Zig-Zag Boy: Madness, Motherhood and Letting Go

(Hardback)

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A moving portrait of a mother's love for her son fiercely intelligent, humane and necessary NATHAN FILER, author of THE SHOCK OF THE FALL

'At its heart a story about love an astonishing new voice' ALI MILLAR, author of THE LAST DAYS
Im scared the bad people will hear me talking to you.

I watch him take his notebook and a marker pen from his bag. As he zips the compartment back up I see the tip of our large, serrated kitchen knife, the one that went missing last night.

Zach was nineteen when Tanya discovered him rerouting the wires of their landline, sure that the phone was bugged, that his friends were Mafia, that the helicopters swirling above were deployed by spies, that he couldnt trust anyone her included.

That moment upturned and unmoored everything. It would strand them both in a profound and terrifying isolation the way that perhaps only a psychotic break or loving someone who is experiencing one can.

Zig-Zag Boy is a journey along the tough frontiers of love and madness. As Tanya fights for answers and understanding coming up against broken healthcare systems in the UK and the US she is forced to question whether there were warning signs she missed, whether Zach will be able to have a normal life, and what normal really means.

Reviews

By turns an eloquent meditation on the power of nature and a terrifying expose [an] intense, readable journey fresh with keenly observed details What Zig-Zag Boy does best is put you inside the dark recesses of living with a mentally ill adult child, an experience that is on the rise hopefully it will inspire the most important quality of all among providers, police officers and the public: empathy
Beth Macy, New York Times

A moving portrait of a mother's love for her son. It is also a fiercely intelligent, humane and necessary contribution to mental health literature
Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall

'At its heart a story about love; the lengths a mother will go to in a bid to understand her child Rendered in prose that rings clear and true, Zig-Zag Boy announces an astonishing new voice'
Ali Millar, author of The Last Days

Takes us to the heart of loving and parenting a child in the most intensive and often heartbreaking way. Marked by wonderful storytelling, a wry sense of humour and a determination to tell the truth no matter what, you will get lost in this story. And be the better for it
Emily Rapp, author of The Still Point of the Turning World

Starts by chronicling a mothers nightmare as her promising son falls into psychosis, but ends up being far more than the story of what happens when we fear for the life of someone we love. A searing indictment of the medical industrial complex across continents
Gina Frangello, author of Blow Your House Down

A wonder. I loved this book and loved the family at the heart of it This is a beautiful book
Mark Lukach, My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward

In unforgettable imagery and nuanced prose, Tanya Frank gives us an incredible journey
Susan Straight

A beautiful, vibrant, powerful memoir about both holding tight and letting go
Gayle Brandeis

Author Bio

Tanya Frank recently moved back to her native England. Prior to her return home, she lived in California, where she worked as a docent at an elephant seal sanctuary. Her writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian and numerous literary journals.