Room For J: A Family Struggles With Schizophrenia

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Summary: Room For J: A Family Stuggles With Schizophrenia
Review: An amazing and emotional look inside one incredible families' journey to help their son deal with a disease that is still so hard to define. A reminder to all of us that you never know what tomarrow will bring and that "family" is so much more than a word.


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Summary: An amazing story of hope and of the power of parental love.
Review: Mom, Dad and three healthy kids - the Hanson family seemed about as well-adjusted and All-American as it gets -- until that day the dreaded phone call came, inferring that their youngest son Joel, away at college, was having some sort of mental breakdown. During the ten years since then, the Hansons' lives have been turned upside-down and thrown into a battle with both Joel's schizophrenia and the flawed and frustrating American mental health system.

Author Dan Hanson says writing the book was a form of self-therapy, but it's also a generous gift to readers, especially those with family or friends dealing with mental illness. Sharing such a personal and trying situation is an act of courage, especially his indictment of our mental health system and society's need to subjugate and medicate every person that doesn't fit into its recognized definition of "sanity." Hanson pleads for better treatment of the mentally ill, many of whom have fallen through the cracks of a transition from huge state-run institutions to community-based care.

"Implying that we rely too heavily on medication-based treatment programs, Hanson suggests teams made up of a social worker, psychiatrist, therapist, and trained support person, all the while recognizing the funding and staffing difficulties involved. He also explains convincingly how we need to expand our definition of "normal" and give the mentally ill the respect they deserve. Even though the Hansons live in constant fear of an eruption of Joel's psychosis - he believes he is the Messiah and ruler of the Universe - they learn to accept Joel as he is, and also how to cope with their own guilt and feelings of helplessness.

Hanson has written a heart-wrenching but lucid plea for better treatment of our mentally ill. It is also a love story between a father and son, by a man who cares so much and loves so deeply that he is willing to overcome fear, doubts and societal pressures to learn, grow, and evolve spiritually from the experience. It's an amazing story of hope and of the power of parental love.

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Summary: insight and understanding can be gained from this book
Review: Room for J is a great book for anyone who might want to gain some sensitivity and insight into what it is like to live with someone who suffers from mental illness. You'll also get a glimpse into the life of J through some personal journal entries. The book is not written for a light easy read, and it will most likely leave you asking more questions versus finding answers. In fact, it's somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster as you try to place yourself in the position of each of the people in the book while reading excerpts from their personal journals. However, it will challenge some of your perceptions surrounding mental illness and will hopefully make you a little more sensitive and compassionate to what family members and those who have been given the clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia may be trying to cope with on a day by day basis.

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Summary: Room for All
Review: Room for J offers an insightful look at the complexities and struggles faced by families who have a loved one with schizophrenia. Finding information and understanding treatment options are difficult amidst a culture that stigmatizes this biological brain disorder. Daniel Hanson's book offers understanding and hope along with resources for other families who face this struggle. Most of all he lets other families know that they do not need to face this journey alone. We need to find a room for J and for all families whose lives are affected by schizophrenia.

Sue Abderholden
Executive Director
NAMI Minnesota