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MAN VS CRAZY: a memoir of mental illness, maturity and mortality
“It’d only been a little over 18 months since I’d dared to leave the comfort of my childhood bedroom where the walls were still plastered with movie posters and action figures were lined up on the window ledge. And now, I had a front-row seat to psychosis, drug-addiction, sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress and self-harm. And that was only my personal life...”
18-year-old wannabe writer Matthew finds himself washed-up on the English Riviera, forced to take up work as a carer in a low-rent Nursing Home just to keep a roof over his head. He soon crosses paths with childhood friend Roxy; a streetwise aspiring musician suffering from schizophrenia, who opens up a world of chaos and colourful characters, and convinces Matthew to take a job on a secure Psychiatric Unit. There, he quickly realises that he's traded "changing nappies and soaping up old people's saggy bits" for a daily onslaught of abuse, restraints and genuine insanity. But when he falls into a relationship with ex-patient Laura, a single-mum with a troubled past, things really do start to get crazy.
Always bitingly honest, sometimes darkly funny and occasionally tragic, “Man vs Crazy” is a coming of age memoir about the true price of the often traumatic journey into adulthood.
18-year-old wannabe writer Matthew finds himself washed-up on the English Riviera, forced to take up work as a carer in a low-rent Nursing Home just to keep a roof over his head. He soon crosses paths with childhood friend Roxy; a streetwise aspiring musician suffering from schizophrenia, who opens up a world of chaos and colourful characters, and convinces Matthew to take a job on a secure Psychiatric Unit. There, he quickly realises that he's traded "changing nappies and soaping up old people's saggy bits" for a daily onslaught of abuse, restraints and genuine insanity. But when he falls into a relationship with ex-patient Laura, a single-mum with a troubled past, things really do start to get crazy.
Always bitingly honest, sometimes darkly funny and occasionally tragic, “Man vs Crazy” is a coming of age memoir about the true price of the often traumatic journey into adulthood.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 11, 2023
An Honest Life Review
Man vs Crazy, the memoir of Mathew Elwell was a difficult read for me. Firstly, there were so many typographical and spelling errors, it was annoying to keep getting thrown out of the narrative.
Secondly, and I don't fault the author for this, every trauma was explicitly and graphically detailed. It's quite obvious that Elwell is a good screenwriter.
As someone with CPTSD, I would have appreciated trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. I get that laying out the author's experiences is a way for him to leave them behind. I would have preferred not to add his traumas to my own.
Man vs Crazy, the memoir of Mathew Elwell was a difficult read for me. Firstly, there were so many typographical and spelling errors, it was annoying to keep getting thrown out of the narrative.
Secondly, and I don't fault the author for this, every trauma was explicitly and graphically detailed. It's quite obvious that Elwell is a good screenwriter.
As someone with CPTSD, I would have appreciated trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. I get that laying out the author's experiences is a way for him to leave them behind. I would have preferred not to add his traumas to my own.
May 21, 2024
Always remember
We all have ghosts that have shaped our lives. There comes a time we must remember them and value them for the lessons they taught us. Then, and only then we become grateful for them, finally calm with the memories that have helped us become who we are.
We all have ghosts that have shaped our lives. There comes a time we must remember them and value them for the lessons they taught us. Then, and only then we become grateful for them, finally calm with the memories that have helped us become who we are.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews