Schizophrenic

by Ally North

“You go with men who do drugs, honey, so you can do drugs. You go with men who drink so you can drink.”“No, I just love drinking.”She had glittery eyeshadow to try and conceal her dead eyes, “Some people are a radiator and some people are a drain.”“WHAT?”“Oh, Ally, honey,” she went on, “would you treat other people how you treat yourself?”I scowled, “Depends whether they deserve it or not.”All their glassy minds didn’t register anything as insightful as empathy, only the insidious hope you’d be “normal.” To be a version of THEM. --- Ally North’s life is shattered by abuse at the age of 11, but she refuses to fit the stereotype of a beautiful victim. By turns she is intelligent and funny, psychotic and violent. Cognizant of her symptoms of schizophrenia, she tries to control them with alcohol and drugs. It’s never wise to fight a passionate tomboy; and she finds support in her devoted father, Davey, and in her ex-teacher friend, Steve Hussy.“Mangled characters living out their bare-boned existence in a squalid shadow play of their own making.”u.v.ray, 'Drug Story'“Ally North’s ‘Schizophrenic’ is a confirmation of a culture that refuses to acknowledge its shadow self. Regardless of our gender, ethnicity, social background and sexual identity, we all have blood on our hands.”--- David Noone, ‘Saint of the City’ “‘Schizophrenic’ is a terrifying yet compelling account of mental illness.”--- Jeffrey P. Frye, ‘Bank Stories From The Life’

175 pages, Paperback

Published July 10, 2020