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{{Short description|American physician and writer}}
{{multiple issues|
{{BLP sources|date=January 2015}}
{{third-party|date=January 2015}}
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{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
| name = Mark Vonnegut
| name = Mark Vonnegut
| image =
| image = Mark Vonnegut.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption = Vonnegut, c. 1975
| pseudonym =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|5|11}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|5|11}}
| birth_place =
| birth_place =
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place =
| death_place =
| resting_place =
| resting_place =
| occupation = [[Pediatrician]], [[memoirist]]
| occupation = Pediatrician, memoirist
| language =
| language =
| nationality = American
| nationality = American
| ethnicity =
| ethnicity =
| citizenship =
| citizenship =
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater = {{ubl | [[Swarthmore College]] | [[Harvard Medical School]] }}
| alma_mater = {{ubl | [[Swarthmore College]] ([[B. A.|BA]])| [[Harvard Medical School|Harvard University]] ([[M. D.|MD]]) }}
| period =
| period =
| genre = [[Memoir]]
| genre = [[Memoir]]
| subject =
| subject =
| movement =
| movement =
| notableworks = {{ubl | ''[[The Eden Express]]'' | ''[[Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So]]''}}
| notableworks = ''[[The Eden Express]]''
| spouse = Barbara
| spouse = Barbara
| partner =
| partner =
| children = 2
| children = 2
| relatives = [[Edith Vonnegut]] (sister)
| relatives = [[Edith Vonnegut]] (sister)
| parents = [[Kurt Vonnegut]] (father)
| parents = [[Kurt Vonnegut]] (father)
| awards =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
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| website =
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}}
}}


{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2018}}
'''Mark Vonnegut''' (born May 11, 1947) is an American [[pediatrician]] and [[memoir]]ist. He is the son of writer [[Kurt Vonnegut]]. He is the brother of [[Edith Vonnegut]] and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a [[hippie]], son of a [[counterculture]] hero, BA in religion, (with a) [[genetics|genetic]] disposition to [[schizophrenia]]."<ref name="Eden">{{cite book |last=Vonnegut |first=Mark |date=1975 |title=[[The Eden Express|The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity]] |location=New York City |publisher=[[Seven Stories Press]] |isbn=1-58322-543-9}}</ref>{{rp|preface}}
'''Mark Vonnegut''' (born May 11, 1947) is an American [[pediatrician]] and author. He is the son of writer [[Kurt Vonnegut]]. He is the brother of [[Edith Vonnegut]] and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a [[hippie]], son of a [[counterculture]] hero, BA in religion, (with a) [[genetics|genetic]] disposition to [[schizophrenia]]."<ref name="Eden">{{cite book |last=Vonnegut |first=Mark |date=1975 |title=[[The Eden Express|The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity]] |location=New York City |publisher=[[Seven Stories Press]] |isbn=1-58322-543-9}}</ref>{{rp|preface}}


== Education ==
== Education ==
Mark Vonnegut (whom his parents named after [[Mark Twain]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Necessary Miracle |magazine=[[The Nation]] |last=Vonnegut |first=Kurt |url=http://www.thenation.com/article/necessary-miracle |date=July 7, 1979 |accessdate=December 6, 2010}}.</ref>) graduated from [[Swarthmore College]] in 1969. He briefly worked at Duthie Books and was also briefly chief of a 20-man detachment of special state police that provided the security for Boston State Hospital. During the [[Vietnam War]], he filed an application with the draft board to be considered a [[conscientious objector]], which was denied. After taking the [[psychological examination]], he was given a [[psychiatric]] [[Selective_Service_System#Classifications|4-F classification]] and avoided [[conscription]] into the U.S. military.<ref name="Eden"/>{{page needed|date=November 2011}}
Mark Vonnegut (whom his parents named after [[Mark Twain]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Necessary Miracle |magazine=[[The Nation]] |last=Vonnegut |first=Kurt |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/necessary-miracle/ |date=July 7, 1979 |accessdate=December 6, 2010}}.</ref>) graduated from [[Swarthmore College]] in 1969. He briefly worked at Duthie Books and was also briefly chief of a 20-man detachment of special state police that provided the security for Boston State Hospital. During the [[Vietnam War]], he filed an application with the draft board to be considered a [[conscientious objector]], which was denied. After taking the [[psychological examination]], he was given a [[psychiatric]] [[Selective Service System#Classifications|4-F classification]] and avoided [[conscription]] into the U.S. military.<ref name="Eden"/>{{page needed|date=November 2011}}


