Jordi Lisa & David

I was 11 when I first read David & Lisa/Jordi. These stories cannot be recommended highly enough. Dr. Rubin clearly cares about his patients and the characters he has based on them. His compassion shines through like a beacon. These books are not to be missed. This story set in the years 1959-1960. David, 15, a gifted boy whose behavior is described as obsessive neurotic and compulsive meets the psychotic Lisa in a residential treatment center. He masks his obvious attraction to the girl by claiming to be clinically interested in her. She speaks in rhyme to suppress her "alter ego," identified as Muriel. David unlocks the riddle of why Lisa speaks in nonsense rhymes and from that point on, he makes incredible progress. His psychiatrist, Dr. White and Lisa's teacher, John are compassionate characters one can't help but love. Jordi really touched my heart. I first read "Jordi" when I was 11 and it remains a favorite book to this day. Jordi was a very bright boy who lived in Brooklyn. He knew all the train and bus routes in the tri-state area and at 8, had not learned any academic skills. Jordi is clearly schizophrenic and his mental illness makes him confused about what is real and what is fantasy. He fears garbage pails because he thinks the opening is an ear that can hear him. He fears rain forests because he thinks trees will land from the sky onto him. Jordi did not fit into any mainstream program and he was lucky his parents had the foresight not to commit him to an institution. That was just too inhuman. Luckily for Jordi, a day school opened in his area and he was admitted. I loved the way he and his teacher, Sally, worked with each other. Lisa makes a guest appearance in this book with her teacher, John. They, too, help Jordi in that he learns that he is not the one being hurt when he sees Lisa kicking John in anger one day. Sally helped Jordi shed many of his misperceptions and I loved the way she and Jordi demolished a garbage can. She encouraged Jordi to identify anger and to vent it onto that can. By doing this, she allowed Jordi to explain his fear and she, in turn could tell him that garbage cans are inanimate and can't hear. She helped Jordi over many hurdles including academic work. It warmed my heart to read about Jordi's rapid progress in reading and in acquiring advanced mathematic skills. I loved the way Sally helped orient Jordi by showing him that he would always be Jordi regardless of which seat he occupied or what coat he wore or what changes occurred in his routines. She clearly accepted this boy and it is through their good work together that Jordi was able to break from the bond of psychotic confusion into health and social/world participation. Please read this book. It's great. You will love it.