9 Highland Road: Sane Living for the Mentally Ill

The residents of "9 Highland Road", the group home for people with mental illnesses featured in this book, are truly life's real heros, like most people with these terrible afflictions - afflictions that are still so badly misunderstood. As a schizophrenia sufferer myself, I was repeatedly moved to tears by the plight of these amazing people, and could identify with them, totally. One young woman, a girl with multipile personalities, suffered horrendously, yet was still able to bounce back and do well, even though she still suffers terribly at night. Her courage is a great inspiration, along with all the other residents featured in the true stories in this book. The author, Michael Winerip, is also an inspiration, and I pray that everyone will read this, his first book of many, I hope. He has done the mentally ill proud and is a wonderful, compassionate, understanding writer. Thank you, Michael.

This book tells us what really goes on inside group homes. It also tells us about the parochial neighbors who fight the placement of group homes in their neighborhoods because if irrational fears and ignorance. The author lived in the group home at 9 Highland Road on Long Island, a wealthy community that did not want the house located there and disgraced themselves in the eyes of many readers by raising hell at public meetings.The people living at this home did not destroy the community or devalue neighborhood homes. They also tested the patients of the staff. Winerip does a good job explaining the psychiatric problems experienced by each resident and how staff dealt with the daily travails of that environment. The staff are heroes for doing this work for low pay.The scariest part of the story is Julie, a resident suffering great trauma from childhood horrors and has many personalities to cope with that trauma. One personality takes over the body and when another personality pops out it may not even know where Julie is or how she got there. Apparently, one personality had a social life in New York City doing God knows what. When another personality pops out "she" realizes that the prior personality knows these companions well. But the second personality finds herself trying to converse with people who think they know her, but she doesn't know them. Most of the second half of the book deals with things like this. Scary stuff.

I have worked with people who suffer with mental illness for the past 11 years on Long Island. The past nine in community residences (one was mentioned in this book). Michael Winerip has done an excellent job of portraying what it is like to live and work in a community residence. Not only is it a daily battle for the residents, the staff do battle/advocate on the residents' behalf constantly with the government, OMH, clinicians, community, and family members. I applaud him for this book. It is full of life and crucial information for the general public and professionals. Anyone that has the slightest tie to the mental health system (which is probably more people than would admit it) I urge to read this book! It has many pages that are filled with valuable information. Don't be discouraged by the size of this book. I read it in 4 1/2 days and I am a full time program supervisor at a community residence in suffolk county, go to school, am on-call 24 hrs. a day and believe it or not I have a social life. For those working in the mental health field, I found this book rejuvinating. At a time when I was feeling "burnt out" it gave me strength and reminded me why I have spent so many years working with this gifted population. My residents have taught me many valuable things, and I believe that Michael expresses this in the book. I haven't read such a fulfilling book in many years!

This is one of the most heartwarming, uplifting books I have ever read about mental illness. Mr. Winerip clearly cares about his housemates and has created a loving alternative to a hospital or standard halfway house. He has literally built a community for the people at 9 Highland Road and has provided a gentle voice of encouragement to the residents. His approach is very humane and it comes as no surprise that the people at 9 Highland Road flourish and blossom towards health. To his credit, Mr. Winerip makes no promises. He appears to take the approach of joy in each day with the people who share his vision.

I acquired this book a while ago and because of it I am now a counselor at one of the Community Residences mentioned in the novel. Mr. Winerip is one of the few authors I have read that presented the mentally ill in a very meaningful and heartwarming manner. The book touches a part of you that you never knew existed. Once you get into the book and you realize that the people you are reading about are real, it makes you take a step back and realize the horrors of politics and the effects it can have on people who are not so fortunate. I praise Mr. Winerip for a job well done.