Natalie lived across the street from Nietzke apartment. The book is written in the form of a journal that spans about a month and a half in November and December in central Los Angeles. Nietzke creates a relationship with Natalie, who has a mental illness, most likely schizophrenia. In Natalie's case and many others like hers, the life struggle includes her gender, her age, and the distortion of delusions and hallucinations from her untreated mental illness. This book is disturbing at times, which is where its value lies.
Homelessness is ugly.
This booklets us who always have had a place to live inside, sheltered, know what is involved in the struggle for the homeless individual. After reading this book, it is clear that the answer is not simple, particularly when mental illness is part of the picture. In Natalie's case, Nietzke reports in a postscript that Natalie received treatment in a hospital and then after, being stabilized, received public mental health assistance and continued to live in a community care facility. Now you may join the NAMI Stigma Alert Listing and have all of the latest stigma updates delivered to your email account.