January First by Michael Schofield
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: August 2012
Categories: Mental Health, Personal Memoir

Description:
Michael Schofield’s daughter January is at the mercy of her imaginary friends, except they aren’t the imaginary friends that most young children have; they are hallucinations. And January is caught in the conflict between our world and their world, a place she calls Calalini.  Some of these hallucinations, like “24 Hours,” are friendly and some, like “400 the Cat” and “Wednesday the Rat,” bite and scratch her until she does what they want.  They often tell her to scream at strangers, jump out of buildings, and attack her baby brother.  
 
At six years old, January Schofield, “Janni,” to her family, was diagnosed with schizophrenia, one of the worst mental illnesses known to man.  What’s more, schizophrenia is 20 to 30 times more severe in children than in adults and in January’s case, doctors say, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time that she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze her. 

A compelling, unsparing and passionate account, January First vividly details Schofield’s commitment to bring his daughter back from the edge of insanity.  It is a father’s soul-baring memoir of the daily struggles and challenges he and his wife face as they do everything they can to help Janni while trying to keep their family together. 

My Thoughts:

1. That poor, poor girl 😦
2. Her poor little brother. Omg.
3. Why in the hell did they get a dog? 
4. Is the author’s wife really that cold and clueless?
5. Are the author and his wife still married?
6. I’d divorce him if he wrote about me like this.
7. Huh. This guy is kinda a dick.
8. Thank God none of my kids have schizophrenia because, wow. 
9. I. Can’t. Stop. Reading. This. It’s like a train wreck of crazy that I can’t look away from.
10. Whew!

Buddy: (How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man) by Brian McGrory
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: November 2012
Categories: Personal Memoir, Birds, Love & Romance

I received a galley copy of this book from Crown Publishing via Shelf Awareness

Description:

Award-winning journalist Brian McGrory goes head to beak in a battle royale with another male for a top-spot in his home, vying for dominance with the family’s pet rooster. 

Brian McGrory’s life changed drastically after the death of his beloved dog, Harry: he fell in love with Pam, Harry’s veterinarian. Though Brian’s only responsibility used to be his adored Harry, Pam came with accessories that could not have been more exotic to the city-loving bachelor: a home in suburbia, two young daughters, two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and a portly, snow white, red-crowned-and-wattled step-rooster named Buddy. 

While Buddy loves the women of the house, he takes Brian’s presence as an affront, doing everything he can to drive out his rival. Initially resistant to elements of his new life and to the loud, aggressive rooster (who stares menacingly, pecks threateningly, and is constantly poised to attack), Brian eventually sees that Buddy shares the kind of extraordinary relationship with Pam and her two girls that he wants for himself. The rooster is what Brian needs to be – strong and content, devoted to what he has rather than what might be missing. As he learns how to live by living with animals, Buddy, Brian’s nemesis, becomes Buddy, Brian’s inspiration, in this inherently human story of love, acceptance, and change.

In the tradition of bestsellers like Marley and Me, Dewey, and The Tender Bar comes a heartwarming and wise tale of finding love in life’s second chapter – and how it means all the more when you have to fight for it.

My Thoughts:

I’ll be honest and say that I was skeptical about this book. I’ll be extra-honest and say that I decided to read it because my local library was closed for the day and I needed to READ. I’m not usually drawn to books about animals. But (even more honesty ahead!~~>) I was completely charmed by this short and sweet story.  It is entertaining, amusing and honest.

Brian McGrory’s love for his wise and faithful Golden Retriever Harry is beautiful to read about. Their bond is incredible. I read the passage of Harry’s death with very watery eyes.

Despite the tears in the beginning, most of this book is heartwarming and funny. Brian, a single city guy, ends up living in suburbia with a new wife, 2 step-daughters, 2 dogs, 2 rabbits, 2 cats and a rooster. A rooster that is loud and messy and seems to very much enjoy tormenting McGrory. The relationship between man and bird is laugh out loud funny at times.