7. Richard Brautigan
A writer who wrote in extremes, that was Richard Brautigan. His work had traces of parody, black comedy and satire all written in a graceful style that gave his work the feeling of poetry. His work was a mirror to his mental state as he suffered from clinical depression and schizophrenia. The electroconvulsive therapy that he received more than a dozen times is indicative of his mental illness. He was an alcoholic and he took his life at the age of 49 by a self-inflicted gunshot.