Nine years ago, Patrick Cockburn was reporting from the Middle East as foreign correspondent for a national newspaper. Henry, his charming and talented 19-year-old son, was enjoying his first year at university. On 6 February 2002, while in Kabul, Patrick received a desperate telephone call from his wife Jan. Henry had almost drowned swimming in the freezing Newhaven Estuary. Voices told him to do it.
So marks the onset of Henry’s schizophrenia and the beginning of a long and painful journey for Henry, Patrick and their family. Trees and animals speak to Henry, urging him on, instructing him. They tell him to run away, to walk barefoot and naked, pilgrim-like, through the ancient streets of Brighton and Canterbury. Henry is detained under the Mental Health Act and diagnosed with schizophrenia, spending the next 6 years in a variety of psychiatric hospitals. Compelled onwards, he escapes more than 30 times, regularly outwitting staff, even on the most secure wards. Once out, Henry pits himself singularly against the elements. Out of contact, missing for days, the family and staff wait anxiously for his safe return.
Told through alternating chapters, Henry and Patrick give their own first-person accounts of Henry’s illness. The result is a moving and insightful portrait of the devastating effect of schizophrenia on one family. Henry is convinced of the intense spirituality of his experiences, which he recounts in a raw, unflinching prose. With great honesty and integrity, he describes why he does not believe he is ill and why he refuses medication. He tells of the intense terror, his long hours of loneliness and boredom on the ward, the increasing gap between himself and his peers, and his struggle to make sense of it all. It is humbling and heartbreaking to read.
Patrick describes the events as they occur, following the slow unfolding of Henry’s schizophrenia and his psychotic breakdowns. He skillfully covers schizophrenia with his clear and sympathetic journalistic prose, and incisively appraises the state of modern psychiatric services and current research advances. Both Patrick and Henry are skilled and gifted writers, but it is the natural understanding between father and son that makes Henry’s Demons an unforgettable account of schizophrenia. This really is a must-read for anyone involved in treating individuals with schizophrenia. A stark reminder of the very human cost of this all-too-common illness.
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