The author has been living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for 35 years. After becoming ill he went back to college and got a BS in Computer Science. He then proceeded to work very successfully as a computer programmer for 18 years until the stress became more than he could handle. He went on disability and has been working as a volunteer recovery educator in psychiatric units at various hospitals for the last 15 years. This compilation of essays is STRAIGHT TALK about how to live and cope with a diagnosis of a severe mental illness based on his personal experience and the questions raised by patients in those hospitals. The author is not an expert on mental illness. He is an expert on living with a mental illness. There is a vast difference between those two things.
The author has been living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for 35 years. After becoming ill he went back to college and got a BS in Computer Science. He then proceeded to work very successfully as a computer programmer for 18 years until the stress became more than he could handle. He went on disability and has been working as a volunteer recovery educator in psychiatric units at various hospitals for the last 15 years. This compilation of essays is STRAIGHT TALK about how to live and cope with a diagnosis of a severe mental illness based on his personal experience and the questions raised by patients in those hospitals. The author is not an expert on mental illness. He is an expert on living with a mental illness. There is a vast difference between those two things.
