The following is a synopsis of a novel, titled ”ALL ABOUT BRIAN,” written and published by me.

     Brian Martin is a paranoid schizophrenic, plagued with the problem of hearing voices from which he could find no escape.  His problem begins very early in his life and progresses over the years. His suffering is shared by his family, particularly his mother whose anxiety for her son is adversely affecting her health which gets all the more aggravated by osteoporosis, eventually resulting in the fracture of her hip.

      Brian’s mental condition begins to manifest itself during childhood.  He runs away from school but is soon located; he isolates himself from the other children, demonstrating a behavior so peculiar that the principal of his school becomes concerned enough to report to his mother that he should be examined by a psychiatrist for a thorough analysis of his behavior.

       As he grows older, he continues to hear voices, urging him to run away from home, in order to escape from imminent danger.

       Brian’s mother and siblings, as well as the housemaid, become involved with his bizarre problem. The burden of trying to locate him each time he runs away from home weighs heavily on his brother’s shoulder. His escapades, not only cause him a great deal of suffering, but also inflicts a deepening anxiety on his mother and siblings.

        Brian’s participation in group therapy leads to his meeting with a girl who happens to be particularly responsive to his problem. They fall in love and get married, but after the birth of his son, she is introduced to her aunt’s adopted son whom she marries after divorcing Brian.

         Brian returns home to his mother in Los Angeles, heavily medicated, together with an escort.  Shortly thereafter, his mother becomes seriously ill.  Before she dies, she extracts a promise from her older son, not to abandon Brian or lose sight of him.

                                                              _______________

Brian’s problem is representative of the pain and suffering that families suffer with those that are afflicted with emotional and mental maladies. The story fans out around various episodes, pinpointing in every detail, the agony of, not only the victim, but also others, in an environment charged with uncertainty and debilitating stress.