Bøger udgivet af Chipmunkapublishing

Description These memories of mania are a first hand account of Kim's experiences of mental illness. But as well as it being a time of mental illness, it was also a time of great spiritual revelation for Kim. During his mania he often felt guided by a higher power. Those encounters with a warm, benevolent and entertaining God have shaped Kim's outlook on life and spirituality is still an extremely important part of his life.Kim's journey took him away from medicine to maths, which had always been his best subject at school. The abstractions of pure mathematics at university offered Kim exactly the sort of language he needed in order to attempt to articulate the wildly energetic and emotive thoughts that he experienced during his manic episodes.One of the challenges Kim had to face during the seven years of his repeated hospitalisations was to accept his condition as an illness. He found the highs of manic depression extremely alluring. Kim experienced a profound sense of connection to the universe and to God when he was high and it was difficult for him to label these experiences as problematic.For a long time Kim's obsession with the idea that he was Jesus refused to go away. Some strange coincidences in his life fuelled this notion. Kim interpreted these signs as part of a huge and complex symbolic message from God confirming his special role in the Creation.This is the story of a bright young man whose experience of university life was dominated by his desire to find out about the workings of his own consciousness. That journey took him into the murky waters of insanity but he survived the turbulent times and has used the insights he gained on the way to inform his own spirituality.About the AuthorKim Evans had a very successful time at school. He played four musical instruments, did karate, played rugby for his school and sailed through his GCSEs and A-levels. At this stage there was nothing to indicate the chaos that would soon characterise his life.It was at the end of his first year of medicine that Kim was first hospitalised. He was extremely euphoric, giving away money and talking of himself as the Second Coming. The next seven years or so were characterised by peculiar, unsettling mood swings, during which Kim experienced the upswings of manic depression on about 15 occasions.

Description What would it take for you to know that your self-esteem was the best it could be? Good self-esteem brings happiness to your life no matter what may be going on. In "Take Command of Your Self-Esteem" you will learn where your self-esteem came from and it is your birthright to love and honor yourself. There is absolutely no reason why people should "suffer" from low self esteem. Your self esteem is something which you have absolute and immediate control.In this book you will learn the techniques to regain control of your self-esteem and enjoy a health happy life. You will see improvement in all aspects of your life, which include better relationships with partners, family and friends. It shall equip you with good parenting skills, so that if there are children in your life they shall grow up with good self-esteem.You don't have to be born in the right family, be a certain weight or have money in the bank to have good self-esteem. By the time you are though reading this book you will have all the tools you need to experience good healthy self-esteem and lead a happy life and prosper no matter what may happen in the future.

Description Following over twenty years of abstinence from drink and drugs, much contemplation of natural phenomena, prayer and meditation, Jack Llewellyn describes with great candour his slippery descent into addiction - to sex as well as alcohol and drugs - and his subsequent liberation from total dependency and looming death. Surviving Addictions lights a beacon for seemingly hopeless alcoholics and drug-addicts who can see no way out of chronic addiction. It also broaches insights, explored more fully in a second book, that could help others, whether substance abusers or not, as it chronicles the author's attempts to unravel mysteries of the universe he had never before contemplated. This first book (c. 64,000 words) is in two parts. Descent Into Hell tells in some 50,000 words the story of Jack's early life and his gradual but inexorable decline, while Journey Into Light describes the start of his upward path towards enlightenment. About the Author'After an adventurous life that encompassed material success and increasingly frequent arrests and hospitalisations, there I was aged thirty-nine, down and out, a chronic alcoholic and drug addict whose time was fast running out. Indeed, I wished I were dead. Miraculously a way out of the abyss opened up, and so began my rehabilitation.'

Description The book is a complete recovery plan for all those suffering from agoraphobia. It deals with every aspect of the condition and provides clear, simple and effective strategies for full recovery. It adopts a holistic approach which ensures improved general health and fitness that form the springboard to recovery. Written in clear, jargon-free language it explains the condition in layman's terms. It contains guidance on diet, sleep, lifestyle and exercise and explains how these play a vital part in regaining good health. Most important of all are the step-by-step guidelines for overcoming your fears and living a full life. These enable you to progress at the speed that suits you and to tailor your progress to your needs. It is written by a former agoraphobic who understands the nature of the illness and knows how easy it is to avoid fearful situations and allow the condition to strengthen its grip. The author explains how to confront and overcome these excuses and motivate yourself to full recovery. About the AuthorJoseph O'Neill is a freelance author and broadcaster. He has broadcast and published in both Ireland and Britain. He suffered from agoraphobia for almost thirty years and experienced most forms of therapy during that time. His experience of what works and what doesn't forms the basis of this book.

