SELF-HELP, PSYCHOLOGY

The Cliffs of Schizophrenia: A

Mother and Son Perspective

Jake and Laurette McCook | Book Baby

245p, e-book, $2.99, ASIN BOCLXJYW5J

Mother-son duo Laurette McCook and Jake

McCook offer readers a heartbreaking glimpse of Jake’s struggles with schizophrenia, penned as back-and-forth journal entries shared between the two. “There is no one who is treated with less dignity than the mentally ill,” Laurette writes, a declaration that becomes appallingly evident as she recounts the years of missed diagnoses, medication trials, and hospitalizations that Jake and his family toiled through before discovering clinicians and treatments that granted them painstaking progress. Both mother and son examine the early years before his diagnosis, into his young adulthood, through the lens of their hard-won, incremental victories against this devastating disease.

Throughout, Laurette emphasizes the crucial role that family plays for loved ones with chronic mental health concerns: “You will become the expert on your loved one’s well-being.” Her devotion to Jake’s care shines as a brilliant thread of their abiding connection, buoying him in moments of darkness while gently confronting his needs, all against the backdrop of his yearning to be an independent adult, unfettered from schizophrenia’s agonizing hold. Jake’s lifelong creativity affords him outlets for his emotions alongside several job opportunities, as he pours his energy into video editing and art, all while learning to cope with addiction, paranoia, and “a subterranean beast” that “haunts his days and nights.”

“Hope will be your driving force” Laurette voices, as she details the family’s exhaustive efforts to coordinate and master Jake’s treatment needs while still finding time to nurture their attachment. Jake’s writing is brutally raw, an unflinching rendering of his battles, as are Laurette’s reflections on the barriers to getting Jake the help he needs (insurance funding is a tremendous roadblock, alongside Laurette’s efforts to protect and guide Jake being labeled as “enabling”). This is as much a portrait of a loving family as it is a call to action for mental health treatment reform.

Cover: A- | Design & typography: A | Illustrations:– Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

A mother and son’s touching, insightful story of a schizophrenia diagnosis. Great for fans of Vince Granata’s Everything Is Fine, Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett’s The Quiet Room.