The Seventh Angel

While a junior at Davidson College, Alex McKeithen went to Europe to study painting. A summer in the Tuscan sun, listening to U2s Joshua Tree helped fuel his creativity. McKeithens inspiration exploded into full blown mania, however, when he reached Paris. Believing he is the seventh angel whose sole purpose is to announce the Apocalypse, McKeithen runs through the streets of Paris, leaving articles of clothing at various cathedrals until, completely nude, he is arrested at the Arc de Triomphe. To his jailors, McKeithen will say only that he is the seventh angel. This ultimately lands him in Maison Blanche, an asylum near Paris where the food is surprisingly good and McKeithen is convinced God is communicating with him via messages on sugar packets. With the help of his parents, he eventually returns to North Carolina and is admitted to Duke Universitys Medical Center. Though the food there is nothing to write home about, he finds himself under the care of a doctor who correctly diagnoses his bipolar disorder and gently guides him back to sanity during late night visits clouded by cigar smoke. McKeithens vivid and often humorous recollections of his journey from the brink are paired with marginalized facts and figures demonstrating his state of excessive mental activity. His account of his own mental state, as well as observations of fellow patients and caregivers make for a riveting read.