TITLE: January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her
Father's Struggle to Save Her
AUTHOR: Michael Schofield
PUBLISHER: Crown
PUBLISHED DATE: August 7th, 2012
Non-Fiction 304 pages
Summary (from Amazon.com):
Michael Schofield’s daughter January is at the mercy of her imaginary friends,
except they aren’t the imaginary friends that most young children have; they are
hallucinations. And January is caught in the conflict between our world and
their world, a place she calls Calalini. Some of these hallucinations, like “24
Hours,” are friendly and some, like “400 the Cat” and “Wednesday the Rat,” bite
and scratch her until she does what they want. They often tell her to scream at
strangers, jump out of buildings, and attack her baby brother.
At six
years old, January Schofield, “Janni,” to her family, was diagnosed with
schizophrenia, one of the worst mental illnesses known to man. What’s more,
schizophrenia is 20 to 30 times more severe in children than in adults and in
January’s case, doctors say, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time that
she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze
her.
January First captures Michael and his family's remarkable
story in a narrative that forges new territory within books about mental
illness. In the beginning, readers see Janni’s incredible early potential: her
brilliance, and savant-like ability to learn extremely abstract concepts. Next,
they witnesses early warning signs that something is not right, Michael’s
attempts to rationalize what’s happening, and his descent alongside his daughter
into the abyss of schizophrenia. Their battle has included a two-year search
for answers, countless medications and hospitalizations, allegations of abuse,
despair that almost broke their family apart and, finally, victories against the
illness and a new faith that they can create a life for Janni filled with
moments of happiness.
A compelling, unsparing and passionate account,
January First vividly details Schofield’s commitment to bring his
daughter back from the edge of insanity. It is a father’s soul-baring memoir of
the daily struggles and challenges he and his wife face as they do everything
they can to help Janni while trying to keep their family together.
MY REVIEW:
I received the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this book thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.
I had seen the interview with this little girl and her parents on Oprah over a year ago, so I was a little familiar with the story. I was intrigued and wanted to read this story so I could get more details. I started and finished this book in only 2 days. Michael Schofield writes without fuss, and without embellishing details in order to win sympathy for himself, his daughter or his family. He isn't trying to sensationalize his situation, instead in a heartbreakingly honest voice he tells us the story from his point of view. I was so touched to my core by the lenghths that these parents were willing to. Most people unfortunatly would have taken a much easier road and instituionalized January and then blamed the system for failing them. But these amazing people never stopped believing or fighting for her life! As a parent of a special needs child I could relate to so much of the insanity, frustration, denial, fear and disappointment. This book will make any parent or person grateful for the simple things in life that we all take for granted. I love that they saw a child trapped inside her disease and not a broken person! Grab a tissue box and read this book! My rating: 5 out of 5
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