In recent decades, Americans have flooded the world with their recipes for treating mental illnesses. The book describes how their therapeutic mission drives the rest of the world crazy. On his journey from Hong Kong to Sri Lanka, Zanzibar, and Japan, Ethan Watters observes how the attempt to modernize the concept of mental illness in various cultures leads to traditional expressions of madness being replaced by Western notions. American versions of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or eating disorders spread as quickly as contagious diseases. But is it justified for America to so readily assume the role of the therapist for the entire globe? This is set against the backdrop of mental health in the U.S., where one in four is now diagnosed with a mental illness.