TO THE BIN AND BACK

About the Book

This is a true story of one rugby playing boy’s journey from normal New Zealand rural life in the 1980’s to the depths of the last decayed and torturous mental intuitions. Take a ring side seat into an explosive fi ght for freedom and sanity. “When you're a mental patient living inside a loony bin, at fi rst you think that the precarious thing about saving yourself is trying to remain sane while living close to the edge. One becomes very careful not to go native, to get caught up in the liberating eff ects of no longer having to conform within a conventional society. One forgets what sane is - one can’t help going native. One soon learns we are all crazy in diff ering degrees and in the subjective eyes of others. I came to the conclusion that, the real battle is not to remain sane as a mental patient; your sanity is irrelevant. You begin to believe life in the bin is not survival of the fi ttest; it's not real survival at all.”

About the Author

Jacob Read BsocSc (Hons) MSocSc Dip Psych Com Jacob Read is a survivor of the mental health system. He is a psychologist who worked in various roles in the mental health sector at national and local levels. His nickname at school was rugby read. He dreamed of becoming and All Black, but he’s test match took him in another direction. His son, family and supportive friends help keep his head above water most of the time.