interesting, many feelings felt

My feelings were all over the place with this book. I appreciate hearing it instead of reading it because of the musical examples included.

I feel for the sense of loss for the father/author/narrator.

I have a daughter with autism who has never been able to talk so this both hit home and at times I was jealous since I lost her before she could say/express/accomplish anything. We both face similar handicaps in trying to get needed help for our children. I was jealous that the author had and is looking forward to having the freedom of being a couple without children in the house. While his plight is bad and difficult, it has more possibilities than mine. I wondered which is worse, losing an adult child and then struggling, where you look back with such sadness at what was lost, or never having the child be anything but difficult as a child or adult. In other words losing them early so there is so little to look back upon. He had normality until tragedy, I never had normality. He faces a difficult future but has hope. My future is largely without hope.

At times I really did not like the tone of voice used. It seemed for lack of a better term 'stuck-up', pedagogical but in a speaking down to you way. It grated like nails on the blackboard.

Good points; It did convey his deep sadness and the difficulty of trying to deal with a system which is underfunded and limited in what it can offer. It did explain the problem of individual choice versus how to treat a person who really is not competent to make that choice for his own good. It did a good job of explaining the complexity of mental illness treatment.

Bad points; It seemed it was almost two books with two purposes mixed into one. One of a father's story where the sons were lionized too much and the crushing loss experienced. One where the topic of mental illness was being explained and explored. Somehow, the mixing didn't fully work and the literary references used at times did not help this.

All in all I am glad to have bought this book and listened to it. I hope it opens people's eyes to the plight of parents faced with having to do the best they can in difficult circumstances. I hope it brings us all more help.