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A review by tsunanisaurus
January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield
5.0
Note: I received this ARC for free from the publisher. This book is due to be published in August 2012.
Quote from Foreward:
"During one stay in the hospital, while my wife, Susan, and I were visiting our daughter, Jani looked down from her fourth-floor window and said, "I want to jump down."
[...]
"You don't want to do that, " I replied, as calmly as I could. "Come here and play with me and Bodhi". Out of the corner of my eye, I could see she was still looking down.
"I want to die," she said softly."
This story is truly hard to read at times, you can feel a persistent lump in your throat throughout the book's entirety. The story of a father's desperate attempt to save his daughter, starting at age 4, while simultaneously in denial that she may not be able to be rescued.
Janni, as some will know, has been the subject of at least 2 documentaries and numerous newspaper articles. Seeing as how I was already semi-familiar with who she was and what her family was going through, I was even more interested in reading this story. I could see her eyes as he described their blank glaze, I could see her blonde curls as she shook them in rage and I could hear her voice describing her hallucination-driven pets.
I would say that it's obvious he is not a natural writer but he is a natural storyteller, for whatever that's worth. He tells his story the only way he can and that is through his eyes, his feelings and his version of what happened. He is so deeply raw and honest during the entire book, including his own misplaced anger at his wife Susan and his severe depression that led him to swallowing a bottle of his medication in an attempt to escape the misery his life had become.
I was moved by this story, I think it's an important one to tell. Mental illness is a controversial topic in many circles particularly in children. When you read/see/hear this story of Jani (as her name is later changed to in a hospital) your heart may shatter but I still you should read it.
Quote from Foreward:
"During one stay in the hospital, while my wife, Susan, and I were visiting our daughter, Jani looked down from her fourth-floor window and said, "I want to jump down."
[...]
"You don't want to do that, " I replied, as calmly as I could. "Come here and play with me and Bodhi". Out of the corner of my eye, I could see she was still looking down.
"I want to die," she said softly."
This story is truly hard to read at times, you can feel a persistent lump in your throat throughout the book's entirety. The story of a father's desperate attempt to save his daughter, starting at age 4, while simultaneously in denial that she may not be able to be rescued.
Janni, as some will know, has been the subject of at least 2 documentaries and numerous newspaper articles. Seeing as how I was already semi-familiar with who she was and what her family was going through, I was even more interested in reading this story. I could see her eyes as he described their blank glaze, I could see her blonde curls as she shook them in rage and I could hear her voice describing her hallucination-driven pets.
I would say that it's obvious he is not a natural writer but he is a natural storyteller, for whatever that's worth. He tells his story the only way he can and that is through his eyes, his feelings and his version of what happened. He is so deeply raw and honest during the entire book, including his own misplaced anger at his wife Susan and his severe depression that led him to swallowing a bottle of his medication in an attempt to escape the misery his life had become.
I was moved by this story, I think it's an important one to tell. Mental illness is a controversial topic in many circles particularly in children. When you read/see/hear this story of Jani (as her name is later changed to in a hospital) your heart may shatter but I still you should read it.