During his undergraduate years, he set out to become a [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]]. He eventually abandoned that goal.<ref name="Just">{{cite book |last=Vonnegut |first=Mark |date=2010 |title=Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So |location=New York City |publisher=[[Delacorte Press]] |isbn=978-0-385-34379-4}}</ref>{{rp|33}}
During his undergraduate years, he set out to become a [[Unitarianism|Unitarian]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]]. He eventually abandoned that goal.<ref name="Just">{{cite book |last=Vonnegut |first=Mark |date=2010 |title=Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So |location=New York City |publisher=[[Delacorte Press]] |isbn=978-0-385-34379-4}}</ref>{{rp|33}}
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On February 14, 1971, he was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and committed to Hollywood Hospital in [[Vancouver]].<ref name="Just" />{{rp|37}} Standard [[psychotherapy]] did not help him, and most of his doctors said his case was hopeless.
On February 14, 1971, he was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and committed to Hollywood Hospital in [[Vancouver]].<ref name="Just" />{{rp|37}} Standard [[psychotherapy]] did not help him, and most of his doctors said his case was hopeless.


Vonnegut first attributed his recovery to [[orthomolecular]] [[megavitamin therapy]] and then wrote ''The Eden Express''. In this book, he states that "approximately a third - improve without any treatment. Whatever shrink happens to be standing around when such remissions occur is usually willing to assume credit".<ref name="Eden" />{{rp|267}} From the book, one can see that he was trying to decide if it is the therapy or the ever-changing medications that are the most effective for treatment. Vonnegut does not presently attribute his recovery to vitamins. In reality, such situations take years of trial and error treatment to figure out what actually is effective treatment since the diagnostic tools are based on statistics (a group of symptoms and how long they last and what is the age of the patient), making them inherently weak on predictability. This is made worse given the short duration of any treatment because of the prohibitive costs of long term productive treatment.
Vonnegut first attributed his recovery to [[orthomolecular]] [[megavitamin therapy]] and then wrote ''The Eden Express''. In this book, he states that "approximately a third - improve without any treatment. Whatever shrink happens to be standing around when such remissions occur is usually willing to assume credit".<ref name="Eden" />{{rp|267}}


Vonnegut published an article in ''The New England Journal of Medicine'', December 27, 2007, and has published several short pieces on pediatrics and other topics in ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Patriot Ledger''. He has served on the National Institute for Health Consensus Conference on ADHD since November 1999.
Vonnegut published an article in ''The New England Journal of Medicine'', December 27, 2007, and has published several short pieces on pediatrics and other topics in ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Patriot Ledger''. He has served on the National Institute for Health Consensus Conference on ADHD since November 1999.{{cn|date=June 2023}}


Vonnegut published his second book, ''Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So'', in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130537541 |title='Only More So': Mark Vonnegut's Battle With Bipolar |first=Genevieve |last=Wanucha |date=October 19, 2010 |website=NPR.org |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> Like ''The Eden Express'', it is autobiographical.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.smithmag.net/memoirville/2010/10/19/interview-mark-vonnegut-md-author-of-just-like-someone-without-mental-illness-only-more-so/ |title=Interview: Mark Vonnegut, M.D., author of Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So |first=Kathy |last=Ritchie |date=October 19, 2010 |work=Memoirville |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref>
Vonnegut published his second book, ''[[Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So]]'', in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130537541 |title='Only More So': Mark Vonnegut's Battle With Bipolar |first=Genevieve |last=Wanucha |date=October 19, 2010 |website=NPR |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> Like ''The Eden Express'', it is autobiographical.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.smithmag.net/memoirville/2010/10/19/interview-mark-vonnegut-md-author-of-just-like-someone-without-mental-illness-only-more-so/ |title=Interview: Mark Vonnegut, M.D., author of Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So |first=Kathy |last=Ritchie |date=October 19, 2010 |work=Memoirville |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> His third book,
''The Heart of Caring: A Life in Pediatrics,'' was published in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 June 2023 |title=The Heart of Caring: A Life in Pediatrics by Mark Vonnegut |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/676436/the-heart-of-caring-by-mark-vonnegut-md/ |website=Penguin Random House}}</ref>


== Medical career ==
== Medical career ==
After the publication of his first book, Vonnegut studied medicine at [[Harvard Medical School]] and later came to the conclusion that he actually had [[bipolar disorder]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Vonnegut|first=Mark|date=May 17, 2003|title=Mark Vonnegut Speaks at Convention|url=http://www.namimass.org/conv2003/mvspeaks.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218065648/http://www.namimass.org/conv2003/mvspeaks.htm|archive-date=February 18, 2010|access-date=29 March 2020|website=[[National Alliance on Mental Illness|NAMI]]}}</ref> Vonnegut, despite odds against him, graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1979. After graduation, Vonnegut completed a pediatric Internship and Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.
After the publication of his first book, Vonnegut studied medicine at [[Harvard Medical School]] and later came to the conclusion that he actually had [[bipolar disorder]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Vonnegut|first=Mark|date=May 17, 2003|title=Mark Vonnegut Speaks at Convention|url=http://www.namimass.org/conv2003/mvspeaks.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218065648/http://www.namimass.org/conv2003/mvspeaks.htm|archive-date=February 18, 2010|access-date=29 March 2020|website=[[National Alliance on Mental Illness|NAMI]]}}</ref> Vonnegut graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1979. After graduation, Vonnegut completed a pediatric Internship and Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.


