Public Employee Press

Local 1189 member writes about a literary giant


Every weekend for seven years, Local 1189 member Dr. Kyle Arnold spent hours at home in front of his computer, toiling away sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, page by page on his first book, "The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick," a psychological study of the troubled yet prolific and influential American science fiction writer. The book was published last spring by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Arnold is a psychologist who provides individual and group therapy at Coney Island Hospital's outpatient mental health clinic, which serves a large, elderly population.

"There's a lot of depression and isolation in this community," he notes. Before joining the staff at Coney Island, he worked for six years at Kings County Hospital.

Carving out time to glean better understanding of Dick, whose novels and stories provide the basis for such well-known films as "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," "The Adjustment Bureau," and "Minority Report" was a challenge, Arnold says. His research included extensive correspondence via email with the late author's family.

There have been several books written about Dick, but Arnold's is the first by a psychologist. "The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick" is part of Oxford's Inner Lives Series, which features books about Truman Capote, John Lennon and others. Arnold calls these books "psycho-biographies."

"These are books that make an attempt at understanding the mind," he explains.

And understanding the mind of Dick, who wrote 44 books, 121 short stories and died in 1982, before Hollywood boosted his fame (and fortune), was no easy task.

The controversial author had many failed marriages, was addicted to amphetamines and in the 1970s believed that the ancient Roman Empire had resurfaced and was controlling the Nixon administration to oppress Americans, Arnold says. Believing he was possessed by the Holy Spirit, Dick thought it was his job to protect the country and fight against the Roman Empire.

Arnold says that, as a psychologist, he was particularly intrigued by the fact that, during this strange period of Dick's turbulent life, the science fiction writer was content and productive.

"I am really interested in religious experiences because a lot of times you have patients who come into your office and God is talking to them or something like that and you have to decide is this a sign of mental illness or a legitimate experience that is part of their faith and has to be respected as that…. Dick had a religious experience that looked very crazy… but he also derived a lot of benefit from it. How do you tell the difference between mental illness and religious experience? That's what I explore in the book."

"Start small," is the advice Arnold gives to those contemplating writing while handling career and family responsibilities. He suggests writing articles for community newspapers, magazines or blogs before starting on a book.

"Many people do not realize how talented our public sector psychologists are," said Dr. Leonard Davidman, the psychologists local president. "Dr. Arnold has had award-winning articles on psychotherapy and mental processes published in several highly regarded scientific publications."

To read an excerpt from "The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick," go to http://bit.ly/2dnCxaP.

— Alfredo Alvarado