Shot In The Head A Sister's Memoir A Brother's Struggle: How One Family Coped with Schizophrenia

Description

The sister of a man who suffers from a serious mental illness finds herself overwhelmed when he is too confused to manage his needed medical care and she must step in.  Determined to do the right thing by him, despite the severity of his psychological problems, she and her siblings band together to shepherd their brother through needed medical treatments. All over the U. S., parents, adult children and siblings of people with serious mental illnesses are trying to cope with their family member's needs.  With most mental hospitals closed, many caregivers feel isolated and suffer the conflicting pangs of their sense of duty and their fatigue with dealing with a problem that seems to have no end.Using emails, family snapshots and poetry, this book is beautifully written, powerful and emotional, the kind of read that pulls you in and keeps you in its thrall.  The reader sees how a group of siblings not only deal with their brother's situation, but also find a way to help their brother make the most of the time he has.  A bittersweet memoir of  life and loss, this book will speak to anyone who has ever cared for anyone with a life threatening illness.  The author is the second of ten children, her mentally ill brother eighth in the clan.  She tells us about life before the onset of her brother's illness and lets us see how it impacted the entire family.  She holds and MFA in creative Writing from Manhattanville College and works as an advocate in the mental health community.