Customer Reviews

9 Highland Road: Sane Living for the Mentally Ill

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the most heartwarming, uplifting books I have ever read about mental illness. Mr. Winerip clearly cares about his housemates and has created a loving alternative to a hospital or standard halfway house. He has literally built a community for the people at 9 Highland Road and has provided a gentle voice of encouragement to the residents. His approach is very humane and it comes as no surprise that the people at 9 Highland Road flourish and blossom towards health. To his credit, Mr. Winerip makes no promises. He appears to take the approach of joy in each day with the people who share his vision.

I have worked with people who suffer with mental illness for the past 11 years on Long Island. The past nine in community residences (one was mentioned in this book). Michael Winerip has done an excellent job of portraying what it is like to live and work in a community residence. Not only is it a daily battle for the residents, the staff do battle/advocate on the residents' behalf constantly with the government, OMH, clinicians, community, and family members. I applaud him for this book. It is full of life and crucial information for the general public and professionals. Anyone that has the slightest tie to the mental health system (which is probably more people than would admit it) I urge to read this book! It has many pages that are filled with valuable information. Don't be discouraged by the size of this book. I read it in 4 1/2 days and I am a full time program supervisor at a community residence in suffolk county, go to school, am on-call 24 hrs. a day and believe it or not I have a social life. For those working in the mental health field, I found this book rejuvinating. At a time when I was feeling "burnt out" it gave me strength and reminded me why I have spent so many years working with this gifted population. My residents have taught me many valuable things, and I believe that Michael expresses this in the book. I haven't read such a fulfilling book in many years!

9 Highland Road is a really two separate tales woven together: one a frequently moving and touching life and times of a revolving group of mentally ill people, their families, and the social workers who help them care for themselves at a group home for the mentally ill; the second a sad and discouraging account of the political forces (particularly the NIMBY syndrome) at work in the mental health system.

There are some real-life villians in this book -- cowardly politicians who knowingly oppose group homes because of political pressure, and neighbors who oppose the group home out of ignorance or disgust (including one woman who said "the mere fact that I see them when I look out my window is unpleasant") -- but many more modern-day heroes, particularly the underpaid and underappreciated social workers who make countless sacrifices to help people in need. The next time you hear someone complain that we don't have heroes anymore, tell them to read about Linda Slezak, Maureen Coley, or Dom Constantine, among others, "ordinary" people who do extraordinary things and are moved by a spirit of love.

This book humanizes people suffering -- and suffering is the right word -- from a variety of mental illnesses, and sheds light on the enormous difficulties that mental patients and their families must face. The stories of these people are sometimes unbearably sad and ocassionally incredibly uplifting, but never boring. As entertainment 9 Highland is a real page-turner, but this is much more than entertainment: it is an important book that will help you understand mental illness, and mentally ill people, much better than you did before .... and hopefully one which will make people treat those suffering from these diseases with much more compassion, respect, and understanding.

The residents of "9 Highland Road", the group home for people with mental illnesses featured in this book, are truly life's real heros, like most people with these terrible afflictions - afflictions that are still so badly misunderstood.
As a schizophrenia sufferer myself, I was repeatedly moved to tears by the plight of these amazing people, and could identify with them, totally.
One young woman, a girl with multipile personalities, suffered horrendously, yet was still able to bounce back and do well, even though she still suffers terribly at night.
Her courage is a great inspiration, along with all the other residents featured in the true stories in this book.
The author, Michael Winerip, is also an inspiration, and I pray that everyone will read this, his first book of many, I hope.
He has done the mentally ill proud and is a wonderful, compassionate, understanding writer.
Thank you, Michael.

I acquired this book a while ago and because of it I am now a counselor at one of the Community Residences mentioned in the novel. Mr. Winerip is one of the few authors I have read that presented the mentally ill in a very meaningful and heartwarming manner. The book touches a part of you that you never knew existed. Once you get into the book and you realize that the people you are reading about are real, it makes you take a step back and realize the horrors of politics and the effects it can have on people who are not so fortunate. I praise Mr. Winerip for a job well done.

This book tells us what really goes on inside group homes. It also tells us about the parochial neighbors who fight the placement of group homes in their neighborhoods because if irrational fears and ignorance.

The author lived in the group home at 9 Highland Road on Long Island, a wealthy community that did not want the house located there and disgraced themselves in the eyes of many readers by raising hell at public meetings.

The people living at this home did not destroy the community or devalue neighborhood homes. They also tested the patients of the staff. Winerip does a good job explaining the psychiatric problems experienced by each resident and how staff dealt with the daily travails of that environment. The staff are heroes for doing this work for low pay.

The scariest part of the story is Julie, a resident suffering great trauma from childhood horrors and has many personalities to cope with that trauma. One personality takes over the body and when another personality pops out it may not even know where Julie is or how she got there. Apparently, one personality had a social life in New York City doing God knows what. When another personality pops out "she" realizes that the prior personality knows these companions well. But the second personality finds herself trying to converse with people who think they know her, but she doesn't know them. Most of the second half of the book deals with things like this. Scary stuff.

I loved 9 Highland Road. I am a 17 year-old girl who has been interested in psychology for a little while. I read this book for my 12th grade English class. This book lets people know the truth behind mentally il people and the trouble they go through from day to day. It was informative and yet very sensitive. Definately a must read book.

The author reports a story of a group of mentally ill persons struggling to live among the general population on Long Island. In clear and concise language the book teaches us all what it takes to make a group home work in a community. Anyone involved with community care of the mentally ill needs this book as a reference manual to handle potential problems. We can learn much from what went on at 9 Highland Road.

I was required to read this book for my Social Welfare Programs/Policies course in college. As I started reading it I was unsure if I would be able to finish it. After getting through the part of how the group home got started it became so fascinating I could hardly put it down. It's heartbreaking to read what some of these residents go through on a day to day basis. I think the director, Linda Slezak, is an amazing woman! All of the staff works so hard and for such little pay. This book was wonderful and I recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about group homes and mental illness!

Overall, I like this book very much. Mr. Winerip brings light on an important topic many people know very little about and clearly describes many of the obstacles involved in providing good housing for mentally ill people. I am very impressed with the way he details complicated issues in a readable way. Mr. Winerip solicits the opinions of people from many different sides and provides detailed discussion of the difficulties faced by both residents and staff in providing the best care possible.

I do disagree with Mr. Winerip on a few points. I take exception to the way Boston University and the consumer empowerment movement is portrayed in this book. I personally know many people with mental illness who have used the skills taught at that program or others to help recognize their options and advocate for more control over their treatment. It is also important to recognize that some of the details in the book are outdated (especially concerning Multiple Personality Disorder).

However, those issues should not detract from the value this book has exposing many of the challenges of opening and maintaining a good group home and dealing with the mental health system. This book provides an excellent education of a critical and still under-appreciated part of our mental health treatment. It is well worth the time to carefully read.