Niki’s book review

“What a great read! As a person with mental health issues myself, I could relate to most of the memoir. Go ahead and read this book. I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down. Read cover to cover fast!”

Helena, Amazon

It’s a story not often told–coming to terms with the stigma and discrimination of mental health labels. It was a rare view into a world locked and closed to the rest of society–mental health institutions. Clyde Dee had the education, background, and street smarts to survive and the love and help of family and friends to thrive. Thank you for sharing your story, Clyde.

Rabia Tanveer, Readers Favorite, five stars

“I finally understand what a person with a mental illness feels like,lives like, and how he fights for his sanity and his life every single day . . .This book has compassion, passion, understanding, and a force of will that will allow any person to become better and make peace with themselves. Great job.”

Anonymous on The Journey Through Madness Workshop

This course transformed my understand of and approach to working with folks experiencing psychosis. By breaking away from the medical model, Tim’s anti-oppressive and mad pride-oriented approach helped me build trust while working with message receivers and support them on their recovery journey. The community approach to this course creates a safe space for exploration and interpersonal learning from many different perspectives, including message receivers, providers, and support persons. Whatever your connection to psychosis is, I cannot recommend this course enough as an experience that will change your perspective of madness and provide a myriad of tools to promote recovery and healing.

Peg Morrison

If you ever wondered what happened to Holden Caulfield, read this book.

It’s compelling, insightful, and artfully told. At times gritty and at times gracious, it is written from the heart. I literally laughed and cried.

I understand the critiques written by others. There is some redundancy, and some passages are hard to follow. To me this mirrors recovery perfectly. There are days that last a lifetime. There are questions that are never answered. For me that’s part of the beauty of this book.

My hats off to the author.

Victoria O’Brien, Amazon

As a practicing counselor working with people experiencing psychosis I wanted to understand this better from someone who had experienced it. I felt as if I was experiencing it through the author. I found the book well written, creative, and I couldn’t put it down . . . As my own biases crumble, the biases I see around me seem glaring, ignorant, and at times fueled by the very profession that claims to “help.” Thank you for writing the very important book, and for having the courage to do so.

Gabriela, Amazon

Kerouac’s “On The Road” meets “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” with a touch of “Naked Lunch” thrown in. If you loved those classics of historic fiction and memoir, you’ll LOVE “Fighting for Freedom in America”.Gritty, raw, and real. A must-read!

Karen E. Proctor, Amazon UK

There are very few books that articulate the challenges faced by people with Schizophrenia but Fighting For Freedom in America is one of them. Clearly written I felt I was given a privileged view of the author’s life which left me with a far more informed perspective than I’d previously had. For anyone who knows someone suffering with Schizophrenia I would recommend reading this book.

M. on THe Journey Through Madness Workshop

As someone with a loved one who has lived with and survived these sorts of experiences, I deeply appreciated Tim Dreby’s unique, non-medicalized approach to support. From my own experience, many of Tim’s recommendations and suggestions — likely considered “radical” to mainstream psychiatry — are exactly what people going through these crises are desperately needing: to be listened to, to not be ridiculed or stigmatized, to be treated as though what is happening to them has meaning, & to be treated as fully human with something to share for the rest of us.

Linda Jacobs on The Journey Through Psychosis Workshop

I have worked in the mental health system for many years and this workshop was like a breath of fresh air.  Tim has opened my eyes to a whole different way of understanding “psychosis” and provided techniques that feel like a much better way of interacting with someone who is suffering. It should be mandatory training for all staff of hospitals and mental heath institutions. As a family member of someone who “hears voices,” this workshop has given me the chance to connect to my loved one with confidence and grace.

Paige Lovitt, Readers Views, five stars

“[Clyde’s] story is fascinating because he is able to intellectualize what he was thinking and feeling at the time, even if he is discussing his paranoid delusional thoughts . . . As someone with a Master’s of Science degree in a counseling field, I have found my greatest lessons have been from real people and not material in textbooks. As I read Clyde’s story, I felt like I learned many lessons through what he has to share. My work will definitely be more beneficial by what I learned from him.”

