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Life in Rewind: The Story of a Young Courageous Man Who Persevered Over OCD and the Harvard Doctor Who Broke All the Rules to Help Him

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When my copy of "Life in Rewind" came in the mail this week I couldn't put it down. I could have read the entire book the first day, but I had to space it out over three days because it was so incredibly emotional for me. This is about an EXTRAORDINARILY severe case of OCD and what it can do to someone. It is a heart wrenching and remarkable story about ED Zine and his enormous struggle and courage to overcome his OCD. It is also an extraordinary story about the most Extraordinary doctor and human being I have ever known, Dr. Michael Jenike. It is an incredible story of hope, determination and inspiration.

Reading this book will help people gain great insight into this torturous illness and just what it can do to those of us with OCD as well as our families and those who love us. It's about trust, both in being someone others can trust, as well as what an incredible gift it is to have someone you can trust. Both the book and OCD is about how having the courage to trust can change your life for the better. It is also a touhing story about the value of friendship. This book reminds us of the difference one person can make in someone's life and it will restore your faith in mankind.

My heart aches for those who continue to suffer in silence with OCD. Thank you Terry Murphy for caring and writing this book SO well and to Ed and Dr. J for sharing your very personal stories with all of us. This book touched the deepest, most intimate core of my heart. No doubt, this should and will be made into a movie.

This book is a must read for friends and family of anybody who suffers from OCD. It will give the insight required to understand the illogical power of this ailment upon the sufferer. It will bring you to view their behaivour in a whole new light so you can help your loved one conquer this disabling disease. I truly appreciate being able to share his experiences and recovery.

This story about a young man, Ed Zine, whose life spiraled into a mental illness so profound he actually believed he could stop the progression of time by living his life in reverse - including walking, talking, and reading, is one of the most heart warming stories I have ever read.

The progression of his life and the Harvard doctor who worked with him

by breaking the rules of traditional medicine and offering all he has left to give - his friendship-- is astounding. This friendship becomes the unexpected catalyst for healing and produces an ending that only Hollywood could invent. But the story is true.

I totally recomend this book.

This is a very important book for all those who suffer from mental illness and their family members. I learned a lot. It was also quite uplifting. After all, miracles are possible in the dark world of mental illness!!!! It brought me to tears and to a sense of awe!!!

As a mother of a child with severe OCD, who battles every day of his life, he will never "get over it". NO ONE knows the pain, heartache and simple hell this disorder can do to people. Life in Rewind was totally medicinal for me. Knowing we are not alone in this affliction, and that you can grow up to be a productive, kind, intelligent human being was more than a gift for me. What a fabulous read, and truly uplifting story. We got to personally meet Ed at a book signing. A life change for my son, who met the most loving, kind gentle man who posseses more good than any one I know. My son now knows he does not stand alone in this living hell!....................A must read!!!

Being locked in a small space one cannot get out of is probably number one on most people's worst nightmare list. I imagine that it is not so much the small space that causes this fear. Rather, it is the mental anguish of knowing one cannot escape and will eventually have to face death in there--alone. How long will it take? What will happen to my mind? Will I lose it and become insane? And will it make a difference?

Life in Rewind: The Story of a Young Courageous Man Who Persevered Over OCD and the Harvard Doctor Who Broke All the Rules to Help Him is a horrific yet hopeful tale of twenty-four-year-old Ed Zine who has progressively uncoupled from reality into his bizarre world of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). The fanatical commands within Ed's brain are so urgent that he cannot perform even the simplest act such as washing his hands without first completing a host of unreasonably repetitious rituals. But Ed is intelligent. He is not insane; Ed's will power, possibly due to lack of serotonin, is practically non-existent. He is locked inside himself.

As an eleven-year-old, Ed loved his mother more than any earthly being. He was fond of his father but in a distant way, because the man was unreasonably harsh when meting out physical punishment. After being beaten by his father one night, Ed sulked off to the safety of his room and tried to sleep. He heard loud groans coming from his mother's room down the hall. Ed's beloved mother lay dying of cancer. Creeping in the shadows to stand by her door, he watched and heard her "hiss" out her last breath. Fearing his father, the eleven-year-old went back to his room--in dark silence.

