Dru Anne Zane is the pen name chosen by Elyse Aronson-Van Breemen for Does Psychiatry Makes You Crazy. . . Aronson is her birth name, Van Breemen her married name, though her husband, Charles Van Breemen is deceased and she is a widow. Elyse is used to pen names. She uses one when she writes and performs for children. “Dru Anne Zane” is a sound variation of “True and Sane.” Hopefully, the book she’s written as Dru Anne Zane, Does Psychiatry Make You Crazy, rings true for you and helps to bring sanity to your life and the lives of others.
Elyse was an honor graduate of the University of Wisconsin High School, 2nd in her class. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in Speech and Theater with honors. In 7th grade, she was the winner of the Illinois State Speech Contest best humorous reading and she was the first chair cellist, Northwestern University High School summer camp.
Elyse has gotten a lot of press over the years. She’s been written up in such newspapers as The Washington Times, The Tampa Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times, The Clearwater Sun, The Houston Chronicle, The Miami Herald, Washington New Observer, The Baton Rouge State Times and The Senior Connection News-Magazine.
She herself has written articles that appeared in The New American, Lady’s Circle and Women’s Times, and she wrote columns for children in “The Weekly Challenger,” l98l, “The Health Press” and “The Suncoast News,” l982, “The Suncoast Journal,” l987-l988, “Mother’s Network,” l989, all under the trademarked Mz. Goose byline.
She was also the featured writer for The Comm Line, a Florida newspaper from 2002 through 2007, writing articles such as “Save the Earth” “Genetic Engineering – Eating Us Alive” and “Tribute to African American Achievement.” She also wrote 12 Anti Psychiatry Articles. Go to Anti-Psych Articles by the Author to read excerpts of them. Click: ANTI–PSYCHIATRY ARTICLES BY THE AUTHOR
Her becoming a writer was a chance happening, or was it? After college she went to work for Michael Goldstein Public Relations in NYC as a secretary. That was the kind of job a girl could get, even a college graduate, in those days! When she learned that a potential client was singer-songwriter, Rod McKuen, she decided to write a press release about him. That was a first and Rod loved it! Michael told her later that the press release she wrote had a lot to do with his securing Rod McKuen as a client. Both of them have passed away, so there is no way she can prove this interesting beginning.
Elyse decided to write Does Psychiatry Make You Crazy . . . after her next door neighbor’s child told her she was taking Ritalin.. When she mentioned this to the neighbor on the other side of her house, she learned their son was taking Ritalin too! She was shocked! She was living in an upscale suburb of Chicago at the time. She started a campaign of writing letters to the editor in her local newspaper, telling parents they could and should “Say No to Ritalin,” including her phone number at the bottom. The newspaper insisted she prove the sources of information before they would publish them. She supplied them with plenty of proof!
Fourteen people called her after her first letter to the editor. She sent each of the callers information she had researched about Ritalin and data about alternative sources of handling “hyperactivity” and “Learning and Attention Deficit Disorders.” Psychiatrists and psychologists then wrote in and a newspaper war ensued. The editor told her that he was criticized for printing her letters, but “it made interesting reading.”
Interesting reading? If the data on Ritalin and her viewpoints were interesting and getting so much response, how about the whole subject of psychiatry?
“WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK” tells you her story in her own words. click WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK by Dru Anne Zane