Although this book was a fast read & a short account of Christopher's life, I'm sure his father feels as if it was a 100 year journey I feel it was a lose/lose situation

Yes, I can see how he feels the Mental Health System failed his adopted son. Money & insurance were other factors involved in his son not getting appropriate care at times also. It was definitely NOT a lack of care on the part of Chris's father. He tried everything , took him to all types of doctors, treatments, medications etc, but Chris's problem was really beyond Mental Health. He had actual brain trauma & problems even possibly starting in utero. His birth mother was a very young girl, who may or may not have had alcohol while pregnant. His biological father abused him & broke his clavicle. Could he have also helped in Chris's brain organicity problems? Sadly, an infant died due to Chris's behavior & is now incarcerated but still gets shipped back & forth between prisons due to his behavior. He was severely beaten in jail for the crime he is incarcerated, needing plates & screws to put back the left side of his face. I don't believe Chris will ever be "normal" as his condition is way past that stage On the brighter side, his adoptive father remembers some good times with Chris. When he went to Dorney Park ( I happen to live close by & it's an awesome park) going to football games at State College & ice hockey. Chris was able to play ice hockey & enjoyed it even if he wasn't the greatest player on the team

Does the MH system need improvents? Definitely YES!! Money is a big factor along with insurance as to what type care a person gets & how long a person is allowed to stay in facilities. Case load is also a problem. A worker the father encountered had 700 people on her case load when he asked for her help STIGMA!! Although contradicted by that woman's caseload, stigma is STILL very much a reality & reason why some who need help won't go to get help. Being labeled with a mental problem is still to this day looked down upon. I don't care who or how much people say stigma no longer exists---it does !!

For Chris, having an injured brain, now with epilepsy & lesions, I don't think the mental health system can be of much help for him. He needed that diagnosis much earlier & then maybe/maybe not, he could've gotten correct treatment. Perhaps surgery or treatment for his brain problem instead of going to therapists etc which didn't help him in the long run anyway

Chris will be incarcerated for assault which led to the death of infant "Matty" at least until the year 2026 at which time he'll be 43. That's still quite young in this age to be out in civilization with his problems. I suspect he'll be in longer or if released, he'll find his way back in prison again or dead!!
It really is a lose/lose situation for him. From birth, he really never had a chance, but his adoptive father did his best in getting his son help he thought he needed & that would work, but didn't

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in return for an honest review. Also thanks to the publisher for allowing me this title

A case study of a life gone wrong, "Christopher's Story" documents the childhood and adolescence of John Rubisch's extremely troubled son. Adopted as a preschooler, Christopher had already experienced several years of neglect and abuse before being placed with Rubisch, a school counselor. Although Christopher received years of psychiatric treatment and educational support, these interventions were not sufficient to meet his needs. Rubisch examines the factors that informed Christopher's care, and offers insight into the difficulties he experienced as the single-father of a child with significant behavior problems. A tragic story, with parallels to Michael Dorris's "The Broken Cord."

This was a relatively good book. It was interesting and sad at the same time. While I agreed with some of what Dr. Rubisch was saying about the Mental Health in the United States being concerned with mostly money, I think that the lack of people working in the industry also plays a large role in how some people unfortunately fall through the cracks. I felt for him as a person and I wanted more for his son, however after reading about Chris I question if things would have turned out different even if he had gotten the treatments he was seeking. It seemed he would want to change but lacked the ability to stick through with it, and certainly the events that ultimately played out may not have involved a baby, but instead may have resulted in the death or harm of some other person in his life later down the line. Even from what was described that he was like now after being incarcerated for so many years it doesn't seem like he's learned anything from it.

This was a good one. very sad, but made you think about how things can get if appropriate help is not given.