Product Description

From her early 30's until her early 60's, Barbara Hawkins lived cloistered in her family home in suburban Chicago, a prisoner of undiagnosed mental illness. Hearing voices and paralyzed with fear, she was never evaluated, never treated, and refused to leave the house. is the story of Barb's descent into severe mental illness and the healing that has come only in recent years: after her parents' death, when her sister, Margaret, became her guardian. With uncanny grace and humor, Margaret chronicles her family's struggle with Barb's mental illness, the love that carried them through, and the virtual army of healthcare angels willing to come to Barb's aid. This is an extraordinary story of severe mental illness and the healing that is possible with prompt diagnosis, good drugs, good care, and a fierce belief in the power to get well.