Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness

Former Washington Post reporter Pete Earley had written extensively about the criminal justice system. But it was only when his own son - in the throes of a manic episode - broke into a neighbor's house and took a bath in her tub that he learned the truth about what is happening to mentally ill people who have the misfortune to break the law. Here, he offers his own family's emotionally compelling story, as well as a thorough, and troubling, look at the web of bureaucracy, bad judgment, and apathy that results in brutal conditions and little hope of recovery for the countless numbers of people who suffer. Instead of care, they get confinement. Instead of treatment, they get a trip through the "revolving doors" between hospital and jail. Changing policies, driven by a mix of good intentions and greed, have led to the release of 80 percent of state mental hospital residents. Today, large numbers of them are on the streets - and in the jails. This book takes us directly into what experience and into that of a father and award-winning journalist trying to fight for a better way.