From Mission to Madness

Brilliant and charismatic,
David Hyrum Smith was a poet, painter, singer, philosopher, naturalist,
and highly effective missionary for the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints. In this richly detailed biography, Valeen Tippetts
Avery chronicles the life of the last son of Joseph Smith and his first
wife, Emma.
Avery draws on a large body
of correspondence for details of David's life and on his poetry to reveal
his personality and emotional struggles. She tells of his mental deterioration,
starting with a probable breakdown early in 1870 and ending with his death
in 1904 in the Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane in
Elgin, where he had been confined for twenty-seven years.
"This is an astonishing
accomplishment which not only tells the reader about a neglected historical
figure, but about myriad neglected dimensions of both Mormon history and
the history of religion in general."
-- Jan Shipps, author of Mormonism: The Story of a New Religious
Tradition
"This will stand alone
as a biography of David H. Smith. . . . But it is also an insightful look
at the times and environment from which the Smith family, and its ideas,
emerged."
-- Paul M. Edwards, author of Our Legacy of Faith: A Brief History
of the Reorganized Church