The Shock of the Fall

Bruce Mann navigates the complexities of Matt, a boy with schizophrenia who struggles with the realities and "unrealities" of his life, as well as his guilt over the death of his intellectually disabled brother. Mann wisely underplays all but Matt's most obvious psychotic breaks. Instead, he uses slightly halting speech to contrast Matt's quirks with the more normal behavior of his family and caregivers. This first-person narrative affords an intimacy that this mental condition might prevent in real life. It creates empathy--not merely sympathy--for the parents, who have lost both their boys, and for Matt, who has lost his brother as well as control over his life and mind. K.W. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine