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A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her
Crown
August 2012
On Sale: August 7, 2012
291 pages ISBN: 0307719081 EAN: 9780307719089 Kindle: B0058Z4NK0 Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Memoir
Michael Schofield’s daughter January is at the mercy of her
imaginary friends, except they aren’t the imaginary friends
that most young children have; they are hallucinations. And
January is caught in the conflict between our world and
their world, a place she calls Calalini. Some of these
hallucinations, like “24 Hours,” are friendly and some, like
“400 the Cat” and “Wednesday the Rat,” bite and scratch her
until she does what they want. They often tell her to
scream at strangers, jump out of buildings, and attack her
baby brother. At six years old, January
Schofield, “Janni,” to her family, was diagnosed with
schizophrenia, one of the worst mental illnesses known to
man. What’s more, schizophrenia is 20 to 30 times more
severe in children than in adults and in January’s case,
doctors say, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time
that she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level
most adults barely faze her.
A New York
Times bestseller, January First captures Michael
and his family's remarkable story in a narrative that forges
new territory within books about mental illness. In the
beginning, readers see Janni’s incredible early potential:
her brilliance, and savant-like ability to learn extremely
abstract concepts. Next, they witnesses early warning signs
that something is not right, Michael’s attempts to
rationalize what’s happening, and his descent alongside his
daughter into the abyss of schizophrenia. Their battle
has included a two-year search for answers, countless
medications and hospitalizations, allegations of abuse,
despair that almost broke their family apart and, finally,
victories against the illness and a new faith that they can
create a life for Janni filled with moments of
happiness. A compelling, unsparing and
passionate account, January First vividly details
Schofield’s commitment to bring his daughter back from the
edge of insanity. It is a father’s soul-baring memoir
of the daily struggles and challenges he and his wife face
as they do everything they can to help Janni while trying to
keep their family together.
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