Description This is a book about youth out of control, out of control with no-one to help, no-one to help because no-one cares. In this dark look at youth and their world today, no-one cares about themselves, anyone else or the world. Apathy and depression, greedy meaningless culture, drugs and aggression; these have swallowed everything. The young have their young friends, but are they too inexperienced and too unprepared by the elders who had a duty to them, to realise that they drifting, and snorting and smoking, into destruction? And if they realised, would they want or be able to change anything?About the AuthorLami Okrekson is 19 and grew up in South London. Always an avid reader, Lami began to write short stories at the age of ten and has since gone on to write for small independent magazines in London. She now lives in Leeds where she is studying at Leeds Metropolitan University.

"Bathed in Blue; Richly Informative. Ms. Ross does not only give us a resourceful reference for bipolar disorder but also a fascinating narrative of her daughter's suicidal process." - By Dr Paul Wong, Clinical Psychologist & Training Consultant Hong Kong University Description This is a real life drama about a child of nine developing into a young woman and as the onset of puberty evolved, so did the condition bipolar affective disorder. Jennifer and her family struggled with an unnamed, unmedicated serious medical condition for 6 years before eventually the diagnosis bipolar affective disorder was made after a traumatic hospitalization. Once Jennifer was eventually hospitalized her troubles were not over. The metaphor for treating Jennifer was the equivalent of that of an ostrich, ¿ some professionals putting their heads in the sand and hoping she would go away. According to Stephen Fry¿s BBC¿s documentary ¿The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive¿ the incidence of bipolar affective disorder has risen from 1%-5% in the population. New research proves that there are genetic links; bipolar affective disorder is not going away and the sufferers at risk of suicide are more than 15 times at risk to succeed at taking their own lives. Jennifer¿s story highlights that the early diagnosis and subsequent treatment for bipolar disorder needs to be improved. Jennifer asked me to be her voice to tell her story. The stigma of mental illness and high suicide rates renders sufferers invisible and after suicide - mute. Their stories buried or cremated with them. I describe our difficulties to access help for Jennifer in acute and chronic situations in two different countries. Jennifer describes her situation in the wards, in the community and her struggle to be heard by her psychiatrist and her thoughts on suicide, her treatment and her life. After her fourth episode Jennifer sat down with me and asked why itwas it so hard to get the help she needed? We decided together write about it. Hence her personal writings. I hope by writing this book that the illness can be better understood by professionals and the community. I want the treatment to improve so much that the lives of chronic sufferers become more worth living and that suicide is taken seriously in sufferers with bipolar disorder and is no longer a high risk. About the AuthorWhen Rona was twelve her father was ¿committed¿ to a locked ward in the local psychiatric hospital. A short time later one of her aunts was also detained in the same hospital. Happily both relatives recovered.At seventeen Rona trained and worked as a Registered General Nurse in Scotland. Her training included experience in this same psychiatric hospital where she worked on the same high security locked ward where her father was ¿committed¿. She also worked in Dr Naylor¿s famous metabolic unit for sufferers of manic depression. Two decades later she visited her seventeen year old daughter, Jennifer, who was ¿committed¿ in a locked ward under section 28 of The Mental Health Act of 1984 over a six year period. Therefore, mental illness is not a stranger to her. Her two children were brought up in Hong Kong and both went to university in Britain. She did her degree in Humanities in Hong Kong and at the same time she trained as a counsellor with two Non Government Organizations. She has worked as a counsellor since 1988.

Description "Poles Apart" tells the story of how suffering from severe mental health problems since the age of 17 nearly destroyed Michelle. But now, strangely, when she looks back at her life she feels it has made her stronger. It took ten years before she was diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder.Her low episodes were caused by very excessive stress in the workplace as a personal assistant in local government and she had three breakdowns at the ages of 17, 22 and 27. During this last one she threw herself under a train and miraculously survived with no injuries.She was sectioned into a Victorian style mental hospital. This, she says, was sheer hell on earth.'I decided to write my autobiography because I am convinced that there will be a lot of people out there, in this stressful age, who have suffered like me. If one person picks up my book and I give them hope by everything that has happened to me, and how my life is now happy and fulfilled, then I will have a great sense of personal achievement. I would like fellow sufferers who are currently still very ill to see that, even though life seems so bleak at times, things can turn round and you can get better.'About the AuthorAlthough married for 4 years, Michelle was surprised to find herself pregnant. Throughout the whole of the pregnancy she was still very depressed and convinced she was dying and that her body was tricking her into thinking she was pregnant. Nobody knew. Eventually she gave birth to Kirsty, who she calls 'my darling daughter' (now aged 8). This turned her life around for the better: 'Something registered in my sub conscious when I had Kirsty and I stopped thinking I was dying - how could a dying body give birth to a healthy child?'

