Price of Silence: A Mom's Perspective on Mental Illness The

Product Description

The author of 'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother' speaks out about mental illness

Like most of the nation, Liza Long spent December 14, 2012, mourning the victims of the Newtown shooting. As the mother of a child with a mental illness, however, she also wondered: 'What if my son does that someday?'

The emotional response she posted on her blog went viral, putting Long at the center of a passionate controversy. Now, she takes the next step. Powerful and shocking, The Price of Silence looks at how society stigmatizes mental illness - including in children - and the devastating societal cost. In the wake of repeated acts of mass violence, Long points the way forward.

Winner of The Books for a Better Life Award

'In this courageous, determined, radical book, Liza Long exposes the dearth of alternatives for parents of kids with mental illnesses, the shame that attends their perceived failures, and the hope that such families may find their collective voice and demand better options. I hope her passionate cry is heard far and wide.' Andrew Solomon, PhD, author of The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree

'Not only is Liza Long's The Price of Silence an honest and inspiring memoir, but it's an incisive indictment of what passes for a mental-health-care system in America - and what's too often the result, mental illness leading to prison, not treatment. But The Price of Silence doesn't only illuminate the crisis, it offers solutions - ones that can lead to healing.' David Sheff, author of Beautiful Boy

'Liza Long offers a lucid description of the myriad of problems that confound and perplex the average parent who struggles mightily to find answers and relief for their child. In the process, she charts a course that will provide an excellent guide for others on this difficult journey as they make their way through the maze of our current mental health care system.' Demitri Papolos, M.D., Co-Author, The Bipolar Child

'The most excruciatingly honest, portrayal of what it's like to be the mom of a child with serious mental illness and how the mental 'health' system gets in the way.' DJ Jaffe, Executive Director, Mental Illness Policy Org