A prizewinning book, ladies, which is what
alerted me to its existence: best first novel in the Costa Book Awards 2014.
It’s not going to be a cheerful read, written as it is about mental illness by
someone who has worked with mentally ill people. I can’t imagine it will end
well. But, selfishly, I thought I’d probably learn a lot from it. As I
understand it, there’s discussion about the treatment of mentally ill people so
we might want to think about society’s responsibilities in this area; and about
the qualities of the medical staff. And just what is it that tips a “normal” person into a person needing psychiatric support?
We might want to think, too, about the fact it’s a first novel.
Does anything indicate this?
Has the author’s experience as a mental health nurse made this a medical treatise rather than a novel?
A challenging novel, I think.
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteI have finished our story super early this month. I have had a nasty head cold for a week which kept me quiet with not a lot to do, so hence much reading took place.
I hope all is well with you and your beautiful family Katie and the weather is warming. We had snow down south last week and some very wild weather in the Sydney area,it just doesn’t feel right
.We are off to Brisbane tomorrow to begin our next adventure, It is very exciting and I’m also a little nervous about being away from home so long. Dad is very well at the moment though so maybe it’s just me that needs to review my control issues. Hmmm….when do quirky behaviours become mental illness??????
This is quite a serious question, is it when our behaviours become a danger to ourselves and others?
Or is illness the wrong word altogether to use for our differing behaviours?
does the use of’ illness’ help to create the stigma?
I found this story really interesting and the characters realistic. I felt quite connected to this story as their were many similarities with Matt’s behaviours and my mother’s behaviours with her lewy bodies dementia, which plays havoc with the brain’s frontal lobes. I also recognised and empathised with Matt’s family as they struggled to understand and cope with his illness. I can only admire Nanny Noo for her love and faith in Matt.
I also thought Nathan Filer portrayed Matt’s families grief at losing Simon really well. It was obvious they never recovered from their loss and compromises were made. I can not begin to imagine the loss of a child, but I’m sure the term crazy with grief is applicable.
Your question Sue, on how our communities cope with mental illness is very relevant. I know we have discussed before the terrible treatment of our minorities, but are mentally ill people a minority?
It would appear not if we look to look further into suicide stats and emergency ward attendees just to begin with. On one of our current affairs shows last week there was an item about people being turned away from emergency wards after desperately presenting with suicidal thoughts, these particular people died very soon after. the comment was made in Australia we have state of the art facilities for cancer treatments and physical ailments but our mentally ill are left adrift.
I really don’t believe mental illness is any more prevalent today, it is just more commonly spoken of, a quick flick back through history tells me this.
I find it sad as a community we treat unwell people badly. It can be a scary thing to cope with people with mental illness [scary for them too], so perhaps that’s why. We humans don’t do fear very well.
Love to all, see you soon Sue :]
Nancy
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteWherever you and Ivars are at the moment, Nancy, I hope you’re having a wonderful time. We’re very excited about seeing you here – in one day short of two weeks as I write this.
I am sorry to keep going on about the weather (very British) but though it’s very sunny, there was a frost on the ground this morning. Despite real warmth last week, this week it’s going to be as cold as it’s ever been at this time of year – really high Northern areas are going to have snow showers. (Nowhere near where we are, Nancy, it’s O.K.) I hope, Katie, you are getting a proper spring: sunshine, warmth, growth on a continuing spectrum – that kind of thing. How are Benjamin and Franklin? I think of you often, with admiration, as I observe the young family across the road.
The book was certainly challenging, especially when read in short bursts, each separated by a few days. I had to move back and forth to remind myself of exactly where I was in the chronological time frame. But that’s a quibble. I thought it was a wonderful book. If there was anything to suggest this was not the work of an experienced writer, I missed it. And there was nothing didactic about it: the portrayal of a broken medical service came from the convincing depiction of characters and events. Even the amazing coincidence of meeting Annabelle again didn’t strain credulity. Not a medical treatise, then.
But very critical of the provision of mental health care in the U.K.: the closing of the Hope Road Day Centre, the school’s inability/failure to help Matthew, Matthew’s Mum, Jacob’s Mum’s situation . . . I do hope things are better where you are, ladies – though your comments suggest not in Australia, Nancy. The situation seems to be getting worse here: highlighted by sensational newspaper headlines reporting the victimisation of mentally ill people living independently in poor housing areas; followed by others blaming the system for the failure to help schizophrenics (especially) who then murder complete strangers; and awful reports about abuse in homes for those with “learning disabilities”.