Description This book is a tour de force of personal experience. John takes the reader through the story of his life, beginning with his childhood in a family obviously full of love and yet, at the same time, suffering with the schizophrenia of the father.John offers us a slice of history as his story begins in 1926, with the birth of his father. The reader is reminded of the past conditions facing all of society, including the sufferers and carers of sufferers of mental ilness.But in the end this is a story of love and family and of one man's bravery and ability to overcome all odds.For these reasons and many more this book is an essential addition to the Chipmunka shelves.About the AuthorJohn Carrigan is an actor and a martial arts instructor. Born at the Elephant and Castle in South London in 1957, he grew up surrounded by his father's illness, "schizophrenia", which affected every facet of his family life.John began training in the martial arts in 1972, studying the Chinese arts as well as Karate and went on to become a 3rd Dan Karate Black Belt, also gaining rankings in several other martial arts along the way. John was a great follower of the legendary Bruce Lee so he went to the USA to seek out the original students of Master Lee.He was accepted as a student under Sifu Richard Bustillo and went on to become a full instructor in Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. John still practises the martial arts today, running his own school in England, teaching the art and philosophy of JKD.John first got bitten by the acting bug in 1970 while still at school, when he and some of his fellow pupils were chosen to be in a feature film called Melody, but it was not until 1982 that he began to pursue his second passion in earnest. John had put his martial skills to use by becoming a bodyguard to many celebrities and dignitaries, and it was after acting as security for the cast of the original Star Trek TV series that John was introduced to Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, who inspired and advised John to Boldly Go and become and actor. Following Gene's advice, John tested for and won a place in a stunt team called The Stunt Action Service, which led to years of touring Britain and performing live stunt and stage shows.During his time with the team, John also began to study Drama and eventually earned a coveted Equity Card. He left the team to concentrate on the big and the small screen, appearing first in small walk on parts and in stunt work and continuing onward and upward to leading film and TV roles in the UK and abroad, roles which have included acting in a remake of the classic series, Star Trek.

Description Brenda and Peter's son Jonathan was killed in 1991 by a falling homemade goalpost which fell and hit him rupturing his heart. The goalposts were made from scaffold poles that weighed 200lb or more and had been welded. The children playing were in the under 11's team and probably only weighed no more than 60-70lbs or even less. They were all members of the Football Association which is mandatory. At the time there was no legislation for safety standards for goalposts, and there still isn't, but now there are some standards that the Football Association has worked hard to achieve, and these have been copied in Ireland and Australia. The whole world needs to be aware of unsafe football goalposts, which is what Brenda has tried to achieve over the last 17 years.After Jonathan died, and also after campaigning began, another 10 children have died in the UK and others have been injured. Had legislation occurred then these deaths could have been prevented.Brenda has campaigned vigorously for 17 years in the hope of getting legislation for safe goalposts. She has come close at times to achieving this but still it evades her. In desperation, after feeling that no one else cares, even though the Football Association have supported her in getting safety measures in place, Brenda decided to write a book about the campaign and list the support that she has had from famous footballers and the media that have helped with coverage. It would have been so easy for her to sit back and say, "Well, I tried! I did what I could" but she didn't sit back. She pushed and pushed and pushed again to try to get somebody to take notice and realise that the deaths of these children are not just accidents, but the goalposts used are accidents waiting to happen, and the unsafe goals are still out there!!!!!!!!!!!!The book's aim is to make parents, carers, football coaches and schools aware of what can happen when safety is ignored. It also aims so show the Football Association that she still needs support to get legislation for safe goalposts.This is not a paranoid mother, who is frightened of sport. The family love football and support West Ham United avidly, but she wants everyone else's son or daughter to be safe when playing the game.

