A heartbreaking and confronting story of a mother and son's struggles dealing with the diagnosis of schizophrenia in Queensland in the 1970s.
Told in two parts - a chronological, personal biography of Frances Bowler, mother of Adrian and the poetry of Adrian Bowler who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his early twenties.
Imagine. No internet, living in regional Queensland, no mobile phones, and a child diagnosed with an incurable disease. Frances and her husband also raised seven other children.
This mother and son are a true inspiration for what they have both achieved to help others with mental illness. They have demonstrated amazing courage to share their inner-most feelings during the best and worst of times of living with this terrifying, confusing and sad health condition. Frances wrote with such raw emotion showing the pain and strength it takes to watch your child suffer throughout his life with a condition that has no cure.
Essential reading for any parent who has a child with severe mental illness.