R.D. Laing was one of the most controversial psychiatrists of modern times. Laing's son tells the story of his father's career, beginning with his unhappy relationship with an emotionally distant mother, which laid the foundation for a lifetime of pioneering work on madness and the family.

R.D. Laing was one of the most controversial and innovative psychiatrists of modern times. In this biography Laing's son tells the story of his father's career, beginning with his unhappy relationship with an emotionally distant and unexpressive mother, which laid the foundation for a lifetime of pioneering work on madness and the family. Laing formulated his unorthodox views on psychiatry while still at medical school in Glasgow, and there began his intense interaction with disturbed patients. In the mid-60s, he co-founded the therapeutic residential community, Kingsley Hall, where he became famous for his experiments with LSD and his treatment of Mary Barnes. In the 1970s Laing studied Zen Buddhism, published poetry, recorded an LP and ran rebirthing workshops in Europe, Britain and the United States. These diverse activities did little to endear him to conventional psychiatrists, but made him into a guru of radical chic. Yet despite his acknowledged empathy with the disturbed, Laing failed to address his own family problems. On the professional side, his practices ultimately led to voluntary disassociation from the medical establishment itself.