From the time, Ben developed symptoms of gradual onset schizophrenia to the time he received treatment, Kaye said she struggled to support her family as a single parent with several jobs. When she quit her job as a radio station host, Kaye had time to reflect on her family’s experience, and decided to write an account of Ben’s battle with schizophrenia in her own book called, “Behind Ben’s Voices: One Family’s Journey from the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope.” In her novel, Kaye said she provides a better understanding of mental illness and the people who struggle with it.
Kaye will share her story with residents at Plainville Public Library, 56 East Main St., on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m., reading passages and answering questions. Through her story, Kaye said she hopes readers will gain a greater understanding of mental illness, and how to gain acceptance, resilience, and strength.
Kaye also said she hopes not only to spread awareness, but also to break the silence among other families who may be struggling with a mental illness so they may become a sense of comfort for each other.
“We need to understand that we are not alone—there is hope,” Kaye said.
Kaye said her son, now 31 years of age, has developed stability in his life. Although he continues to take medication, Ben now takes college courses and holds a part-time job while starting a social life.
“Parenting comes with adjusting your hopes and dreams,” Kaye said. “If your child develops a mental illness, you have to switch gears and still see what is good.”
Kaye’s book will be available for purchase during the event, and is also available online atwww.benbehindhisvoices.com.
Loving through mental illness: “It’s like he disappears…”
Thank you for sharing this…I have a friend with a blog and a FB page called Loving 1 With Mental Illness. Also interesting is that many of my new friends say that it seems their son or daughter disappeared. In Tall Paul, I wrote how I lost the Old Paul, the Tall Paul, I knew and loved as a child, but I learned to love the New Paul.
I used to tell people that I sometimes thought it would have been better had Paul died when we were 16, when we lost him that first time to severe schizophrenia. Of course I immediately felt guilty for saying it, but I had an open wound of grief over the loss of my “twin-ness” and Paul was living in his own hell. It was an honest emotion. In the end, I wouldn’t trade those few, final, years with the New Paul for the world, after he got on Clozapine, but it was heartbreaking to lose him for a second time to cancer.