Debra Lampshire, the University of Aukland

“This is the tale of what happens when a compassionate, honest, humble man is confronted by corruption, cruelty and malice. . . Clyde’s journey is one of self-discovery which ultimately leads him not away from but back to the man he always was one of society’s unrecognised treasures.”

Geese, Amazon

“He joins the few other courageous authors, many whom also have become professionals in the mental health field, who have written candidly about their personal experiences inside the mental health system as a consumer to help educate and to break open the objectification and dehumanizing treatment towards creating a genuine heart centered person to person empowerment model of compassionate care. As well he says he writes to further his recovery and that of the clinical field and society as well by educating to help dismantle stereotypes and help understand his experience that is usually hidden.”

Laura, Amazon

This ought to be required reading for anyone involved in the mental health industry or anyone who has a friend or family member with the “dangerous gift” of mental illness . . . Combines serious clinical analysis with the empathetic and humanizing “person-centered” approach of the consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement. Moving and real. Read it!

Tony Parsons

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written mental illness memoir book.  . . . There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great biographical movie, a college PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (A & E, History channel).

Cardum Harmon, Executive Director of Heart and Soul, San Mateo County

“Clyde Dee takes us on a heroes journey from condemnation to redemption, from diagnosis to self-definition. Seen through a filter of race, culture and often patriotism, Clyde Dee reminds us how fragile our human existence can be. . .”

Ammi Rostin on The Journey Through Madness Workshop

Journey Through Madness is a unique training taught by Tim Dreby. Tim is very engaging and his teaching includes information, conversations and videos. The classes are well planned. Tim is generously sharing his own experiences which made participants feel safe and comfortable to open up. The classes are full of helpful material which I can go back to and study closer. I am grateful for the opportunity to join the workshop, and I recommend it to anyone looking for better understanding of psychosis.

M.I. on THe Journey Through Madness Workshop

What made the greatest impression on me from Tim’s class was learning that there are many angles from which to support a person who is experiencing psychosis and that this kind of support can lead to recovery! It was valuable to know I was learning this from someone who really knows and has had first had personal experience

ML H., Amazon UK

This was a little of my usual reading path. It is however a subject in which I have an interest and I found the authors story to be both compelling and insightful. I think it takes great character to share on this level and I for one have develop a greater appreciation for the challenges facing those with Schizophrenia. Whilst aimed at American readers the message inside is universal

Michelle Geist, Amazon

This is an excellent book. It dispels myths and stereotypes associated with mental illness, and instead recounts and explains in a way which makes it clear to understand. Through this understanding, I found I gained a great insight. Dee has a likeable writing style, it’s easy to believe he is writing from experience . . .The author openly explores relationships he has had, and the complexities involved through his schizophrenia and depression are both eye opening and entertaining . . . A captivating book, written with passion, understanding, and emotion.

Karen Mabry on The Journey Through Psychosis Workshop

This workshop provided me with new skills for my work as a peer.  I believe the roadmap offers the best way to connect with peers struggling with psychosis.

Avid Reader, Amazon

“I have to take my hat off to the author Clyde Dee who has taken a tremendously complex subject and through relating his own experiences has made it infinitely more understandable to those of us on the outside looking in. I had never considered the full ramifications of schizophrenia or many of the other mental illness before reading this and I can truly say I am more empathic in my understanding. A big thank you to Clyde Dee for opening my eyes.”

Midwest Book Review, five stars

“An intensely personal and impressively well written memoir, “Fighting for Freedom in America: Memoir of a ‘Schizophrenia’ and Mainstream Cultural Delusions” is a compelling read from beginning to end.”

Jonathan Roth, Amazon

“Passages including Clyde’s dealings with mental health professionals were particularly interesting. Those passages made a case for the problematic nature of the “mental illness” narrative; how that narrative can get in the way of relationships, can make therapy impossible, and can add to the confusion of the one being diagnosed.”

Book Viral Spotlight

“Much has been written on the subject of schizophrenia with as many paths to recovery as there are individuals affected by it, but Dee’s work is most notable for his candid reflections on cultural delusions.  Clearly articulating the loss of faculties that make us what we are, they prove intrinsic to the telling of his story. More importantly they provide an often harrowing perspective on the anguish of mental illness from the inside and in doing so allow Dee to address commonly held beliefs and prejudices.”