Crazy

I had no idea. I'd been a journalist for thirty years and written extensively about crime and punishment and society. But I'd always been on the outside looking in. I had no idea what it was like to be on the inside looking out – until my son, Mike, was declared mentally ill. Suddenly the two of us were thrown headlong into the maze of contradictions, disparities and Catch-22s that make up America's mental health system. Crazy: A Father's Search Through America's Mental Health Madness is a nonfiction book that tells two stories. The first is my son's. The second describes what I observed during a year-long investigation inside the Miami- Dade County jail, where I was given unrestricted access. I feel more passionately about this book than any I have every written. Our nation's jails and prisons have become our new mental asylums. I wrote this book as a wake-up call to expose how persons with mental illness are ending up behind bars when what they need is help, not punishment.

Important note: The word “CRAZY” in the book title refers to the mental health care system.

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER OF CRAZY

Here is what others are writing and saying about Crazy:

Interview published by Salon.com

Interview on Fresh Air on National Public Radio

National Alliance on Mental Illness book review

Review by Treatment Advocacy Center

Editorial Written by Pete for USA Today

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