January First

A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her

By: Michael Schofield

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

January First is a brilliant and harrowingly honest memoir. The story of Michael Schofield's daughter January's descent into scizophrenia, and her family's struggle to save her, will fascinate and move listeners. January First is the extraordinary story of a father's fight to save his child from an extremely severe case of mental illness in the face of overwhelming adversity.

©2012 Michael Schofield (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An unflinching portrait of the scourge of mental illness." ( Kirkus)

so engaging!!

Such a fascinating and heartbreaking story, didn't want to stop listening. Great title, definitely recommend!

moving story!

great book. great insight into schizophrenia. moving story between father and daughter. enjoyed this emotional roller coaster!

heartbreaking

it was hard to get into because of the narrator. he was clear, I'm not too sure what it was about his voice. maybe flat is the right word? but the story is fascinating. the whole time I wanted to scream out to the parents THIS IS WHAT SHE HAS! but it was humbling to listen to their journey as a family through something I'm not sure my own family would've survived.

Disturbing

This was such a sad story, but at the same time, I was disturbed by so many things this father said. It took away from the story for me. I found it horrifying when he kept talking about his daughter's superior IQ in front of her. I couldn't help but think this was contributing to some of the problems. He also wrote such disparaging things about his wife, like he was an excellent father and she didn't know how to parent this exceptional child. Both of them were really struggling, so to attack her seemed completely inappropriate and very self serving. I cannot imagine what they went through, as it was so awful, but the superior attitude of the writer kept drawing me away from the story.

captivating

this book was so fascinating. written and read with emotions you can feel. double thumbs up!

Gripping, intense, amazing story

This is an amazing story of an incredibly bright girl caught in the grip of severe mental illness and her family's efforts to deal with heartbreaking choices. The story moves quickly and kept me interested...in fact, I was starting to wish my commute was a little longer so that I could kep listening! The narrator does a great job capturing the emotional trauma of the book's author.

If you found yourself fascinated by "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden", you will love this book. If you love stories of how families persist in the face of challenges, you will love this book. If mental illness and its description makes you uncomfortable; if you want everything to turn out rosy for everybody no matter what...you may want to skip this one.

Heartbreaking

This writer had the bravery to tell this harrowing even when it didn’t present himself in the best light. I took a point off because the story wrapped up abruptly, but I still recommend this book to anyone who struggles with a child who has mental illness.

Jani is Interesting!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Surely. It's fascinating.

What did you like best about this story?

The humanity of it.

What about Patrick Lawlor’s performance did you like?

All of it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nope. I don't have extreme reactions at all, I'm an Aspergian.

An amazing read!

Where does January First rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is one of the most interesting books I have read, gives a sense of what it is like to care for a young child with severe mental illness.

Have you listened to any of Patrick Lawlor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't, so can't compare!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I had a lot of sympathy for January and her parents. At times their is heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time

Any additional comments?

Brings about awareness of childhood onset scizophrenia and other mental illness.

Fascinating

This book provides amazing insight about what it is like to live with and deeply love a child with severe mental illness. Earlier in my life I worked with children with various types of disabilities and illnesses. One little girl was clearly schizophrenic; however, doctors refused to provide this diagnosis at her young age. Her diagnosis of record was “pervasive developmental disorder.” She did not vaguely resemble other children with that label with whom I worked. I do not envy those who have to weigh the benefit vs. detriment to providing a diagnosis that on the one hand carries so many negative implications, but on the other hand could be they key to obtaining proper services.