Review: An author's victorious battle against mental illness....
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 29, 2013
While most reviewers will focus on the dystopic portion of this novel in order to express their personal opinion, I, on the other hand, see the apocalyptic tale as a mere background to a greater and more personal tale. The story, itself, begins and ends at the site of a mental institution, the intial site of emotional turbulence and the ending site of personal victory. The middle portion of the story, which I call the background of the story, while exciting and dramatic at times, is not the adventure tale as some will view it. Instead, it is a symbolic tale of one man's struggle with and the eventual overcoming of mental illness. The author, himself, in his Afterword, admits this as the purpose he attempted to put forth. The struggles that ensue once he leaves the institution with his friend Calvin are what a person symbolically experiences as he fights the demons of the mind. The author sees the malady of schizophrenia as being a disease that can only be controlled through psychotropic medications, and never totally overcome. His disease, namely chronic depression, is not in that category. While the battle may be difficult, as shown through the dystopic imagery, if enough `guts and determination' are summoned up depression can be successfully defeated. This is clearly shown in the suicidal death of the story's antagonist, Dr. Beale. This character is not meant to represent any mental health professional that played a role in the author's recovery, instead it is meant to portray the concept of mental illness itself. All forms of this dysfunction produce within the patient's mind a long and never-ending series of lies, whether it be through the delusions of psychosis or the onerous weight of depressive thoughts. They, like Dr. Beale, tell you falsehoods that will emotionally destroy you unless you rise up against them. This is what our protagonist, Jason, did throughout his dystopic adventure and this is what the author apparently did in his personal life.Bravo! to you Mr. Walker, for I personally and professionally know the courage that it took to summon up the stamina to continue the fight and defeat the monsters that you faced. Yes, it was indeed "A Long Winter's Journey" but a journey that can now be used to show other people the path to recovery. Congratulations.................