, was a New York Times bestseller. Pantoliano is also the founder of No Kidding, Me Too!, a nonprofit organization andldquo;whose purpose is to remove the stigma attached to andlsquo;brain dis-easeandrsquo; through education and the breaking down of societal barriers.andrdquo; He produced and directed the documentary No Kidding! Me 2!, an intimate look at the experiences of Americans living with mental illness. He lives in Connecticut.