SCIENCE FICTION BOOK REVIEW: "What if Our World is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick" (2003)

it really is OKAY
-- really, Phil did get diagnosed as manic depressive / bipolar a couple times, and perhaps as schizophrenic once (but that one is hearsay), but he lived a mostly normal life and functioned quite well
--in other words, he might have had some mental problems, but not more than anybody else who isn't certifiably nuts
-- the point is that most of his problems were due to physical illness, and besides, a genius like Phil always lives on the edge of madness
-- he sailed his boat thru a stormy life, and he left us his works as maps to guide us thru a world that can drive anybody mad
~~~

Wow. I hadn't realized that about his passing. I'm very sorry.

I wrote a lengthy reply to TDH explaining some of the points I made in my review, but it hasn't actually gone up on their site yet.

I take full blame for not articulating myself clearly enough, but when I said 'nuts' I didn't mean it in the psychotic or King George III sense, I meant it in the slightly-skewed perspective driven by the holy fire of inspiration sense. I have been laboring under the impression that he had some mental problems - based largely on Sutin's book, I guess - but of course if you tell me he was perfectly normal, then I have to completely accept that, and I cheerfully retract any statements I may have made to the contrary. I fell prey to the myth/cult of Phil, not the reality I guess.

To explain my reasoning: I've known a *lot* of mentally ill people in my life, some of them profoundly so, and I've found that a surprising number of them are capable of functioning in society fairly well, some extremely well. I've also found that a lot of them have an almost mystifying personal magnetism that is clearly tied to their illness - and that's not to say that Mr. Dick was crazy, becuase you've said he wasn't, and you'd know, and I believe you - and sometimes the few who are creative are capable of amazing intuitive leaps in their art that sidestep or ignore the more standard conclusions and ways of going about things. So when I alleged that your ex husband was a bit off, I meant it in the best sense. I should also mention that when I thought he was mentally ill -up until today, basically - I always took what he was able to do with his life as an amazing personal triumph and not a case of "crazy guy took some drugs and saw God, BFD," Which is the sense that Mr. Gumm over at TDH seems to have taken it in.

But whether I meant that or not, I clearly didn't articulate it well enough so I take total responsibility for what I said, and, again, I apologize, and, again, I'm going to have to re-think a lot of things.

Thanks for letting me explain that.

oh, yeah, you need to be careful about claims that Phil was nuts or that he used drugs
-- his "handful of pills" was prescription medication for his heart condition and high blood pressure, plus a few vitamin supplements
-- and I believe that he was quite sane, but that he wanted people to believe that he was not
~~ Tessa
~~~

Before going ot TDH to read their criticism, let me point out that Phil hated the Hampton Fancher script for Bladerunner, but he was favorably impressed after the script doctor David Peoples go thru with it.

And he did not die overnight. He was in intensive care for some ten days before they unplugged the machine. Furthermore, I saw him in the morning after he went to the emergency room, and he was conscious and communicative, but unable to speak due to paralysis. Something happened ot him when they took him for a CAT scan that morning.

BRB

~~ Tessa
~~~