Tuesday, December 30, 2008 9:50 PM CST
BOOK REVIEW: 'Against Medical Advice' By James Patterson and Hal Friedman
Review by Juanita Sherwood
“Against Medical Advice” is an anomaly. James Patterson, whether by himself or co-author, usually writes fiction. This non-fiction book is about the co-author’s son.
Hal Friedman’s son, Cory, seemed to be a normal child until he reached the age of 4. He then developed Tourette’s syndrome. It was later discovered that he also suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as anxiety disorder.
The Tourettes made Cory suffer from involuntary muscle movements and uncontrolled speech. Mixing this with the effects of the OCD and anxiety disorder caused a difficult life for a young man who only wished to be “normal.” It also placed considerable strain on his family, which consisted of an older sister and parents.
From the moment his problem evidenced itself, the Friedmans consulted one doctor after another, some using experimental medicines and techniques, to no avail.
Cory was served in special education classes, sometimes not being able to attend school for the entire day. In class, his behavior was disruptive.
Cory is very intelligent, and he was quite athletic, even participating in some organized sports, but he could not always control his movements or speech. This brought undue attention to him, which put more pressure on him, causing even more uncontrolled movement. At some points in his life, he tried to fit in by being the class clown.
He parents never gave up on him even though he committed some behaviors that were definitely a threat to the welfare of the family, such as grabbing the steering wheel when sitting in the passenger seat in front.
As Cory got older, he wanted to belong even more. His parents tried to steer him in positive directions, but some of the friends that he had were quick to take advantage, monetarily or otherwise. Cory learned that one way he could get a bit of relief from the agony of his condition(s) was to consume alcoholic beverages.
Many of Cory’s agonies regarding his condition are illustrated in the book. Some of the story is told from his point of view. It is easy to identify with his struggles and to feel empathy for his inability to be “normal.”
The incident that made a final impact on the family was when Cory was a junior in high school. He was in the basement of the family home, where a friend had brought alcoholic beverages to share with a group. The other teens left, but Cory, being intoxicated, fell asleep while smoking a cigarette. The couch got on fire; he frantically worked to extinguish the flames, and finally managed to do so.
After this, Cory agreed to attend a camp in the wilderness. This greatly improved his self-esteem and taught him some tough lessons. He then attended a school for teens with mental disorders. This helped also.
When he returned home, he and his parents were dismayed to discover that he was going to have to repeat his junior year in high school because of his extensive absences while attending the camp and special school. Eventually, Cory was allowed to make up the work and was passed on to his senior year.
Cory graduated with his class and then attended Syracuse University. The isolation of his condition caused him to have spent so much time on computers over the years that he was quite the expert and given a teaching role as an undergraduate.
He finally had overcome his illnesses, but was diagnosed with one of the worst cases of a combination of the three illnesses that medical science had ever seen.
Sherwood of Charleston is a retired reading teacher.
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