Nonfiction by Jonathan Rosen
This was a hard book to read.
It was long, for one. And it was sad. The author's best childhood friend Michael Laudor is the smartest and most popular guy on the block growing up in the seventies. They are at school together through high school and college, and it seems that Jonathan feels a little in Michael's shadow as they mature into adults.
But Michael is both brilliant and mentally ill. When his schizophrenia begins to manifest itself after graduation, Michael endures a hospital stay and defers his admission to Yale Law School. Still, he is able to attend the next year with support from his father and from the school dean. The dean, along with many other law professors, sees Michael's mental illness as a disability like any other, and with the newly passed ADA laws in place, feels that Michael can succeed at law school with reasonable accommodations.
And Michael does well at Yale Law, with help. One scene that really affected me in this section described Michael's dad Chuck patiently talking though Michael's pervasive hallucinations. Upon waking up in the morning, Michael would believe that his room was on fire. Chuck would call and gently remind his son that the fire wasn't real, convincing Michael to put out his hand to verify that the false fire was not actually hot, and then coaxing Michael to put his feet onto a floor that looked like an inferno. Reading this one has to admire both Chuck's devotion to his son and Michael's courage in facing such a terrifying world every day.
But law school doesn't last forever, and unfortunately neither will the aging Chuck. When Michael enters the workforce, he finds that world much less accommodating. Things simply will not end well for Michael, and that's not a spoiler. (The synopsis notes actually DO give away the ending, which I regret knowing in advance. So I recommend not reading the entire book jacket.)
In short, this was a well-written book that gives you a lot to think about, but it's heavy and depressing.
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