Monday, February 14, 2011

Henry's Demons: A Father-Son Memoir of Schizophrenia



My mother and father and the dreaded psychiatrist definitely believe I am schizophrenic.
---Henry Cockburn


Now here's a Shrinky book I haven't read. Or at least not yet?

In yesterday's New York Times Book Review, Darin Strauss reviews a father-son memoir by Patrick Cockburn and Henry Cockburn. Henry's Demon's is the story of Henry's battle with schizophrenia.

Did Strauss like the book? I couldn't say. He spent a fair amount of time picking apart the writing of the father/war correspondent. I think he wished the son of a novelist had become schizophrenic for the sake of fewer cliches.

What about Amazon, how do it's reviewers feel? No reviews yet. If you read this book, by all means, tell me what you think! Here's the father-son dual on the Diane Rehm Show if you'd like to listen to their tale.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This sensitive story of a family's battle with schizophrenia looks at the ignorance and stigma that often accompany any mention of mental illness. When Cockburn, a foreign correspondent for the Independent on assignment in Afghanistan, learns his 20-year-old son, Henry.