Black Swans by Lauren Slater and Forth State of Matter by Joanne Beard are essays whose underlying themes both deal with loss of control. Lauren Slater and Joanne Beard develop different methods of retaining control of their lives but both woman prevailed in the end.
             L uren Slater loses control of her life when her OCD Osessive-Compulsive disorder, made her mid-twenties insurmountable. "Obsessive-compulsive disorder is pervasive and extreme, inundating the person's life to the point where normal functioning becomes difficult, maybe even impossible." Her life indeed became nearly impossible, eventually bringing her to a psychiatric hospital. JoAnne Bear lost control of her life when her husband "vanished". She developed a repetitive lifestyle and became attached to her three dogs. Both of their lives, around the same twenies-thirties prime age, lost the receptiveness and privaledge of their ordinary lives. Both women seeks receptiveness.
             Lauren Slater had a disease and JoAnne Beard was suffering from rejection. Both women developed control of their lives in different ways. Lauren Slater was lucky enough to be one of the first people to get prozac, which was her cure. "A sense of immense calm flooded me, colors came out, yellow leaping from the light where it had long lain trapped, greens unwinding from the grass, dusk letting loose its lavender." Lauern Slater "became a happening kind of person" As well. JoAnne Beard developed repetatviness and a sense of purposefulness by caring for her 3 dogs, and one of which, a Collie, is very sick. "The Collie wakes me up about three times a night...". JoAnne realized that the dog needs her and that is her cure, but she also realizes that she needs the dog. "She is pavlov and I am her dog."
             The purpose and conclusion of both stories deals with the prevailing of the human spirit. Although Slater's med...