That Way Madness Lies...

Our city, state, national commitment to fixing broken mental health/illness systems falls far behind that of northern European countries. Broken is an understatement. This doc gave an insight into what it means to be in need of help like no other doc I've seen. Courageously, the family & friends involved share the immense effects of dealing w/this issue, both personally & legally w/courts & governments.

Strange that in our country (and eerily similar to our attitude towards guns) every person has a legal right to be crazy. We as a society currently have no (or little) responsibility (or political will) to intervene. It starts w/our President making national health & wellbeing - food, environment, infrastructure, medical & other services - the priority.

Until you have a loved one who crashed on the rocks of society like this, you might never know what the deal is. This film is a harrowing account of an all-too-real situation of a family without the tools to manage a mental illness crisis.

It could be any kind of trigger--addiction, brain chemistry, military service--none of these scenarios is well served by our medical and legal structures right now. Families without training or experience are adrift in this tempest. Here we get to watch the tempest unfold.

I salute the filmmaker and her family for pulling back the curtain on this. I only wish it provided a road map for those who come next. But part of the point is--none exists. And that's the saddest knowledge that comes out of this.