CONTENTS 1) Healthy Mind, body and Soul2) Know what is crucial to your happiness? 3) Inspire yourself4) Inspire and have time for other people5) How can you make the world a better place?6) Connecting spiritually - the death of the ego7) Making the impossible possible - Emotional intelligence, perception8) Be creative

Description This novel, Wood's second to date, explores the interplay between relationships, and the role family plays on your Psyche; which was a name associated with wings. This book follows the passions of two people who through their daughter are drawn towards flight from The Chrysalis Time, a period of stasis, shame and dormant anxiety. The book is set in the dark ages, in an ivory tower of both abuse and security.About the AuthorMatthew Woods has recently achieved a degree in Aeronautics previous to which Matthew followed the established pattern of establishment drop-out. He has met some inspirational characters throughout his life and this novel is inspired by two of them, his partner and daughter. He hopes that therapy can lead to a more structured and less anxious point of view and for him to be able to resume his career and continue writing. He says "One of the most challenging aspects to making something with your life is understanding yourself for God and those around you".

Description Caught up in the migration boom of the 1960s, the small child moved as a "Ten Pound Pom" for this "better life" promised by her quarrelling parents. From their first new home... a dry, dusty mineral mining town in North Western Australia, Riannon relocated to a small harbour city... already aware of feeling like a fish out of water. After training in hospitality and nursing, as more of her essential self grew and unfolded, she became an exotic dancer... captivating the minds of powerful businessmen across the Far East. In an underworld, alternative community of gay, lesbian, transgender and everthing in between, Riannon followed the standards of others, finding herself exploring every area of the sex industry... from high class escort to internationally intimidating bondage Mistress. She wandered the many twisted, often dirty paths. Her journey, and all those she met, befriended, lost or buried along the way add to the triumph of self discovery and a woman's true worth. Through the eyes of the mysterious, veiled, Unknown Dancer... she became Rehana Incognito, now taking your hand on the journey to that point we can all reach... which started for herself...... as a little boy.About the Author From a coal mining village in the North of England to a mineral mining town in Western Australia, Riannon was dragged by brawling parents as a small child to an unfamiliar, upside down world where her parents had come for a better life in the 1960s. Experiencing incomprensible racism along with an awareness of not fitting in, her world seemed shattered in many directions. Through childhood, teens and into adulthood, she looked at life from many sides... Good or bad, light or dark, power or helpnessness and all it could mean to be male or female. The journey down many of those paths took her through a unique perspective of personal growth and discovery to create her own dance and tune for the person she is today.Always keeping an open mind of observation, understanding and compassion, she tugged herself from one end of these spectrums to the other. Riannon, who became the celebrated bellydance performer Rehana Incognito, unravelled and absorbed the essence of her own powerfully, respectful femininity through the unfolding steps of Middle Eastern Dance. She now lives in Notting Hill, West London. There, with warmth, humour and hope, she encourages others searching for their centre and true self, either through the confident power of dance or the guidance of a caring hand reaching back in friendship.

Description Overcoming the label of learning disability may be an achievement but also triumphing over the obstacles caused by prejudice at being labeled with schizophrenia is highly unusual. Philip Hill uses his auto-biographical account to describe the ways in which he overcame the rejection of his peer group at school\neighbourhood and how he used his experiences of mental illness to help others like himself before going on to train as a social worker.This amazing account of triumph over adversity should be an inspiration to other people who find themselves labeled with severe mental illness. The honest and thought provoking way Philip describes his symptoms should enable the layperson to gain an 'insiders' insight on what it like to suffer from the active symptoms of Schizophrenia. This book will hopefully challenge the stereotypes surrounding Schizophrenia. About the AuthorPhilip Hill has spent most of his life living in various parts of Birmingham. Philip is a twin and his twin brother Paul is a neighbour. Furthermore Philip has an elder sister and an elder brother he has not seen recently.Being brought up with his twin brother and adopted sister Lynn by foster parents gave him much needed stability after living in a children's home.Experiencing neglect in a children's home at the early stages of development led to him being sent to a special school at the age of five. He learned to read by the age of ten and eventually went on to Leicester University to study Economics.At Leicester University Philip struggled with mixing with his peer group and despite reasonable academic progress had a nervous breakdown after passing his finals. His diagnosis of Schizophrenia would be a label he will now have to endure for the rest of his life. After having a relapse Philip eventually found long term work. Then at the age of 32 Philip went to Birmingham University where he gained a masters degree in Economic Development and Policy. He then went on to study for a doctorate but ended up with the consolation prize of a Masters of Philosophy research degree. Finally drawing on his skills as a support worker working with those diagnosed with mental health issues, he applied to go on a social work course. Philip is now a professional social worker working with adults with learning disabilities. He is also happily married to Geraldine.

