Customer Reviews

Recovered, Not Cured: A Journey Through Schizophrenia

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I stumbled accidentally on this book. Running a search through the online database at a local library branch, the title popped up on the screen. I cross-referenced it with the opinions of other readers from Amazon.com and decided it'd be an interesting overview of this incredible disease - schizophrenia.

I found out after checking the book out that it won the Australian Book of the Year for 2004, which intrigued me further. Having read it, I am also of the opinion that it deserves the award. The book is short and easy to read (in terms of narrative), but it reveals the complexities of the disease. The author narrates his experiences from the moments the symptoms appeared to the medication phase that restored order in his daily existence.

The book is written in snippets of experiences and often the reader is hurled one story after another of the patient's psychosis, paranoia, search for codes or deciphering of codes and secret messages, the delusions of voices the author heard and his reactions to them. In addition to these experiences, he inserts numerous e-mails from other schizophrenia patients he'd received or read on mental illness-online boards, as well as messages from family members of mental patients and how they coped with them. Since he is a graphics designer by trade, he'd added plenty of visual representations of his internal torments.

I recommend this book to all readers interested in learning about the symptoms of schizophrenia, how to seek treatment and how to learn to cope with the disease.

-by Simon Cleveland

I read this book to get a better understanding of my brother, who is diagnosed schizophrenic and is obviously having a very hard time, though he rarely talks explicitly about what's happening to him. I was glad to stumble upon a book written by someone with schizophrenia (as opposed to a doctor or researcher). I think this 'inside view' has been really helpful in my coming to understand my brother better, so that I can be supportive towards him and catch warning signs of when he's entering a delusional episode.

I found this book to be very well written. It would likely be interesting even to people who don't have schizophrenic loved ones. The author has included his own artwork interspersed throughout the book as well as poems and notes he wrote while he was delusional. The artwork is very interesting, the poems and notes are a bit disturbing, as you'd expect.

It is heartening that though the author has a severe mental illness to deal with, he was able to put together such an excellent book.

I read this book to make a recommendation to the Psychology teacher at the high school where I am the librarian. The teacher created an assignment for her classes where groups of kids would read a book together on a psychological condition in a book group type setting. I read many books on all different types of conditions over a fairly short period of time and then selected twelve books or so for her students to read. This book made the cut. I thought it was a very accessible book on the topic of schizophrenia in terms of language and length for high school students.

I have talked to several of the students who were assigned this book and all seemed to think that the book did a good job explaining one person's story with schizophrenia without boring them with a lot of psychological/medical terminology.

I will recommend this book to students who come to my library wanting to learn about schizophrenia.

A must read for all friends, relatives and sufferers of what we term 'Mental Illness'. Richard has successfully given of his own experience with his struggle through schizophrenia in a unique and vivid manner. He draws upon his talent as an artist/musician and the resource of the internet chat lines for fellow sufferers points of view and comments on what it is like to experience a psychotic illness. His drawings express emotions and a state of mind which words can not.

Easy to read and unlike many other books on the subject the outlook for the sufferer is not all doom and gloom.

Richard's story is living proof that there is a recovered 'normal' life from schizophrenia.

Thankyou Richard as you have helped me immensely with my journey through schizophrenia.

This book was an excellent tale of one individual's experience with schizophrenia. This book includes artwork from the author to help illustrate the kind of torment he experienced. I recommend this book to anyone interested in or experiencing schizophrenia.

This book is excellent at showing what it is really like to be schizophrenic. Recommended for families and friends of people with schizophrenia so they will have some idea of what their loved one is going through.

GET this book for yourself and anybody you know that might be influenced by schizophrenia. This biography clearly describes the struggle the author has with schizophrenia. Reading this completely helped me understand the confusion I had about schizophrenia and explained behavior and circumstances in a very heartfelt and real way. I've purchased copies for everybody I know that wants to learn more about schizophrenia.

I like to read personal accounts of mental illness. This book is an artwork. It is a pleasure to hold, read, and look at. It is well organized, very entertaining with many drawings made at different times of the author's illness. I felt he was very honest, humble and friendly.

I like the fact that he is a young writer. I guess the book was written when he was just 30 years old, so many young readers can identify with his art and music.

There are many reasons he recovered. Among them his supportive family, supportive friends, he took up humble jobs along his illness even though having a university degree, modern medicines, he was able to balance the pros and cons of his medicine's side effects and keep taking them, ...

[...].

This writer allowed me to enter his world! This is a very brave individual who gave me a full picture of what it is like to have schizophrenia. Very well written, fast read. A particularly great book if you have a family member with this diagnosis. It gave me more insight into what my family member has suffered.