Many people in modern society are diagnosed with mental illness. My family experienced it firsthand. Through this book, I want to share our family's journey with our remarkable son and brother who truly taught us the most important lessons of life. The professional people who have held us in their hands and hearts are dedicated to those of us who are personally affected by these brain-based disorders that the world calls mental illnesses. My goal is to draw attention to the fact that these dedicated professionals are bound in a web spun by a spider that traps them in a system that is
fragmented and seems to make no sense. In the past, people with mental illnesses were "housed" in asylums world-wide. More recently in this country, state hospitals served that role until the emergence of antipsychotic medications and other forms of treatment permitted people with such diagnoses to come into the mainstream of our society. Robert and our family were on the leading edge of that transition.