Description The story begins as R is dumped at the door of the psychiatric hospital by her husband and is totally disorientated by alcohol and by the residue of the tablets she has taken that night.The story revolves around the strong bonds the women in the psychiatric hospital forge and their support for each other.It is seen through the eyes of R who becomes something of an observer.It deals with a variety of mental health issues and the treatment on offer, which generally consists of enforced medication and "nicotine therapy".No counselling or rehabilitation is provided and the exercise bike is kept in bubble wrap in a cupboard.It also poses questions of human rights abuses, especially for the majority who are "sectioned". No right to vote. Small violations of hospital rules can result in a patient being confined to the ward for several weeks, although none of them are a threat to the public. In addition, visiting rights can be curtailed.The whole story is seen through R's eyes. She is the only voluntary patient so is allowed out but when she comes back, she is body searched, and her shopping is emptied onto the bed and rummaged through. She expresses a feeling of humiliation but is reminded that if she complains she too can be sectioned.Two women have ECT. One, Thelma, recovers her ability to speak coherently within weeks, but Kit, who also undergoes the treatment, has trouble with even the smallest recollections, deteriorates with each treatment and eventually has to be reminded of her name. She doesn't recover.Nicky, a huge woman with livid tattoo, a history of self-harm and a foul mouth, becomes the matriarch, looking after the weaker members of the enclosed society.The book also looks at the standard of care offered. Some staff are supportive and able to relate to their patients while others verge on the sadistic. As an example, a young Filipino is sexually assaulted by a fellow inmate in full view of staff who merely monitor the situation. Two of the patients intervene but are rebuked for interfering and have their home leave cancelled.The women's time is concentrated on the weekly review meetings which decide whether they can have home leave or even a walk in the garden. There are no set appointments so a six hour wait is not unusual.When two of the girls are accepted into a half-way house, the others throw a party for them and a collection is made. However, when R returns with the food, most of it is put in the bin because of Health and safety issues. The girls rally round and organise a dance, being only allowed to eat crisps and nuts.At the end of the story, R is eventually allowed home but has now become aware of the destructive nature of her marriage. Her husband is patronising, tactless and belittles her. But now R has gathered enough strength to leave him.This story is about the heroism of women who make it through their personal traumas only to be met by the gates of the system.It is about those who have no voice.

Description This book includes a true story about reaching the very edge, the very depths and heights of bipolar illness, but almost always with a sense of humour. Much like a car crash, people cannot help but look when they spy on these sort of black events. It is a new perspective on manic depression as in Prof K.R. Jamison's autobiography about her illness in An Unquiet Mind, but mixed explosively with S. Kaysen's immersion into madness in Girl, Interrupted; except this book feels like it's been written whilst on crack-cocaine and directed by Quentin Tarantino on a blood-thirsty day. This book may be dark but its underlying message is one of hope. Sometimes you have to see the depths of Hades before you can really appreciate life and health. Being a manic depressive from just 5, then adding in anorexia, bulimia, self-harm and hundreds of suicide attempts, "typical" student substance misuse on the heavy end of "normal," culminating in a long hospitalisation when I was an Oxford doctoral student in clinical medicine. I ended up totally "mad," in a long-term psychotic mixed episode (being both manic and depressed concurrently, and suffering from delusions and hallucinations) and several actual deaths that I was revived from. This is my autobiographical tale, a girl who came from nowhere "up North" to study medicine at Oxford University and spent the majority of her life quite literally mad, but never stopped laughing about it. This suits a wide audience for personal and professional reasons. I want to reach sufferers, carers, and professionals. I am proof that anything can be overcome, what should not be survived can be, and that nothing is more important in these diseases than hope.About the AuthorKaty Sara Culling was born in Liverpool, North England, in 1975. Daughter of Sue and Paul Culling, her family moved back to its roots in Derbyshire, where she grew up along with her younger sister Beth, in the village of Castle Donington, on the Derbyshire-Leicestershire border. However, even as young as 5 she exhibited symptoms of bipolar disorder. She attended a private school for girls, Loughborough High School, where she was a high achieving student. Unfortunately, due to bullying and also to numb her mania and depression, she developed anorexia nervosa and began to self-harm. Katy Sara then went to The University of Nottingham, where she studied Biochemistry and Nutrition. She did her (1st class) thesis on alcohol and metabolism, interested in the psychology of Alcoholism. All this was done despite considerable illness including over 60 suicide attempts and purging-type anorexia - and yet more bullying. Her good work at Nottingham lead to an offer of a place at The University of Oxford, where she studied for a PhD (DPhil) in Clinical Medicine. In her final year she became so ill with bipolar disorder that she was in hospital (first as a day patient, then an inpatient, and eventually a sectioned inpatient). During that year and a half she attempted suicide over 300 times, dying twice, only to be revived. She finally, at the age of 28 got a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and the correct medication, and has been mostly fine ever since. She later wrote up her PhD thesis and published her results.

