January First is the story of a child named January aka Janni and her descent into severe mental illness and her father’s attempt to save her.
“At six years old, Janni was diagnosed with schizophrenia, one of the worst mental illnesses known to man. What’s more, Schizophrenia is 20-30 times more sever in children than in adults and in Janni’s case, doctors say that she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze her.” – inside flap
This is a scary thought and as I was reading I was of course thinking of my children and worrying about their mental health while at the same time trying to imagine what life would be like if my child had schizophrenia.
This story is about the same January who was featured in some TV shows such as Born Schizophrenic. Since the book was written, their son has shown similar traits plus traits of autism.
It was a book that I read pretty much all in one sitting which I haven’t done in a long while. It was scary to read but it drew me in at the same time. If you have any interest in childhood schizophrenia it’s an absolute must read but even if you don’t, it’s definitely a book that will make you realize your life could be harder.
the book is broken up into small sections which is how I prefer a book. The book is only 291 pages but it has 36 chapters plus an epilogue. I think that was a good choice on the publishers end as the text itself if tough to read so breaking it up was smart.
Crown Publishers/Random House 2012
Biography/Schizophrenia/
291 pages
Older Cover
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