Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley This novel, as the title entails depicts a supportive father’s journey through mental institutionalization. The story begins with the author’s son, Mike Earley making an unscheduled visit from college. Mike’s roommate drove his back home, claiming “He’s not right.” Mike’s mental illness first appeared in college and progressively worsened. Mike’s parents tried to get him into different mental organizations but no one would take him because he wasn’t an imminent harm to neither himself nor the people surrounding him. The gravity of Mike’s illness became blatant when he broke into someone’s home and took a bath in one of their restrooms. The homeowners decided to press charges and Mike could be charged with felonies. The potential charges had the power to ruin Mike’s life, Pete tried apologizing to the parents and tried to explain his son’s illness but they were apathetic. The homeowners wanted to pursue the charges, during the court proceedings Mike was unaware of how the judge’s decision would taint his record for the rest of his life. Earley exposes his personal fears about his son’s health when he became excited about going to court: “Because I get to wear my new suit” said …show more content…
Baring Mike’s true thoughts about the court proceedings revealed how deep his illness truly was. Earley uses his son’s experiences to support the claim that mental illnesses are chemical imbalances with an individual’s brain. After being recycled through various mental health institutions and court Pete realized the national epidemic of institutionalization. Pete decided to get proactive in the psychiatric field and he begins his journey in Miami, Florida with Dr. Joseph Poitier in the C-Wing of Miami-Dade County Pretrial Detention