He has practiced pediatrics for over 30 years, opening his own practice, M.V. Pediatrics, in 2001. He is currently a [[pediatrician]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Vonnegut|first=Mark|title=A Few Thoughts From Dr. Vonnegut|url=https://www.gotomvpeds.com/about/a-few-thoughts/|access-date=December 4, 2010|website=MV Pediatrics}}</ref>
He has practiced pediatrics for over 40 years, opening his own practice, M.V. Pediatrics, in 2001.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=MVPediatrics {{!}} Quincy, MA {{!}} Medical Records Custodian |url=https://www.gotomvpeds.com/ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=www.gotomvpeds.com}}</ref> He was formerly a [[pediatrician]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Vonnegut|first=Mark|title=A Few Thoughts From Dr. Vonnegut|url=https://www.gotomvpeds.com/about/a-few-thoughts/|access-date=December 4, 2010|website=MV Pediatrics}}</ref> until his retirement in mid-2023.<ref name=":0" />


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
He married in 1975.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Horne|first=Jed|date=November 3, 1975|title=Mark Vonnegut Traces His Harrowing Journey Through Wildest Schizophrenia|url=https://people.com/archive/mark-vonnegut-traces-his-harrowing-journey-through-wildest-schizophrenia-vol-4-no-18/|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> He had a son, Eli James Vonnegut (b. 1980).<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 9, 2004|title=Weddings/Celebrations: Lydon Friedrich, Eli Vonnegut|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/style/weddings-celebrations-lydon-friedrich-eli-vonnegut.html|access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Eli Vonnegut|url=http://voters.findthedata.com/d/b/Eli-Vonnegut|website=FindTheData.com}}{{dead link|date=January 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
He married in 1975.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Horne|first=Jed|date=November 3, 1975|title=Mark Vonnegut Traces His Harrowing Journey Through Wildest Schizophrenia|url=https://people.com/archive/mark-vonnegut-traces-his-harrowing-journey-through-wildest-schizophrenia-vol-4-no-18/|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> He had a son, Eli James Vonnegut (b. 1980).<ref>{{Cite news|date=May 9, 2004|title=Weddings/Celebrations: Lydon Friedrich, Eli Vonnegut|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/style/weddings-celebrations-lydon-friedrich-eli-vonnegut.html|access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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*{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/27/twisting_vonneguts_views_on_terrorism/ |title=Twisting Vonnegut's views on terrorism |first=Mark |last=Vonnegut |date=December 27, 2005 |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]}}
*{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/27/twisting_vonneguts_views_on_terrorism/ |title=Twisting Vonnegut's views on terrorism |first=Mark |last=Vonnegut |date=December 27, 2005 |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2008/4/3/195810/9061/tytvideoclips/Son-of-Kurt-Vonnegut-talks-about-his-Father |title=Son of Kurt Vonnegut talks about his Father |date=March 4, 2008 |website=[[The Young Turks]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510180014/http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2008/4/3/195810/9061/tytvideoclips/Son-of-Kurt-Vonnegut-talks-about-his-Father |archive-date=2008-05-10}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2008/4/3/195810/9061/tytvideoclips/Son-of-Kurt-Vonnegut-talks-about-his-Father |title=Son of Kurt Vonnegut talks about his Father |date=March 4, 2008 |website=[[The Young Turks]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510180014/http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2008/4/3/195810/9061/tytvideoclips/Son-of-Kurt-Vonnegut-talks-about-his-Father |archive-date=2008-05-10}}
*{{cite news|url=http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-11-26/culture/the-titan-of-sirens-mark-vonnegut-talks-about-his-legendary-dad-kurt-vonnegut-jr-mdash-and-his-own-love-for-dizzy-dean/ |title=The Titan of Sirens: Mark Vonnegut talks about his legendary dad Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. — and his own love for Dizzy Dean |first=Dennis |last=Brown |date=November 2008 |newspaper=[[Riverfront Times]]}}
*{{cite news|url=https://www.riverfronttimes.com/arts/the-titan-of-sirens-mark-vonnegut-talks-about-his-legendary-dad-kurt-vonnegut-jr-andmdash-and-his-own-love-for-dizzy-dean-2453530/ |title=The Titan of Sirens: Mark Vonnegut talks about his legendary dad Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. — and his own love for Dizzy Dean |first=Dennis |last=Brown |date=November 2008 |newspaper=[[Riverfront Times]]}}


