He Came In With It
Book Feature - He Came In With It by Miriam Feldman
HBL Note: Sometimes, when I read a pitch from a publicist, I get chills. This is one of those moments. I can’t say it any better than she did, so I just copy/pasted what she wrote:
It’s taken me a while to draft this pitch because after reading HE CAME IN WITH IT: A Portrait of Motherhood and Madness by Miriam Feldman, I could only sit with her fiercely written words for weeks. When her son teenage Nick was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Miriam’s frenetic but happy life as an artist in Los Angeles was upended by one catastrophe after another: unexplainable violence, unanswered questions, endless disappointment, frustrations, and chaos.
In her tireless search for help and answers, Miriam learns about the shocking shortfalls of our mental health system and the destructive impact of mental illness stigma, shame and isolation. But He Came In With It isn’t just a thoughtful critique or rallying call that breathes new life into the fight for mental healthcare reform. It is also a tender, relatable, and humorous account of one woman’s attempt to be, quite simply, a good parent.
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Book Feature - He Came In With It by Miriam Feldman
Book Feature - He Came In With It by Miriam Feldman
From the publisher:
In an idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood, where generations of families enjoy deep roots in old homes, the O’Rourke family fits right in. Miriam and Craig are both artists and their four children carry on the legacy. When their teenage son, Nick, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, a tumultuous decade ensues in which the family careens permanently off the conventional course.
Like the ten Biblical plagues, they are hit by one catastrophe after another, violence, evictions, arrests, a suicide attempt, a near-drowning…even cancer and a brain tumor…play against the backdrop of a wild teenage bacchanal of artmaking and drugs. With no time for hand-wringing, Miriam advances, convinced she can fix everything, while a devastated Craig retreats to their property in rural Washington State as home becomes a battlefield.
It is while cleaning out a closet, that Miriam discovers a cache of drawings and journals written by Nick throughout his spiral into schizophrenia. She begins a solitary forensic journey into the lonely labyrinth of his mind.
This is the story of how mental illness unspools an entire family. As Miriam fights to reclaim her son from the ruthless, invisible enemy, we are given an unflinching view into a world few could imagine. It exposes the shocking shortfalls of our mental health system, the destructive impact of stigma, shame and isolation, and, finally, the falsity of the notion of a perfect family. Throughout the book, it is the family’s ability to find humor in the absurdities of this life that saves them. It is a parable that illustrates the true definition of a good life, allowing for the blemishes and mistakes that are part of the universal human condition. He Came In With It is the legacy of, and for, her son Nick.
Book Feature - He Came In With It by Miriam Feldman
