Suggested related reads

[[deleted user]]

Finding fiction read-alikes for Elephant in the Sky is surprisingly difficult. Heather Clark must be breaking ground with her subject matter. Here's our list of fiction and non-fiction books that are available in OPL's collection (www.opl.ca):

Hurry Down Sunshine
Love Anthony
Saving Sammy
Halfway House
Without Tess

If you've read any of these, please comment about how they compare to Elephant in the Sky, or how they contributed to your understanding of mental illness or challenges in children. Do you have other read-alikes to recommend to our club?

[Maureen]

One of the books I've often wanted to read--but didn't--was one called "The Book of Matthew" by Betty Jane Wylie. I'd certainly be interested in any comments on it. Doubt if it's in print any more.

[Rosanna]

How wonderful to know it's difficult to find a read-a-like! I would think, for the author, this is gratifying. Kudos to Ms. Clark for writing something so original. :)

[Maureen]

It is wonderful! I used to review books for a local centre for children with disabilities and there's a few lovely little books out there but, unfortunately, they weren't widely distributed. In our market-driven culture, those books existed because of niche publishers and educational presses who didn't worry so much about the bottom line. Parents whose children had varying issues usually had a real slog finding anything in mainstream bookstores that might inform them of their particular situation. Thankfully, attitudes have changed and more and more publishers are bringing out books on subjects that we would have had a hard time finding twenty, thirty years ago.

[Rosanna]

Maureen wrote: "It is wonderful! I used to review books for a local centre for children with disabilities and there's a few lovely little books out there but, unfortunately, they weren't widely distributed. In o..."

You make a great point, Maureen. Topics that were once off-limits are now embraced, which is great for the readers and the authors trying to present them. Even in other genres, I see a lot of readers craving stories that speak to their personal, "different" situations.

[Allison]

Maureen wrote: "One of the books I've often wanted to read--but didn't--was one called "The Book of Matthew" by Betty Jane Wylie. I'd certainly be interested in any comments on it. Doubt if it's in print any more."

Yes, this book is out of print. But maybe I can find a copy for the library!

[Allison]

Oakville wrote: "Finding fiction read-alikes for Elephant in the Sky is surprisingly difficult. Heather Clark must be breaking ground with her subject matter. Here's our list of fiction and non-fiction books that ..."

The only title in this list that I have read is Hurry down sunshine...the story from a father's perspective of his 15 year old daughter's sudden descent into psychosis. She was eventually diagnosed as bipolar. The author freely and deliberately chooses to use phrases like "cracked up" and "struck mad"...being a writer, the author has the gift of telling a compelling, well-written story and includes one very amusing chapter where he decides to try his daughter's meds, in order to better understand what she is going through in recovery. I highly recommend this memoir.

There is another memoir that came out recently called Brain on fire ...another story of sudden psychosis in a young woman (in this case, I believe she was in her twenties).

[Susan]

Maureen wrote: "One of the books I've often wanted to read--but didn't--was one called "The Book of Matthew" by Betty Jane Wylie. I'd certainly be interested in any comments on it. Doubt if it's in print any more."
Hello Maureen, I haven't read The Book of Matthew, but I had the chance to hear Betty Jane Wylie speak many years ago and I read one of her other books. She is a wise woman and a good writer.

[Maureen]

Rosanna wrote: Topics that were once off-limits are now embraced, which is great for the readers and the authors trying to present them. Even in other genres, I see a lot of readers craving stories that speak to their personal, "different" situations.

Readers seem more open to difficult topics, for sure. That said, I was discussing this with a friend who said she read for diversion and didn't particularly want to deal with weighty issues like disability or mental illness and she's certainly not alone. Most of the stuff I read doesn't even have a whiff of reality. But it did occur to me, while we were talking, that Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer very likely would've been diagnosed with something and how many fictional heroes and anti-heroes/antagonists are mentally ill, although that term is never used?!

[Maureen]

Allison wrote: "Maureen wrote: "The Book of Matthew" by Betty Jane Wylie . . . Allison wrote: "Yes, this book is out of print. But maybe I can find a copy for the library! "

Thanks, Allison! Please keep me in mind. :)

Susan wrote: "Maureen wrote: "One of the books I've often wanted to read--but didn't--was one called "The Book of Matthew" by Betty Jane Wylie. I'd certainly be interested in any comments on it. Doubt if it's ..."

She really was remarkable, wasn't she? I met her at the Burlington Public Library when she was writer-in-residence there. I had so much admiration for anyone who could successfully navigate a writing career in Canada, especially someone who took up writing after being widowed and with four children. She was an eclectic writer as well; I had two of her books, one on financial management for women, the other a book on cooking with cheese. :)