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‘When my father died, I stayed off school to look after my mother. I was fourteen and was as incapable of looking after her as she was at looking after me. She took to wandering the roads and was soon taken into hospital. The social worker asked me if I wanted to be fostered and I said yes.
Two years later, in 1975, I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. That was the beginning of it all: medication, ECT, the locked ward. I’ve been sectioned five times, in and out of asylums, homeless hostels, squats and on the streets. I nearly hit the end of the road. But then, almost overnight, my life turned round.
Sectioned is my story.’
John O’Donoghue
Two years later, in 1975, I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. That was the beginning of it all: medication, ECT, the locked ward. I’ve been sectioned five times, in and out of asylums, homeless hostels, squats and on the streets. I nearly hit the end of the road. But then, almost overnight, my life turned round.
Sectioned is my story.’
John O’Donoghue
Reviews
'"Sectioned: A Life Interrupted" should be required reading for mental health professionals...it is as thought-provoking as it is compelling. O'Donoghue's unsentimental honesty...avoids the melodramatic, while holding unflinchingly to what is harrowing'
'Here you will find an eloquent and compelling insight into one person's battles with mental illness ... it is his literary powers and keen observations that shine through the murk ... alongside the pain there is little self-pity and plenty of humour'
This is a rare insight intoa hidden world
'Sectioned should be compulsory reading for anyone working in the mental health system: they'll laugh, they'll cry, they'll think twice before using ECT'
'Vividly put together [and] full of indelible images'
'While the subject matter is undoubtedly harrowing, what is most memorable about Donoghue's vivid memoir is its inspirational quality'
