It took me a long time to read this book, but not because it was bad. Quite the opposite. It's life-changing.

All my life, I've been surrounded by lots of people with mental diseases, some diagnosed, most not. Some displayed extreme moments of psychosis, some did not.

My father. My brother. My sister. My uncle. A couple of aunts. My wife. My son.

Me.

So, reading this book was quite hard. It made me sad, but it also brought me inside the bubble of those who suffer through this, but can't quite colour inside the lines of societies norms. I'm one of the lucky ones. I can. Most of that list above can't.

It's also scary to read about Caroline's long, six-decade battle, as well as those others detailed in the book, her spiritual brothers and sisters. Because I worry for those whom I love and wonder how their futures will be.

And it's equally as tough on the caregivers, whether they are family, friends, or those who have chosen to assist. It's a very tough role, with often very little reward. I've been on both sides of this fence, as both the caregiver, and the one needing to be cared for. On either side, the feeling of helplessness can be overwhelming.

This is an important book. It's one that should be read. Over the ten or so days I was reading, I found I was looking at those that we would consider the marginalized in a different, more sympathetic way.

And, if nothing else, that's a positive result of going through this book. ( )

This is a non-fiction book. Susan Doherty was researching mental illness for the purposes of a novel she was writing, and decided to volunteer at the Douglas Institute in Montreal. While she was volunteering, she befriended several of the patients, and with the permission of their families, she has written a book telling the stories of these patients. A powerful read. ( )

Susan Doherty's recently released book, The Ghost Garden, is hands down one of the best non-fiction books I've read. And it is one of my favourite reads of 2019.

I work in the public sector, often waiting on those who have some form of mental illness, some more visible than others. The Ghost Garden has given me a different perspective - more understanding of those living with mental illness as well as those who love and care for them. And a renewed sense of empathy and awareness for carers, families and sufferers.

Susan Doherty has volunteered at the Douglas Institute in Montreal, Canada for over ten years. The Douglas houses those with severe mental illness - psychosis and schizophrenia. She has come to know many of the patients well and has continued those relationships outside the hospital. A childhood friend asked Doherty if she could write the life story of her sister, a woman who has struggled for decades with severe mental illness.

The family gave Doherty full access to their family history, dynamics and struggle to help their sister. And the result is a fascinating, gut-wrenching book that is hard to read, but hard to put down. Interspersed between chapters of Caroline's life are short vignettes of other patients Doherty has come to know. Their stories were all told with their or their family's permission.

"My hope is that this book will help family members and others pinpoint warning signs and thereby, perhaps, be in a position to identify incipient mental illness - thus preventing the harrowing lives experienced by the people I have written about.....And if that lofty goal proves hard to reach, at least I can tear down some of the fences that prevent us from seeing those with schizophrenia as intelligent, productive, engaged, hilarious, beautiful, poetic, insightful, maternal, responsible human beings - and above all, worth of love."

The Ghost Garden is so well written and the subject matter is handled with honesty and compassion. A must read book for everyone in my opinion. ( )