In Life in Rewind, Ed grows terrified of death. He vows It will never claim him. No, not like it claimed his dearest mother. He will rewind life; one week, one day, one hour, one second at a time. Life in Rewind shows how Ed's resistance to time progression literally brought his life to a complete halt. Caught in the grip of OCD rituals left him spiraling downward into an ever growing chaotic mental abyss. He became a prisoner in his own basement where for every active forward step, he would ritualistically reverse himself. Bathing became intolerable; eating became impossible; even normal toileting stopped because all those actions involved time passage, and that progression ended in death.

Psychiatrist Michael Jenike was no ordinary doctor. He made house calls. Jenike was a huge man who could stand most any condition. He had worked with many OCD patients, but nothing--nothing he had ever witnessed--prepared him for Ed's basement prison where stench and filth sickened him--mounds of urine, body waste, and rotting food stored in plastic bags. Jenike began visiting Ed regularly trying cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to get Ed "unstuck" from his basement prison. One can only imagine working near someone who had not bathed, or shaved for countless months.

So severe was Ed's deteriorating condition, that after months of therapy, Jenike could hardly consider getting Ed to mount the basement stairs to the first floor from his reeking dungeon any real success. One can only imagine the mental warfare taking place inside Ed's mind as, little by little, he climbed the stairway, his battleground, backward one step--then forward--then backward--then forward innumerable times. All the while Ed kept his fingers knurled outward so they could not touch one another.

Walking backward stopped forward movement in time. Not letting fingers touch one another was merely a ritual, like the unending counting and redoing of each and every step, to keep Ed's mind in a vicious loop--a time warp nightmare. Dr. Jenike waited, all the while encouraging his friend to keep moving--just keep moving and you can make it up here to the top.

Ed did made it to the first floor. But seeing his frail sick friend standing concrete-like at the top of the stairs after hours of encouragement caused Dr. Jenike to burst into tears. Ed Zine also began to cry. When their tears ended, both men exploded into laughter. Both men knew the ridiculousness of the situation but only Ed knew he could not release his mind and end his compulsive torment to ward of death.

As terrible as this story sounds, Life in Rewind is a must read for any person interested in the resiliency of the human spirit. Surely, Life in Rewind will make you uncomfortable. You want to end the madness taking place in Ed's mind. Why doesn't he see it you wonder. After this incident, Dr. Jenike stopped seeing Ed. Above when he broke down and cried, he cried in utter hopelessness to help this man. Yes, they kept in contact thereafter by phone, but some very extraordinary events began which changed Ed's life forever.

It is for you the reader to find out exactly what happened to Ed, racked with mental torture. All of us want people who are suffering to somehow be relieved--to somehow regain control of the neural firings and chemistry that has fractured their thinking and ruined their lives. Life in Rewind will surely paint an ugly but hope-filled picture that will make you a better person--if for no other reason, for your attempt to understand. Mental illness is not kind!

For certain, if you are a person afflicted with any--any obsessive compulsive behaviors or feelings--this book is for you. Please, please read it. What Ed Zine accomplishes on his own is nothing short of miraculous.

Review written by Regis Schilken

Author of:

Tears of Deceit

Other interesting reads:What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD (What-to-Do Guides for Kids)

Family Based Treatment for Young Children With OCD: Therapist Guide (Treatments That Work)

Reading this book was not a pleasurable experience.

Ed's daily life while he was in the worst of his OCD manifestation was so godawful I had a really hard time wrapping my brain around his experience. The thought processes - the OCD loop - is so foreign to me, it was a struggle to take in that this was a reality for someone.

I'm glad I read the book; I think I do have a deeper understanding of the worst that OCD can bring to bear on a human being.

I'm perplexed about Michael's ("the Harvard doctor's") prominence in the title. Although he evidently has a reputation for "breaking the rules," Ms. Murphy didn't offer much evidence to support his co-star role.

