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A New Novel Focuses on Schizophrenia

`All About Brian` is a new novel of fiction, based on facts. The story, which focuses on a schizophrenic young man and how his disease affects his life and that of his family`s. The novel looks to provide a deeper understanding of this particular mental disorder and shed light on how some families learn to cope and support the family member suffering from this debilitating illness.

`All About Brian` is a story that is fraught with overtones of paranoia, groundless fears, hallucinations and the hearing of voices. It represents millions of other Brians, many of whom are shunned, neglected and deserted by families who might opt to let them out on the streets only to be rendered destitute and homeless. When the human mind fails to function normally, it dismantles the building blocks of life. Unlike certain physical diseases for which there are cures, maladies of the mind seem to be isolated in a singular category. The human mind has the potential to do wonderful things, it can also nullify the opportunity for life`s fulfillment on this planet.

Since the actions and behaviors of schizophrenics are dictated by the voices that they hear in their head, the world of reality, as far as they are concerned, is non-existent. Such voices can either be gentle or harsh, depending on their relationships and the nature of their environment. Where conventional reasoning is absent, logic and reality is missing.For those who might be as fortunate as Brian whose misery is shared by his family, there is a glimmer of hope that, with the help of psychotropic drugs and therapy, as well as love and moral support, their problem can be controlled to the extent that they may be able to live the rest of their lives without being neglected and subjected to the horror of being abandoned.