Description 'A Moment Gone' is a collection of short prose by S.Westwood, author of 'Suicide Junkie'. Through short stories, prose and poetry S.Westwood explores his deep thoughts, philosophies and feelings, each piece written at times of emotional confusion and sometimes depression. But along side tales of anguish we also see folktales and flights of whimsical imagination, stories with meanings that could even be suitable for children. It is a real mix of work but all following the journey that Mr.Westwood took through life, trying desperately to understand the world around him and writing with an obvious passion for words.PRAISE FOR 'SUICIDE JUNKIE' 'Suicide Junkie is a dark and painfully honest account of a young mans struggle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Suicidal Ideation. His powerful writing will grab your attention, and his soul will truly touch your heart. 'About the AuthorS.Westwood is the author of 'Suicide Junkie' his autobiography, living and surviving body Dysmorphic disorder, borderline personality disorder, self harm and suicide. He is always working on promoting the book and most importantly raising awareness of BDD. S.Westwood has appeared on TV to speak about BDD on the shows 'This Morning', 'Trisha', 'Doctor Doctor' and Channel five news. He has had his story published in national magazines, newspapers and also had an interview for radio. He regularly gives talks at training days for subjects such as suicide prevention. S.Westwood is 33 and lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and their baby boy.

Description Thread of Hope is more than a word salad. It reads like a zine exploring the boundaries of the mental illness system. This chapbook of semi-autobiographical poetry, prose and artistry demonstrates the healing power of creativity and spirituality in the life of the psychiatrized.About the AuthorDenise Fletcher holds a degree in recreational therapy from Minnesota State University, Mankato and a massage practitioner certificate from the Minneapolis School of Massage. She struggles with bipolar disorder. Denise finds healing in the arts and writing is her passion. Her work has been published through On Edge, Kaleidoscope, Many Voices, Home Health Aide Digest, Hopekeeper's Magazine, Open Minds Quarterly, Bloomington Art Center and other various venues. She is currently a member of the Mental Health Consumer Survivor Network of Minnesota

DescriptionSera Anstadt's touching story of her son's schizophrenia and autism was published in Holland in 1980 and soon went through numerous reprinting and became a minor classic. Raf (short for Rafael) was a sensitive, intense child who grew into a seriously disturbed adolescent. It is the mid 60s, and his mother feels that the social workers and medical professionals are blaming her for his condition. The theories of R.D. Laing are widely accepted and she is made to feel guilty for her son's illness and only learns the diagnosis by accident when she is chatting with her GP at a party. Raf's schizophrenia becomes progressively worse; he hallucinates and hears voices. In The Netherlands he cannot be hospitalised unless he gives his permission, but he is making life unbearable for his mother. He wanders around the country but usually comes home in a confused state and is unsure where he has been. Foreign travel is predictably disastrous. Over the years he enters various mental institutions, where the policies vary from extreme laissez-faire to trial-and-error experiments in medication. To schizophrenia is added autism. He tends to feel better at each hospitalisation only to slip back to a worse state after the novelty wears off. Sometimes when he is feeling better he goes back to live with his mother for a time. At length he finds a clinic where he seems to be reasonably happy and the management is not wedded to any rigid theory. He achieves a certain equilibrium, and the story ends when he makes a brief visit back to his family and remarks that... "all my friends are crazy".This is a brave and honest book which provides the reader with a well-balanced account of what it means to love someone deeply and to support him on his journey through an imaginary world that dictates his reality. About the AuthorSerafina 'Sera' Anstadt was born in Lvov, Ukraine in 1923, when the city was still in Poland. She and her parents and older brother Milo emigrated from Poland to The Netherlands in 1930, where she has lived ever since. As Jews, they had to go into hiding after the Nazi invasion of The Netherlands. This is Sera's first book, originally written in 1980, over the past 25 years she has written a further eight books - both fiction and non-fiction. She has also worked as an actress.