Perhaps this is what Matthew meant when he says at the end of the book: “That’s enough small print to get anyone thinking.” Does the author want the reader to consider what lies beyond the main story?
Certainly I agree with you, Nancy: one point to consider is whether mental illness affects only a minority. I’d imagine a majority suffers at some point in their lives. A number of my friends have – and I wouldn’t say I was entirely stable after my first term of teaching.
The portrayal of the medical staff, a day in the hospital, the details of treatment, the other patients, was immediate and realistic – and Matthew himself was a wonderful narrator. His painful awareness of how he appeared to others, his courage, his descent into illness was horrifyingly gripping. Must have been really difficult to write this in the first person, but the impact is unforgettable.
Amazing book – deserves another reading given the irregular and broken attention I gave it the first time.
Love to you both
Sue
Hello to you both!
ReplyDeleteSpring has finally sprung. We had a taste of summer for a few days and then chilly spring showed up. Benjamin is growing in leaps and bounds; always on the move even in sleep! Franklin is doing well too. He’s taking on wayyyy too many projects around the house all at once but that seems to be a common male thing. Nancy I’m a little jealous of your upcoming adventure!! I hope you have lots of fun. Sue, I hope your weather starts warming up too.
The one thing I found difficult in this novel was Matt’s back and forth narration in the time line. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if we were in the past or in the present of Matt’s story. But I guess that is a standard mind-set for a Schizophrenic. His level of schizophrenia seemed very mild in comparison to what I’ve seen in movies and television. I’m not sure if this is because the movie industry tends to hype things up or if this author did not want to scare his readers too bad. Certainly this was definitely not a medical treatise as you feared Sue. It was a true fictional story but Mr. Filer's medical background gave him more credibility than if we had written this novel. Even though this was Mr. Filer's first novel, it was very good and I would not have known he was a new writer if Sue had not mentioned it.
In my opinion, the care of mentally ill patients is much better than the asylums of the nineteenth century and earlier. Patients today are more involved in their own care. We saw this in the novel when Matt and his parents attended the meeting with the physicians. I may sound like a broken record but patients are not obligated to do anything they don't want anymore. I've had so many patients who've chosen not to follow their doctor's advice. In my day to day hospital experience, once the patient says no, that's it, end of story. This is in sharp contrast to the medical field as late as the 1970s when a patient obeyed their doctor regardless of the advice. Many facilities are not permitted to force their patients to take their medications even if it's for their own benefit (although this maybe different for those in mental hospitals). But one the other side of the coin, I understand why patients choose not to take their medications. I have a friend who has suffered from severe depression. She wouldn't take the drugs because they made her feel nothing. Yes, she was not sad any more but she also wasn't happy, or angry, or excited, or any human emotion. She said they made her feel completely numb and that wasn't any way to live.
One aspect of the novel I found terribly interesting was when Matt mentioned what I assume was the Rosenhan experiment. This was where a psychologist and his team entered various mental institutions claiming to have hallucinations. Then they observed how they were treated and even later read over the notes from their doctors. It really showed the impact that labels have on our views of others and how difficult it is to remove a label. The researchers were labeled "crazy", and even after they "got better" they were still considered crazy. I don't know if Mr. Filer was referring to this particular study or a fictitious one that is similar but regardless the message is the same. Labels are difficult to remove. Thinking back to our school days, was there ever a class mate who was called loose or slutty? We had no idea the truth behind that title, but we probably believed it anyway. I've, unfortunately, had patients who've been labeled crazy by my coworkers and it just sticks through out the patient's journey in my department. It's a shame how society has shaped us to be this way. After reading The Shock of the Fall, I will be a little more cognizant of the crazy label.
I hope you both have a wonderful time seeing each other! Safe travels Nancy!
-Katie
Thanks for your input, Katie. I hadn't though about the impact of patients' rights. It wouldn't occur to me not to take prescribed medication. But sometimes it might be better not to do so. I very much admire your friend who decided it was better to feel sad rather than feel nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd your comments on labelling are so true. In Singapore I had a student who clearly needed psychological help. However, the social stigma attached to mental illness in Singapore meant no Singaporean teacher was prepared to fill in the required form. The boy was due to go for compulsory basic military training. Fearing for him, I filled in the forms and he never did the training. Now I think about it, he probably never got a job either.
And the number of girls in my school who were "labelled" for one thing or another doesn't bear thinking about.
Probably shouldn't have read the book!
Thanks again for your input, Katie. See you soon, Nancy. It's still cold here.
Love to you both
Sue