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Title Out Of Darkness: The Journey To HopeAuthor Bruce Van DusenSynopsis It is the authors intent that this book shed light on the fact that those with Mental Illness can become productive members of society. The strength of the human spirit is seen in stories like this every day. If you, or someone you love is ill I hope you can find the will and determination to stay the course, and not give up. Biography
Not Available Letter of Recommendation January 7, 2009 It is my pleasure to share my perspective on the book Out of Darkness by Bruce Van Dusen. I use it as a required text in an introductory course I teach called The Biology of Mental Illness. It is a 3 credit hour course for first year non-biology majors. One is the stated course objectives is that the student will have an opportunity to study mental illness from a biological perspective through the lens of a consumer. Mr. Van Dusen's book helps students meet this objective. The course I offer is "one of a kind" in the world, but there are a number other possible uses of the book in college courses. The most obvious fit would be as a case study book in psychology or social work courses. Too many case studies are artificial and predictable. The cases feature a client/ patient who is listing symptoms directly from the DSM. Mr. Van Dusen's story is real. It is written appropriately in large print, understandable language, and interesting style. Mr. Van Dusen describes his experience with co-occurring mental illness and addictions. His symptoms began in the second decade of his life. His experience is not rare. Schizophrenia affects one in one hundred people universally. It is more common than multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy or insulin dependent diabetes; yet the stigma against it is so strong that we do not hear of it as often as any of those illnesses. Seventy five per cent of males who develop schizophrenia have their first episode between the ages of sixteen and twenty three years. Bipolar illness affects even more people and often first causes symptoms in the late teens and early twenties. Anxiety and panic disorder are other illnesses that often begin in adolescence or early adulthood. A conservative estimate is that fifty percent of people who have a diagnosis of mental illness have co-occurring substance misuse issues. Even youth who do not have mental illness are at greater risk for vulnerability to addictions. The final projections of central nervous system tracts to the pre-frontal cortex where impulse control and judgment reside takes place in youth with no mental illness issues (so called normal) from eighteen to twenty two years of age. For these reasons, I can picture using the book in the junior and senior years of high school and throughout colleges as a community reading project. Because it is interesting, it could serve as a "discussion" starter in an educational journey for all students to learn more about mental illness, addictions and the vulnerability of youth to both. Then the conversations about these illnesses' being treatable and the reality of recovery can begin. I know one man who is seriously and persistently affected by schizophrenia. He has been ill a number of years. Although he is very intelligent, his illness and the medications affect his cognitive abilities and reading effectiveness. However, he picked up Out of Darkness and read it in one sitting. He has been motivated to write his story and carries the book around with him. I truly believe that with appropriate marketing, Mr. Van Dusen's book can make a wide-spread difference in how our society views mental illness, addictions and the vulnerability of our young people to both. Ignorance is not bliss. I often quote Dr. Marie Curie, "Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood." This book can help us all be less afraid and more understanding. If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me at 317-274-2276 or via e-mail at jlafuze@indiana.edu. Sincerely yours, Indiana University School of Medicine |
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