8127665667?profile=original

This book by D. Thomas Bixby has touched the hearts of many veterans particularly from the Vietnam Era. 

Moving personal account of a 22-year-old war veteran’s fight against the paranoia, mental anarchy and debilitating despair of PTSD with schizophrenia; the “split mind” of the disease is revealed as an internal battle between a long hidden natural self and a false self created to survive a world of childhood illness, physical abuse, emotional repression and the horrors of war.

“I was afraid to pull back the drapes on the bedroom window or to open the door to the hallway, fearing I would not see the wooded lot behind the house or the upstairs hallway but rather the black and eternal void that awaited me.” 

About D. Thomas Bixby: 

As a survivor of PTSD and Schizophrenia, D. Thomas Bixby earned a B.F.A. at NYU and studied psychology at UCLA and Vanderbilt. He is an award winning writer and director of over a thousand commercials and medical films and has done volunteer work with veterans, recovering alcoholics and the mentally ill. Club Bong Son, his script about PTSD won Best Screenplay at the 2015 Beaufort International Film Festival.

Endorsements: 

By Dr. Carey is with the Dept. of Psychiatry at Brown University 
Tom Bixby’s poignant memoir provides a first-person account of how the author reclaimed a life hijacked by mental illness.
This detailed book offers a phenomenological re-telling of one person’s experiences, from the inside out. Bixby reveals how his early life – scarred by illness, peer bullying, family stress, and restrictive schooling – set the stage; and then, how the trauma of fighting in the Vietnam war triggered psychosis. He reveals how he descended into a deep, profound, seemingly endless despair, marked by PTSD and delusions; he shares his frustrating and desperate attempts to find relief through alcohol and less-than-optimal psychiatric care. His disclosures are candid and moving; the odds of recovery appear daunting – we feel his demoralization. However, Bixby’s tenacious resilience, coupled with the guidance of an authentic therapist, allows him to find a way out; he slowly claws his way back to a life – not a perfect or painless life, but a meaningful and fulfilling one. Bixby exemplifies the strength of the human spirit as he builds a positive and creative life. He doesn’t sugar-coat the ongoing challenges he faces but accepts them, and is grateful for his return to sanity.
This personal history will provide hope to anyone who has experienced trauma or mental illness. Bixby’s book also provides a valuable lesson to us – parents, peers, teachers, mental health professionals, or religious and political leaders – namely, that the way we treat each other is of great consequence: We can either add to the accumulation of pain or we can serve as a salve for past trauma. This well-written memoir is upsetting in parts, but it is ultimately an uplifting and inspirational book.

By L.G. 
This book is a must-read for anyone who is dealing with mental illness in any of its various forms. The author candidly tells the reader of his personal struggle with schizophrenia; however, the message transcends across all types of internal struggle. The author is very forthcoming and uncensored in his descriptions of certain events and private thoughts, but this is necessary in order to help others realize that they are not alone in their situation, and that there is hope.

There are 3 books available for review. Others by request. 

You need to be a member of writersnetworks to add comments!

Join writersnetworks

Email me when people reply –

Writers Networking Groups