Ms. Murphy also seemed to make some sort of important distinction between the "crazies" on the psych unit and Michael's OCD. My impression was that Ms. Murphy believed Those Other People were crazy whereas Michael was simply a misunderstood prisoner of OCD, and was otherwise OK. This attitude, if my understanding is correct, is unhelpful.

Ms. Murphy was, I thought, rather unkind toward Ed's family. At best, she allowed as how they were well-intended, but uneducated. At worst, they sent Ed off into his OCD death spiral. I especially found this concerning when she described the scene in which Ed was committed to the psych unit. A pretty large dollop of blame for Ed's family despite the appalling (and I mean APPALLING) conditions in which Ed was living. Ms. Murphy makes no mention of how Ed survived financially, but his family had apparently given over to him an entire house and he was unemployed. They took food to him every day. They must have maintained the yard. Paid the utilities. With the possible exception of disability payments, they must have completely supported Ed financially. His siblings were also prisoners of his OCD, every single day.

Bottom line: I'm glad I read the book; I learned from it.

OCD is a very difficult condition to treat. Each case is unique and even talented and passionate doctors often fail. Ed Zine's case was actually one of the failures.

Famous OCD specialist Dr. Michael A. Jenike broke all the rules to help Ed Zine including driving 6hours to visit Ed's house for 3 years. Despite the best treatment possible, Ed's condition didn't become better. Dr. Jenike failed and shed tears for Ed. He is extraordinary doctors, but even he was defeated by OCD's power.

What I liked the best about this book is the honesty. When Terry Weible Murphy approached Dr. Jenike, he himself introduced Ed's case to her. Because Dr. Jenike was proud of Ed's achievement. Ed recovered by himself after Dr. Jenike failed!

Dr. Jenike states that he still doesn't know why Ed recovered, but we feel Ed did it because he wanted to honor Dr. Jenike's friendship. This honest story gives OCD patients more hope than doctors'glorious success stories.

I really, really loved this book.

Fascinating topic, fascinating people, and a fabulous writer. The book takes the reader through the deepest and darkest corners of OCD and back out again.

Thank you for writing this. I am sure that it will help someone somewhere who has OCD as well. You all did a great job on this.

In our culture, we often throw around superlatives in situations that hardly call for them. We may have had a `horrible' day, when in fact, what we had was an annoying phone call from a complaining friend while stuck in a traffic jam. Could be maybe even that there was ink tracked over the cuff of a favorite shirt. The `biggest jerk' is likely only sporadically obnoxious, and in most cases, the `worst' headache, if we're honest, is often just unpleasant.

And then sometimes, there are things that are truly `unimaginable'.

'Life in Rewind' recounts the struggle and eventual triumph of Ed Zine over one of the most profound cases of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ever documented. Author, Terry Weible Murphy approached Ed's story from a unique perspective and with great compassion. Along with Dr. Michael Jenike and Mr. Zine himself, the complete account of Ed's progress-to-date is a story that broadcasts hope and insight for people bound in OCD shackles, who've lost their ability to function, and for the friends and family who care for them.

Ms. Murphy was kind enough to sit down with me and elaborate on some of the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into the writing of Life in Rewind, and why she was particularly qualified to take on this project.

Our interview can be found at PsychJourney dot com

Update:

Sometimes we get a second chance at things. On a pleasant opportunity, I've been granted a second chance to help spread the word about the memoir, Life in Rewind, by getting to speak to its protagonist, Mr. Ed Zine, on his second chance at life.

In a follow up of my interview with author, Terry Weible Murphy, Ed Zine discusses the mindset and insights he's developed in gaining distance from one of the most profound cases of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ever documented.

Fully functional and happy today, Ed Zine's experience calls to others who suffer: the victims of OCD, and the people who love them.

Mr. Zine has laid his mind bare, both in the book and in this interview, in the hopes that his thought processes and mental disciplines might help others understand this affliction and launch their own escape from the prison of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

The book could very well be very helpful for people up to their necks and looking for a lifeline. The interviews are nice companion pieces to the book and can be found at PsychJourney dot com.