The Ghosts Behind Him

Robert B. MacIntyre is head of the Centre for Relationship Therapy and
Education in Orangeville, Ontario.

The experience of schizophrenia is enormously disruptive to both the
sufferer and the family. This book details that experience from the
perspective of the mother of a schizophrenic son. After his initial
diagnosis, Ray’s son Bruce went through a variety of treatments,
hospitalizations, and living arrangements as he and his mother attempted
to understand and treat the condition. After committing a murder while
in a psychotic state, Bruce was incarcerated. It was only much later
that he became convinced of the need to work with his doctors, take all
prescribed medications, and return to a protective setting at the first
sign of hearing voices in his mind.

The Ghosts Behind Him is based on extensive notes and records the
author maintained over the years. The juxtaposition of the positive
aspects of Bruce’s personality (among his talents were writing and
art) and the inexorable deterioration of his condition make for
wrenching reading. Although Doris keeps hoping something will turn up
that will allow her son to return to his earlier promise, the reality in
the end is a life limited and controlled by medications, legal
restrictions, and self-imposed restraints.

This valuable book will be of particular interest to those wishing to
learn more about the impact of mental illness on a sufferer’s family.