The Tunnel is a father's memoir about a family's odyssey through the world of serious mental illness. It is a story about the battles Friedler's son Henry fought with his parents, with various authority figures—including schools, teachers, and the police— and most importantly, the battles Henry fought with his own mind. Henry's story takes place for the most part in the distinctive air of Uptown New Orleans. He came from a well-educated and prosperous Southern family, the only son between two sisters. The memoir chronicles the way society views, treats, and even criminalizes the mentally ill. It is a love story of a husband and wife as well as a fractured love story of a father and son. But at its heart The Tunnel is a story of the resilience of a family, a man, and a marriage. It is a story of taking that gasp of air at the end of a tunnel—a breath that says you are alive, you made it through your own tunnel of darkness, and you will find happiness on the other side.
