January First: A Child’s Descent Into Madness and Her Father’s Struggle to Save Her

In this dramatic memoir, Schofield, who teaches writing at California State University, explains the mental illness of his young daughter January. During the two years chronicled in the book (when Jani is aged four to six), he attempts to help his daughter, but finally he and his wife accept that she is not just a precocious, forceful little girl with an unusually high number of imaginary friends. The devastating truth: Jani’s imaginary friends are near-constant hallucinations, and her violent outbursts and dangerous impulses are a product of child-onset schizophrenia. Schofield’s descriptions of his family’s struggles along the frustrating, road to a diagnosis—the numerous doctors and ineffectual medications, marital problems, Jani’s and the author’s suicide attempts—are thoughtfully detailed. But Schofield also offers valuable insight for others in similar situations, and ends on a hopeful note to his family’s unorthodox approach to dealing with Jani. (Aug.)