Tennessee Williams Notebooks ,Edited by Margaret Bradham Thornton,Yale University Press, 2007)

Tom Harrell

Tom Harrell has been called the John Forbes Nash, Jr. of jazz. Against considerable odds, Harrell has successfully struggled with schizophrenia and become one of the most respected trumpeters and composers of the past 30 years.

Meera Popkin, Broadway Star

Meera Popkin, was the star of Cats and Miss Saigon on Broadway and in London's West End and was diagnosed with schizophrenia during this time. Her life went from center stage and limousines to waiting tables at Wendy's, but she's now back and is doing well. She is married and (as of the interview in the Infinite Mind radio program below in 2004 suggests) is expecting a baby soon.

This is Meera Popkin.

She played Ashley in the Las Vegas production of the play "Starlight Express".

Coming Back: Don't Let Your Diagnosis Block Your Vision (by Meera Popkin) - I was on Broadway-"Cats"; I was on London's West End-"Miss Saigon" as Miss Saigon; I was in Andrew Lloyd Webbers' "Starlight Express." Then in 1997, I was diagnosed with a mild case of schizophrenia. What me? I couldn't believe it. I have been told I was a high achiever, earning either an A or A- in all my classes. In trying to reach my potential, how many wrong turns did I make in my life to be diagnosed with such an illness?

Radio Program - The Infinite Mind - including an inverview of Meera Popkin





Eduard Einstein - Son of Famous physicist Albert Einstein - Eduard was born in Zurich, Swizerland on the 28th July, 1910 -- the second son of Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and Mileva Maric (1875-1948). Eduard was a sensitive child and was often ill. In 1914 Albert Einstein moved with his family to Berlin. Since Mileva fell ill in Berlin and the marriage with Albert Einstein was degenerating, Mileva moved a short time later with her sons back to Zurich. 1919 the Einstein's divorce was completed. It has been said that Eduard and particularly his older brother Hans Albert (1904-1973) suffered much from the separation of their parents.

Eduard, a very good pupil, was particularly noticeable due to his high intellectual and musical gifts. Despite the separation from Mileva, Einstein visited his sons and Mileva frequently in Zurich. In 1929 Eduard began studying medicine and wanted to become a psychiatrist.

In 1930, at the age of twenty years, Eduard developed schizophrenia. In 1932 he moved for the first time to the "Burghoelzli", a psychiatric sanatorium in Zurich.

In the autumn 1933 Albert Einstein and his second wife, Elsa emigrated to the United States. There he found a new place in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1938 Eduard's brother, Hans's Albert, moved with his family to America.

Starting from 1948, after the death of his mother, Eduard lived continuously in the "Burghoelzli", where he died 1965. Source: http://www.einstein-website.de/



"My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six," actor and author Alan Alda writes at the beginning of his autobiography. The child of a well-known actor, Alda (born Alphonso D'Abruzzo) spent his early years on the road with a burlesque troupe. The time spent on the stage wings, watching his father perform, made a profound impact on the youngster, igniting a desire to entertain others that has stayed with him his entire life. Just as profound was his mother's losing battle with mental illness; Alda spent much of his adult life attempting to reconcile his resentment of her outbursts and unmanageable behavior coupled with her unbridled enthusiasm for life and encouragement.



From an Interview in USA Today, November 2005

