Queensland Mental Health Week 2016 is all about raising awareness, and there's no better way to raise awareness than by sharing your own story. Which is precisely what author David Armand does in "My Mother's House".
The book follows Armand's life story in Louisiana, where his mother's mental illness lead to him being adopted by his Aunt and Uncle. No happy ending for the young David here though, as his Uncle turned out to be a bully of the worst kind, who commanded his household with fear, threats, and terrible punishments (alongside a worsening alchohol problem). Meanwhile, his mother (unknown to Armand at the time) had entered into an abusive relationship with a man who kept her locked up for days on end, and subjected her to a pattern of abuse over a period of many years. Armand would later discover his Aunt had been complicit in this abuse.
Difficult to read at times, particularly as you are so aware of the fact that this isn't just fiction: Armand is narrating things that actually happened to him (his Uncle sawing a plaster-cast off his arm and cutting him in the process is horrific). However, what really comes across in the book is Armand's resilience, and the impact each of these individuals had on his life. This book really gets to the core of how mental illness affects the people who have to be around, live with, or suffer at the hands of those who are suffering from a mental illness.
"My Mother's House" is available from amazon.com.
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