Eddie Blacklock Releases BEING INSANE
By: Christina Mancuso Apr. 09, 2015
BRISBANE, Australia
After working for many years in mental health services, it became apparent for Eddie Blacklock how many patients there are who are 'voiceless', and none more so than people suffering from schizophrenia. He wanted to advocate on their behalf and raise social awareness about the plight of these people in the 21st century. With this in mind, he has written "Being Insane: A voice listener's story" (published by Xlibris AU).
This narrative documents the life of Samuel Coates, a young man who has auditory hallucinations and is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He is held involuntarily in a fictitious public hospital for forced treatment. Because of his diagnosis, Samuel misinterprets his world, making him very vulnerable. In the hospital, he meets patients with a vastly different diagnosis, who he is physically and emotionally attracted to, causing him serious dilemmas in who to trust.
"The character of Samuel Coates is appealing in his naivety and his simple concrete interpretations of the world," says Blacklock. "It would not be difficult for readers to see how anyone with auditory hallucinations could find themselves in similar situations. Readers who have relatives with schizophrenia, or who have spent any time in public mental health unit will have direct affiliation with Samuel and other patients and staff there."
Blacklock believes that schizophrenia is still a largely misunderstood mental illness. "Being Insane: A voice listener's story" attempts to demystify what schizophrenia is, while simultaneously reflecting on the state of mental health services which Blacklock thinks still remain largely secretively controlled and hidden.
"Being Insane: A voice listener's story"
By Eddie Blacklock
Hardcover | 6 x 9in | 280 pages | ISBN 9781503503922
Softcover | 6 x 9in | 280 pages | ISBN 9781503503939
E-Book | 280 pages | ISBN 9781503503946
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Eddie Blacklock has worked in mental health service in England and Australia, in both public and private services. In his last 13 years as a clinician, he managed an acute admission unit. When he left that role, he started lecturing at Griffith University in Brisbane where he currently teaches mental health in an undergraduate nursing program. Since 2000, he has run a private counseling service where he sees people either in their homes or workplace with a range of mental health, relationship crisis and posttraumatic stress issues. Blacklock also provides clinical supervision to a wide range of mental health professional disciplines in both public and private hospitals in Brisbane.
Xlibris Publishing Australia, an Author Solutions, LLC imprint, is a self-publishing services provider dedicated to serving Australian authors. By focusing on the needs of creative writers and artists and adopting the latest print-on-demand publishing technology and strategies, we provide expert publishing services with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound and full-color formats. To date, Xlibris has helped to publish more than 60,000 titles.For more information, visit xlibrispublishing.com.au or call 1800 455 039 to receive a free publishing guide. Follow us @XlibrisAus on Twitter for the latest news.
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