January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her Paperback – August 6, 2013

From my blogThis is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. Emotional, heartbreaking, passionate, the incredible scary reality of the Schofields. I will be following Michael's blog, Jani's Journey, as I am in awe of his commitment, he may not be perfect but him and his wife Susan are amazing in my eyes. They did for Jani what no other parent or medical professional could have done. They loved Jani with a true forever.I didn't realise it was the same family I had seen on the news or Oprah but what I saw was how the book ended with the decision to live separately. It was great to see how it all began with January and how being called January would trigger one of her tantrums, soon becoming reality of her hallucinations. Her parents thought she may be a genius as she could read and write, had a mathematical mind at age 2 but reality was there was something more, a psychosis. Many medical staff I don't think understood what Michael and Susan were going through because January was there youngest patient to have schizophrenia and I believe they were scared to label her. During this long year she was misdiagnosed or maybe a better term would be the professionals lacked the importance of diagnosing her. I have to give the parents the out most respect for pushing forward and wanting the best for their family. Jani is five so some believe it is just sever anxiety, autistic, she doesn't want to deal with the real world and maybe even bipolar. The parents are questioning schizophrenia and keep getting shut down, this was mind blowing to me.My only query which I have to be honest is a little judgemental, why would they have another child. I loved how near the end this was answered, not only for me but for them also. The violence they experienced was unreal and when Jani asked to go to the psyche ward so she won't hurt her brother or mommy it was torture, she is only 5, how can she understand that. At times I had to put the book down, it was just to hard to embrace but I felt the pull to pick it back up and read on.There were some funny scenes that were also educational. Michael forgot to cut her medicine so bit it to give to her and a few crushed pieces he swallowed. The effect of this seriously had me crying with laughter. Finding the right medicine for January was difficult and hardly noticed as an impact to her, but a few crushed pieces had Michael in a moment of feeling like he was stuck in quick sand, reality or not, totally funny.I loved how the idea of living in 2 homes came from them, undeniable love. They didn't know how they would do it but learned to figure it out moment to moment. I look forward to following there journey.I have always had a love for understanding mental illness which is what drew me to this book.I wish the Schofield's the best and hope the journey gets easier, continue to love and uphold each other. I also hope that one day a magic drug will assist families with mental illness, either with a cure or way to have more than just great moments but amazing days, weeks, months or years.

"January First" is a very frank, well-written, honest book which gives a previously unseen glimpse into a child's descent into schizophrenia. As a special education professional, I encounter children with mystifying behaviors on a regular basis. I have worked with children similar to January and can attest to the difficulty families and schools face getting an accurate diagnosis for children at this age. The book was both gripping and deeply disturbing, hard to put down. I highly recommend this book for parents, as the father/author was very honest about both his deep commitment and struggle to accept the severity of the behaviors...I think parents with similar struggles will find strength and commonality. My hope is that it helps more parents to accept and seek diagnosis and put their personal feelings aside in an effort to treat what truly is affecting their children. Also a must-read for professionals working with children whose behaviors are outside the norm. Having worked with an extreme case last year, I found the book to be insightful and a good reminder not to settle for a diagnosis that does not match the child. This may be one of the most upsetting, yet illuminating, books that I have ever read.

I too, like so many others, saw this story many times on television. I was interested in the story because I was not aware that children as young as January could be diagnosed so young.The story is told through the father's eyes. I saw that many reviewers commented on how they would have liked the perspective of January but how could that have been done authentically since she lives in her own little world that is extremely different from ours?The narrator (January's Father) is not likable. It is also hard to drum up sympathy for him. He takes on a victim mentality and blames the entire world for not seeing what he sees. In the beginning he gets angry at a retail clerk for not taking part in the child's delusions. You will not like Michael. You may even feel sorry for his wife in the beginning. I know I did....until I saw that her behavior clearly led to more complications and breakdown in the family structure.I noticed with a lot of reviewers were upset about the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Others were upset that this family decided to have another child and bring a dog into the equation. I will shy away from making those same judgments in this review for the simple fact that unless you are a professional AND have examined January, how in the world can you come up with a diagnosis? You studied a few clips on a documentary? Ludicrous. If a husband and wife decide to make another child, it is really not our business. I'm sure quite a few people that have read this book shouldn't throw stones while living in their perfect glass houses. Mental illness is real and millions of people are affected by it. It is so easy to say what someone should do in hindsight or by glimpsing into a part of their lives.I have a friend like that now that likes to talk about her cousin's five children that run away and have joined gangs, committing crimes and whatnot while her own daughter is a thief.I digress.I got very angry at the author and seriously only kept reading the book because I couldn't put it down. I read the book in a little over three hours. I just got the picture that the father had some serious anger issues and was dealing with some mental issues of his own.Besides not liking the author as much, I have to reward him for his candid and brutal honesty. Writing a book of this nature could not have been easy. While I agree when you write a book, you subject yourself to criticism but you have to ask yourself, what would YOU do in their situation? The answers aren't as easy as you think when it affects YOU. Don't tell me that you have someone you know with this disease because everyone's situation is different.I battled between three and four stars with this book because it was frustrating to read. I found myself shouting and screaming at the book to my poor fiancé who didn't have a clue what the heck I was talking about, but as I said before, no matter how angry I was at the book, I read it and finished in no time at all.You may not agree with the author. You may not agree with his behavior or his wife's behavior. You may vehemently disagree with the diagnosis. But if you're looking for a good read to suck you in and you can get past a few things, I would highly recommend this book.

My brother was diagnosed with the same mental illness. This was an awesome read, to be able to see it from their point of view. Everyone's mental illness is different than others, so it was actually nice to see what they did and what worked for them. Doesn't always go into what everyone's perspective of how everyone lives. What works for them won't work for my family, but it was great to get an idea what I could potentially do differently.

I love the raw honesty of the father as he agonizes how best to reach his daughter throughout her ordeal of an emotional and mental condition.Heartfelt writing with real insight on the everyday battles and turmoil the parents and everyone who becomes involved in the little girls life have to endure.

An amazingly touching read! I could not put this book down, interesting to learn what her parents have to go through and how they deal with Jani's illness and it amazing to see how someone so young like Jani has to deal with such a big illness, I really take my hat off to this family their story is truly amazing and shows the amount of love for their children despite problems. Strongly recommend!!!!

A pageturner , all parents should read it , all my respects to January's parents, amazing parents that went through hell

...für alle die sich mit dem Fachgebiet "auskennen" (beruflich od als Betroffene) ansonsten eher für Menschen mit starken Nerven!Teilweise wirklich erschreckend, wenn man sich vor Augen hält zu welcher "Zeit" das Buch handelt, erinnert es doch sehr an die Psychiatrie der 50er / 60er Jahre.