An Illusion of Normal: The True Story of a Child's Survival in a Home Tormented by Mental Illness

By: Linda D. Schoonover

An Illusion of Normal is the riveting and memoir of a life of a child whose mother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. The author's story exposes the darkness in her home tormented by mental illness and the light that shows the way out.

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Book Description

An Illusion of Normal is the riveting memoir of the life of a child whose mother suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. At times, shocking and heartbreaking, the author's story reveals the darkness in a home tormented by a parent's mental illness and the light that shows her the way out. An inspirational story for anyone searching for hope to overcome life's difficult circumstances.

In an era when speaking of mental illness was taboo, the author learns from an early age not to talk about her mother's bizarre behavior. Now her mother's escape from a would-be killer threatens to expose the family secret. They are not a normal family. After her mother's extended stays in mental institutions, the author accepts that her Mom will never be normal. That, she assumes, makes her abnormal as well. She wrestles against her father's abuse and constant shaming of her, her faith, and her friends. Will she ever feel normal in an abnormal family? Did God make a mistake? Why is she in a home where she doesn't feel loved or accepted? Is there a way for her to break away from the shame that holds her captive?

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