About the Book:
Angels in the Produce Section is the story of a man trying to navigate the turbulent waters of schizoaffective disorder. In this brutally honest account, Danny brings the reader inside the mind of someone under the spell of psychosis. Over the course of a decade, Danny lands in the psychiatric ward ten times yet still manages to graduate from an elite university and pursue his professional and personal dreams. His inspirational story is one characterized by perseverance, resilience, and hope.
However, his memoir does more than chart a course through a mind besieged by illness. Danny also explores the power of yoga and therapy, as well as the science behind sleep, intermittent fasting, and the microbiome. In writing about these topics, Danny introduces us to the science of epigenetics, which teaches that our DNA doesn’t have to be our destiny. There are a number of books that tell the story of mental illness and recovery, but this one offers practical steps that individuals who are genetically predisposed to mental illness can take to stay healthy.
Also, by diving into yoga, therapy, sleep, and diet, Danny tells a tale of self-improvement. Even in one’s thirties, it is indeed possible to develop new habits, build new neural networks, and, in many ways, become a new person.
Finally, at the heart of this memoir are broader and bigger questions: What made Danny’s recovery possible? Why is he alive, healthy, and able to write this memoir?
Join Danny on this journey into the wonders of the human mind.
Excerpt:
“Jeez, Sabrina! We could have died!” The angel sitting next to me smiled.
I pulled into a gas station to assess the damage. The bumper was crumpled like a crushed soda can. I filled up the gas tank and resumed the trip. I scanned the radio stations and landed on one in which the host was discussing the marriage of a young man and a young woman. They told me that this couple had been given a house nearby. So instead of heading to the Outer Banks, I followed the voices through the back roads of rural Virginia. I twisted and turned my way toward a big white house.
I parked under a carport next to a red Jeep Wrangler. There was a toolshed and a small fishing boat. I got out of my car and wandered around, intrigued that all of this belonged to me. That’s when an older man with graying facial hair and a beer belly opened the door to the porch and emerged with a shotgun.
He pointed it at me.
I looked up in bewilderment: What is this man doing in my house? And why does he have a gun?
Then I considered his yellow shirt. I realized that this must be God’s house.
I raised my hands in an act of submission and left.
Angels In The Produce Section
By Danny Eaton