Let me say at the start that it’s not my usual genre; I’m not into horror as such but this one intrigued me. A self-help book? For the psychotic? That alone pulled me in and I’m glad I was. It’s a well written, enjoyable (if graphic) dance into the heart and mind of a truly disturbed individual written (as it says) as a self-help manual; one perhaps that Tony Robbins may never write but that’s his loss.
The book’s short (58 pages in eBook format), and I found myself engaged with it on three levels.
Firstly, solely as a book, as a self-help manual. The exercises and tests were intriguing, particularly when they seemed to have no relevance to anything else, but the deeper I got into it the more “sense” (if that’s the right word) they made. It reminded me in part of CS Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, as Dr J manages to immerse you in the work.
Secondly, it is a disturbing look into the mind of a psychotic. Under the prose there’s a knowledge of the psychotic’s mind, motivations and ego that comes through in each page; from the logical, direct, and clear mind set in parts to the disjointed, rambling, and seemingly obtuse ravings that are peppered throughout.
Finally, and from a writer’s perspective, if I ever want to get my head into a madman’s mind to write this is where I’ll go. To suspend disbelief for a a while, submerge into this work, and emerge as a twisted main character this will provide more than enough.