The Boy Between

Book 37 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

The Boy Between: A Mother and Son's Journey from a World Gone Grey

by Amanda Prowse and Josiah Hartley

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2020

Josiah was nineteen with the world at his feet when things changed. Without warning, the new university student’s mental health deteriorated to the point that he planned his own death. His mother, bestselling author Amanda Prowse, found herself grappling for ways to help him, with no clear sense of where that could be found. This is the book they wish had been there for them during those dark times.
Josiah’s situation is not unusual: the statistics on student mental health are terrifying. And he was not the only one suffering; his family was also hijacked by his illness, watching him struggle and fearing the day he might succeed in taking his life.
In this book, Josiah and Amanda hope to give a voice to those who suffer, and to show them that help can be found. It is Josiah’s raw, at times bleak, sometimes humorous, but always honest account of what it is like to live with depression. It is Amanda’s heart-rending account of her pain at watching him suffer, speaking from the heart about a mother’s love for her child.
For anyone with depression and anyone who loves someone with depression, Amanda and Josiah have a clear message—you are not alone, and there is hope

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover

I chose this book from the monthly freebies on Amazon First Reads.  The subject matter could hit close to home for me but the fact that both of them are listed as authors gives me hope that there is some positivity to be found as well.

Since it's an electronic copy I don't have an impression of the book itself but the cover is beautiful and the subtle hints of rainbow on a mostly gray/neutral cover covey what the book appears to be about.

My Opinion

3 stars

The authors made a good point about the importance of treatment before things get very severe yet how difficult that can be, whether it's from stigma, availability of services, waitlists, etc.  As a society, we will all function better when we start looking at mental health similarly to physical health (as in recognizing the chemical factors and not being so judgmental).

This is one family's story so I'm not going to begrudge them their answers but I'm glad they didn't present this as medical canon.  The side effects of medication can be brutal but not being on any medication ever is not always a realistic goal.  Leaving university and losing weight isn't going to be enough for everyone (I'm simplifying, not to downplay the massive struggles they went through but to say what appeared to be the most helpful to them by the end).  They also acknowledge the luck of the draw when it comes to getting treatment and having support, both in the family (not everyone can stay home and focus solely on improvement) and financially regarding work and insurance (NHS in this case because of their location).

Reading this as an e-book gave the added bonus of hyperlinks for the sources which is especially helpful for topics like this when the information is ever-changing.

I'm glad he is still here to tell his story.