Detour from Normal

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Title: Detour from Normal
Author:  Ken Dickson
Publisher: CreateSpace, Kindle Edition 324 pages
Publication Date: December 9, 2013
Genre: Biographies and Memoirs, Psychology



This book is the story of how a perfectly normal and healthy, middle-aged man, goes from living an average life, to being a dangerously manic patient overnight. Dickson tells his own story as it begins with a bout of diverticulitis, and ends with a court appearance to fight for his own right to refuse psychiatric treatment. This is a medical horror story that you probably haven't heard before; typically when we think of medical malpractice or negligence in the United States, the images of an incorrect limb being amputated by mistake, or a life-threatening infection caused by unwashed hands usually come to mind. Never have I heard a story in which the psychedelic side effects from drugs used during surgery completely ruin a man's life... this was a first, and that is part of what makes it very interesting.



Things that I liked:

• I always enjoy a good page-turner!
• I've worked in the medical field for a few years, and I've often wondered about some of our "special" (i.e., crazy) patients. This memoir gives a pretty unique look into the mind of someone who went manic basically overnight after having an adverse reaction to one or more of the medications he was given during an emergency surgery. I feel like this sort of thing or other similar reactions to the trauma that a medical emergency can place on the body may be happening a lot more than we realize (or would care to acknowledge), so in a way it gives me a little more incentive to be gracious with some of our high anxiety and needier patients. Understanding where a person comes from is always a major step in the process of being empathetic and able to genuinely care for an individual who isn't particularly easy to deal with. It actually even softened my heart towards those who have ANY mental disability (including addiction and substance abuse), simply because it gives you a glimpse into what could be going on inside of their minds. It reminds you that they often have complex thoughts and feelings, and even when they seem to be losing their minds, there is also a lot of potential for sound and legitimate thought processes to be going on that perhaps only they would understand. It would be terribly frustrating to have formed a completely cohesive thought that no one else in the world can follow!
• Ken Dickson does a great job of telling his story. This is a fundamentally interesting narrative, regardless of who tells it, but something about the way that he writes is very captivating. I think that more than anything it's the reality of what's going on that really hooks you. Aside from a few chapters that went a little too deep into his personal manic world that he creates (there's just a little too much detail that lacks relevance), this book has you really anxious to get to the end and see what happens to this incredibly unfortunate individual. The inclusion of diary entries by his wife also really lend themselves to the intrigue. 
• In the final section of the book, Dickson offers a few follow-up chapters that sort of make sense out of everything that has happened up to that point. He gives some good insight that would be especially helpful to anyone experiencing this kind of sudden psychological change in a family member or friend. As I said above, knowing what goes through a person's mind can be the key to understanding how to tolerate their behavior, as well as lend yourself to their healing process. He gives good advice on how to catch the warning signs and prevent the worst possible scenarios from playing out. 

Things I didn't like:

• The only thing that I felt was "missing" in the book was the perspective of Dickson's children. They are mentioned a few times, but we never see their reaction to the completely bizarre situation. In reality, these kids lost their dad for the better part of a year, and he was considered to be unstable and dangerous for a long time. A sudden change in behavior like this would be a little traumatizing, so I'm surprised that he doesn't mention them or how they responded in any more detail.
• Parts of the story did feel contrived. I don't mean that in the worst way, just that some portions felt extremely natural and honest and real, and others felt like he forced the point a bit for the drama it would draw. I choose to believe that this was all told as close as possible to reality, but there's a part of me that thinks Dickson's memory (or lack thereof) would be pretty well contorted after all that he went through. Something about the overall ambience of the book lacks authenticity, simply because it seems too far-fetched to believe that he could truly remember that much and in such great detail, but who knows?! Perhaps this is PRECISELY how it happened.  

Would I recommend this book? Yes, and I have! To anyone interested in psychology, this is definitely a productive read. It would also be beneficial for others who work in various practices of healthcare, or those who have friends/relatives with a psychological diagnoses. Aside from those would would "need" it, it's just a pretty good book for anyone who enjoys reading/true stories/harrowing tales. 

On a scale of 1-5, I give this book 4 stars ONLY because it did leave me wondering how faithful his memory could possibly be on a few occasions. As I said before, I am choosing not to be a cynic on this one. I believe that-even if not 100% accurate-this story is the complete truth as Dickson remembers it, and that any detours from reality were unintentional and not in any way an effort to pad the story.