| FOR PETE'S SAKE BY GENE GILBREATH |
WELCOME !
Pete as a person with schizophrenia lived within the confines of his
own mental world. The author explores that world in a critique of the
medical record of those years; 28 years in Evansville State Hospital,
Evansville, Indiana, and 19 more in two nursing homes. When you
have read that chapter of the book, you might ask if that was all there
was to Pete's life. If so, it is not a pleasant one.
The author chose to not leave the reader with just that institutional
picture. Never is one event, even for forty-seven years, the whole
story of ones life. We are much healthier mentally if we see the big
picture of existence.
So the author demonstrated the big picture of Pete's life by the
inclusion of other chapters. Mental health issues are raised in each
segment. Gene has a speech entitled “Our Life, a Segment of the
Ages.” It is based on this concept of life being larger than any one
event.
Mental health issues are raised as the author explores Pete's
ancestry, the childhood of his four children, school days in rural
Sullivan County, Indiana.
A sequel to Pete's journey from Evansville Woodmere to MacaNell and
onto Woodlawn Nursing Home, was his wife Fleda's paying off the
farm, dealing with the mental health system, finally being in court to
defend her actions. Fleda, a part of Pete's story, with a love that
weathered the storm.
And the story doesn't end without hearing about our need to have
something bigger than self to hang onto in tough times, and being
able to survive victoriously with support of community and faith-based
actions.
Pete as a person with schizophrenia lived within the confines of his
own mental world. The author explores that world in a critique of the
medical record of those years; 28 years in Evansville State Hospital,
Evansville, Indiana, and 19 more in two nursing homes. When you
have read that chapter of the book, you might ask if that was all there
was to Pete's life. If so, it is not a pleasant one.
The author chose to not leave the reader with just that institutional
picture. Never is one event, even for forty-seven years, the whole
story of ones life. We are much healthier mentally if we see the big
picture of existence.
So the author demonstrated the big picture of Pete's life by the
inclusion of other chapters. Mental health issues are raised in each
segment. Gene has a speech entitled “Our Life, a Segment of the
Ages.” It is based on this concept of life being larger than any one
event.
Mental health issues are raised as the author explores Pete's
ancestry, the childhood of his four children, school days in rural
Sullivan County, Indiana.
A sequel to Pete's journey from Evansville Woodmere to MacaNell and
onto Woodlawn Nursing Home, was his wife Fleda's paying off the
farm, dealing with the mental health system, finally being in court to
defend her actions. Fleda, a part of Pete's story, with a love that
weathered the storm.
And the story doesn't end without hearing about our need to have
something bigger than self to hang onto in tough times, and being
able to survive victoriously with support of community and faith-based
actions.
Copyright, 2004 Rev 2005 All Rights Reserved
A son reflects on his father's forty-seven year
confinement with mental illness, seeking
understanding, hope, and caring for our mentally ill.
confinement with mental illness, seeking
understanding, hope, and caring for our mentally ill.
CHAPTER EXCERPTS
AUTHOR AVAILABILITY
for MENTAL HEALTH PRESENTATIONS
for MENTAL HEALTH PRESENTATIONS
HALLOWEEN AND STIGMA, Pete's Ghost at McCann Manor
VIRGINIA TECH, MY DAD AND I
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS
VIRGINIA TECH, MY DAD AND I
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS
ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY BY THE AUTHOR
TIES THAT BIND THE BOOK TOGETHER
1. The inherent worth of every person,
including persons handicapped in mind
and body.
2.Life's Big Picture: Mental health means
seeing ourselves as a segment of the
ages, our ancestry, our life on earth, and
our legacy, all as a whole event.
3.Facing our limitations: We must seek
the assistance of others and that of a
greater power to find success.
4.Genuine caring about others: May be
an instinct or learned, but a challenge
and saving act for self and for others; a
necessary ingredient in a sane society.
5.Issues of caring then (1948-1995) are
still issues today in any hospital, nursing
home, or mental health facility.
6.The author's purpose: To find hidden
treasure in the loss of his father's
forty-seven years of confinement;
offering a legacy for mental health.
1. The inherent worth of every person,
including persons handicapped in mind
and body.
2.Life's Big Picture: Mental health means
seeing ourselves as a segment of the
ages, our ancestry, our life on earth, and
our legacy, all as a whole event.
3.Facing our limitations: We must seek
the assistance of others and that of a
greater power to find success.
4.Genuine caring about others: May be
an instinct or learned, but a challenge
and saving act for self and for others; a
necessary ingredient in a sane society.
5.Issues of caring then (1948-1995) are
still issues today in any hospital, nursing
home, or mental health facility.
6.The author's purpose: To find hidden
treasure in the loss of his father's
forty-seven years of confinement;
offering a legacy for mental health.