Question Of Sanity

A novel of fear and suspense. A Question of Sanity is Katherine Black's darkest, most perverse and chilling work. Author Ellie Erikson is dying. But that's just a walk in the park. She's accused of trying to murder her boyfriend, her bank account is emptied, and every aspect of her life has come into question. When hatred is born in a damaged soul, a wasting illness is the least of Ellie's troubles. And when her past comes calling, it opens a whole new chapter of secrets.

The women who serve as the subjects for this book all share compelling stories. To be considered a serial killer one must kill at least three people, all within proximity to each other in terms of time. The motive is generally the same, from one murder to the next, as is the means by which death is brought about. Most are from North Central New York, living along the Erie Canal in small, isolated, rural communities. A majority of these women were dubbed 'Black Widows', women who murdered multiple husbands-often for profit. Some were called 'Baby Farmers', a title given to women accused of murdering infants. Others were known as 'Angels of Death', those who kill beneath the guise of providing care to the ill and infirmed. There were a few titled 'Avengers', women motivated by revenge and greed. And finally, those whose sanity is questioned, impelled to kill by delusions and paranoia. This is their story...

Why does a gifted psychiatrist suddenly begin to torment his own beloved wife? How can a ninety-pound woman carry a massive air conditioner to the second floor of her home, install it in a window unassisted, and then not remember how it got there? Why would a brilliant feminist law student ask her fiancé to treat her like a helpless little girl? How can an ordinary, violence-fearing businessman once have been a gun-packing vigilante prowling the crime districts for a fight? A startling new study in human consciousness, The Myth of Sanity is a landmark book about forgotten trauma, dissociated mental states, and multiple personality in everyday life. In its groundbreaking analysis of childhood trauma and dissociation and their far-reaching implications in adult life, it reveals that moderate dissociation is a normal mental reaction to pain and that even the most extreme dissociative reaction-multiple personality-is more common than we think. Through astonishing stories of people whose lives have been shattered by trauma and then remade, The Myth of Sanity shows us how to recognize these altered mental states in friends and family, even in ourselves.

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of her classic Leadership and the New Science, bestselling author Margaret Wheatley once again turns to the new science of living systems to help leaders persevere in a time of great turmoil. I know it is possible for leaders to use their power and influence, their insight and compassion, to lead people back to an understanding of who we are as human beings, to create the conditions for our basic human qualities of generosity, contribution, community and love to be evoked no matter what. I know it is possible to experience grace and joy in the midst of tragedy and loss. I know it is possible to create islands of sanity in the midst of wildly disruptive seas. I know it is possible because I have worked with leaders over many years in places that knew chaos and breakdown long before this moment. And I have studied enough history to know that such leaders always arise when they are most needed. Now it's our turn.