Find You In The Dark

Posted April 1, 2013 by Kris and Vik in ♡ Reviews by Kris ❤ / 0 Comments

For my first review I figured I would start with something that I know a little about. That would be mental illness. While I’m still working out my style and the kinks I am sure each review will vary so please bare with me.

Find You In The Dark by A. Meredith Walters (Read on 12/02/12)

I’ll do my best to not give too many spoilers but when I find it unavoidable I will let you know ahead of time. This particular review may include spoilers.

As a mental health professional I attempted to keep in mind while reading this book that the kids involved were just absolutely lost and in over their heads. With that being said it was a really good book, very well written, and very true to the symptoms & behaviors that you would see with someone struggling with the illnesses that Clay was dealing with.

I would just hope that if something like this were going on in the real world that 17 or not a girlfriend or boyfriend in that position would speak to an adult before letting it go so far. The both of them were so co-dependent it was scary! It was also scary how easily Maggie could put her wants or her desires or Clay’s wants in front of his needs. Seeing someone cut themselves to the point where you think that they may need stitches would elicit an entirely different reaction from me – especially if it were regarding someone that I loved. I would like to think that – that would be the case even if I had no training in the field. I felt like it took her entirely too long to reach out and ask for help. I also found the Aunt and Girlfriend to be really irresponsible. Lisa only made one reference to Maggie that if things were going on to let her and Ruby know. I just don’t understand how an adult could put that kind of responsibility on a child. If nothing else, whether Clay’s parents had “control” over him or not Lisa & Ruby with Maggie’s encouragement should have at the least made it a stipulation that in order for Clay to stay in their house that he had to remain on his medications and see a therapist. If he couldn’t agree to that, then he could go home and deal with his parents. If he was at a point that he could not reasonably see how that would be a better option than going back to his parents then he obviously did need more help than what any of them could give him. I just felt that all in all everyone was really lackluster with their actions regarding Clay’s mental health. Maggie being an emotional wreck and depressed because she could not see him was extremely selfish and made me question her mental health when she so easily could recognize that her parents and friends cared for her well being and loved her. I wouldn’t be so quick to diagnose her with anything as she is a teen, but that is frightening to think that she actually chose the treatment that she received, the false responsibility she put on herself, and that she gave up a life that may have been boring but safe for one where she was miserable, moody, hurting, and worried all the time. Her mother was right when she told her that was not love but obsession.

I am definitely a fan of person centered therapies and the idea that a client should be in the drivers seat when it comes to their treatment. When someone is showing you, however, that they cannot make good decisions for themselves or that they cannot stop participating in their destructive behavior I think you have to put that persons safety first. It seemed like no one in this book was doing that for Clay. Everyone either didn’t want to step on someone else’s toes or wanted to deal with it a certain way based on their own selfish wants.

I’m not sure if I will read the sequel this was a draining book. But I am a sucker ultimately for a happy ending so I probably will read it in hopes that there is a happy ending for Maggie & Clay.

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

What I listened to while reading:

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