{{Kurt Vonnegut|state=collapsed}}
{{Kurt Vonnegut|state=collapsed}}
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]

Latest revision as of 22:15, 11 April 2024

Mark Vonnegut
Vonnegut, c. 1975
Vonnegut, c. 1975
Born (1947-05-11) May 11, 1947 (age 77)
OccupationPediatrician, memoirist
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater
GenreMemoir
Notable worksThe Eden Express
SpouseBarbara
Children2
ParentsKurt Vonnegut (father)
RelativesEdith Vonnegut (sister)

Mark Vonnegut (born May 11, 1947) is an American pediatrician and author. He is the son of writer Kurt Vonnegut. He is the brother of Edith Vonnegut and Nanette Vonnegut. He described himself in the preface to his 1975 book as "a hippie, son of a counterculture hero, BA in religion, (with a) genetic disposition to schizophrenia."[1]: preface 

Education

[edit]

Mark Vonnegut (whom his parents named after Mark Twain[2]) graduated from Swarthmore College in 1969. He briefly worked at Duthie Books and was also briefly chief of a 20-man detachment of special state police that provided the security for Boston State Hospital. During the Vietnam War, he filed an application with the draft board to be considered a conscientious objector, which was denied. After taking the psychological examination, he was given a psychiatric 4-F classification and avoided conscription into the U.S. military.[1][page needed]

During his undergraduate years, he set out to become a Unitarian minister. He eventually abandoned that goal.[3]: 33 

Writing

[edit]

He is the author of The Eden Express (1975), which describes his trip to British Columbia to set up a commune with his friends and his personal experiences with schizophrenia,[4] which at that time he attributed to stress, diet and, in part, drug use. During this period, he lived mainly at the commune at Powell Lake, located 18 kilometres by boat from the nearest road or electricity. The book is widely cited as useful for those coping with schizophrenia.[citation needed]

On February 14, 1971, he was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia and committed to Hollywood Hospital in Vancouver.[3]: 37  Standard psychotherapy did not help him, and most of his doctors said his case was hopeless.

Vonnegut first attributed his recovery to orthomolecular megavitamin therapy and then wrote The Eden Express. In this book, he states that "approximately a third - improve without any treatment. Whatever shrink happens to be standing around when such remissions occur is usually willing to assume credit".[1]: 267 

Vonnegut published an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, December 27, 2007, and has published several short pieces on pediatrics and other topics in The Boston Globe and The Patriot Ledger. He has served on the National Institute for Health Consensus Conference on ADHD since November 1999.[citation needed]

Vonnegut published his second book, Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So, in 2010.[5] Like The Eden Express, it is autobiographical.[6] His third book, The Heart of Caring: A Life in Pediatrics, was published in 2022.[7]

Medical career

[edit]

After the publication of his first book, Vonnegut studied medicine at Harvard Medical School and later came to the conclusion that he actually had bipolar disorder.[8] Vonnegut graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1979. After graduation, Vonnegut completed a pediatric Internship and Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.

He has practiced pediatrics for over 40 years, opening his own practice, M.V. Pediatrics, in 2001.[9] He was formerly a pediatrician in Quincy, Massachusetts,[10] until his retirement in mid-2023.[9]

Personal life

[edit]

He married in 1975.[11] He had a son, Eli James Vonnegut (b. 1980).[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Vonnegut, Mark (1975). The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity. New York City: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1-58322-543-9.
  2. ^ Vonnegut, Kurt (July 7, 1979). "The Necessary Miracle". The Nation. Retrieved December 6, 2010..
  3. ^ a b Vonnegut, Mark (2010). Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So. New York City: Delacorte Press. ISBN 978-0-385-34379-4.
  4. ^ Sullivan, James (October 7, 2014). "A celebration of Kurt Vonnegut on the Cape". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Wanucha, Genevieve (October 19, 2010). "'Only More So': Mark Vonnegut's Battle With Bipolar". NPR. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Ritchie, Kathy (October 19, 2010). "Interview: Mark Vonnegut, M.D., author of Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So". Memoirville. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. ^ "The Heart of Caring: A Life in Pediatrics by Mark Vonnegut". Penguin Random House. June 17, 2023.
  8. ^ Vonnegut, Mark (May 17, 2003). "Mark Vonnegut Speaks at Convention". NAMI. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "MVPediatrics | Quincy, MA | Medical Records Custodian". www.gotomvpeds.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Vonnegut, Mark. "A Few Thoughts From Dr. Vonnegut". MV Pediatrics. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
  11. ^ Horne, Jed (November 3, 1975). "Mark Vonnegut Traces His Harrowing Journey Through Wildest Schizophrenia". People. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  12. ^ "Weddings/Celebrations: Lydon Friedrich, Eli Vonnegut". The New York Times. May 9, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
[edit]
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