A Divided Mind

Tara is your typical working mom. Every single day she struggles to provide her children with everything they need and being a single mom makes that even more challenging. So when her son, Branson calls her one day from school and tells her that he hears voices, her world and her family collapses right in front of her eyes and there is nothing she can do to stop it, because what she has to face is an invisible, silent and deadly enemy called schizophrenia.

Branson has been dealing with mental illness since he was a child, but he has managed to hide it pretty well, all things considered. But after an incident at school, the truth is out and the time has come for Branson to ask for help.

Mental illness is a very fragile topic. It takes a lot of courage and very delicate handling to describe it especially on paper and that is exactly what M. Billiter accomplishes in A Divided Mind. The plot is well thought and is based on the author’s son who had a similar experience, so that makes it even more realistic. Throughout the book, we read different POVs including Branson’s and Tara’s. Because of Branson, we learn more about mental illness, we get a glimpse of what it’s like to not be aware of what’s real or even control your thoughts. It can be very frightening and life-changing and we get a front-row seat.

I found the ending smart. It makes you realize that mental illness doesn’t just disappear when you wake up one day but it becomes part of who you are. The point is to own it and not allow it to own you.