I just finished January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield. This memoir focuses on the
Schofield family, but primarily the father (author) and how he feels, thinks,
and interacts with his daughter January, who is thought to have a mental
illness. It’s really a page turner, but
not for the reason some books are. There’s
suspense, there’s love, there’s imagination and creativity, but really this
whole book is that family’s life.
When I added this book on
Goodreads, I saw all the varying reviews, but didn’t read them fully until
I finished the book. I cannot believe the awful thoughts,
insensitivity, and downright hatred people show towards the father/author. The book is written in an honest fashion, and
he handles various situations with his child in the way he sees fit. I find it repulsing that people reviewing the
book could even imagine that they could do better without any prior experience
or knowledge of mental illnesses or medication involved. From my point of view, which is all it is,
until someone is put into the exact situation with the exact same responses day
after day after day, there’s no way to know how it would work out. It’s possible the readers could have better
ideas, be able to engage Janni in different ways, and create a seemingly ok
life. However, on the other hand, they may grow annoyed, frustrated, and upset
with the ways things are happening and the outcome could grow much worse than
depicted in the book.
Anyway, a review: January (later called Janni and Jani) is a
young child when the book begins. She
has many imaginary friends that other children her age do not have or
understand. She creates better
relationships with these seemingly fictional beings than with real humans. Her father plays along with her for the most
part, feeding her creativity, or so he thinks at the time. As she grows older and the imaginary friends
multiply, Janni becomes more detached from the world.
Her father and mother grow
increasingly worried about her mood swings, false reality, and most recently,
violence. Towards the middle of the
book, they have a second child, Bodhi, and things take an unsafe turn for the
worst. Janni “has to hit” people and
items if they do her wrong. Bodhi and
their dog Honey often end up the source of her frustration, thus her punching
bag. After going to see psychiatrists,
doctors, and other professionals, the couple is forced to look within themselves
for the solution to their discomfort, frustrations, and overall
unhappiness.
The book does a nice job of
showing the father’s emotions throughout everything. It felt very honest and I hope getting it
down on paper helped him forgive Janni, all the while trying to maintain hope
for her condition. Overall, I rate this book a four
out of five. It’s a very touching story
of a family in difficult circumstances, a healthcare system that was failing
them, and a little girl lost in her own little world.
