Rate this book

Henry's Demons: Living With Schizophrenia, A Father And Son's Story (2011)

by Patrick Cockburn(Favorite Author)

3.54 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1439154708 (ISBN13: 9781439154700)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Scribner

review 1: The story of a father and son's journey with schizophrenia. Patrick (Dad) was a journalist who spent much of his time abroad in war torn countries, Kevin (son) lived at home with Mum Jan and brother Alex and was unhappy at school, amongst other things. Both Patrick and Kevin tell their sides to the story - Henry's schizophrenia - and it was both surprising and shocking. Kevin's thoughts and actions were quite extreme. I had no idea. I particularly liked reading the excerpts from Jan's diary - Jan had to try and balance work/life/Alex/Kevin whilst Patrick was abroad - and would have liked to have read more of them. Not that I thought Patrick's experience mattered any less but from someone who was 'on the ground' so to speak. There is one part where Patrick starts talking ... morescience and I got bored and lost. It was like reading a medical paper, heavy detail for people with significantly more knowledge about types of schizophrenia.I read this after a recommendation from reviewer Paul, he had reviewed The Shock of the Fall, wasn't keen on it, and another reader said he knew nothing about mental health. Said Reader was just a slabber. Turns out Paul does know his share of mental health and his recommendation was a great read.
review 2: Although this book was a bit difficult to get through as a lot of it is repetitive and somewhat episodic, it was informative and gave me a better insight as to how far gone someone with a mental illness can get and yet have hope of eventually doing better. Being published in 2011, it would seem that the advancement in technology would have alleviated much of what the Cockburn's experienced with the illness of their son; Henry managed to escape from a series of mental hospitals upwards of thirty times, administering medication was a huge challenge, and finding the right medication for Henry proved a difficult task, but the desire for Henry to get the help he needed was evident throughout; his parents and younger brother never gave up on him. less

Download links for: Henry's Demons: Living with Schizophrenia, A Father and Son's Story

Advertising