Synopses & Reviews
Randi Davenport's story is a testament to human fortitude, to hope, and to a mother's uncompromising love for her children.
She had always worked hard to provide her family with a sense of stability and strength, despite the challenges of having a son with autism and a husband whose erratic behavior sometimes puzzled and confused her.
But eventually, Randi's husband slipped into his own world and permanently out of her family's. And at fifteen, her son Chase entered an unremitting psychosis--pursued by terrifying images, unable to recognize his own mother, unwilling to eat or even talk--becoming ever more tortured and unreachable.
Beautifully written and profoundly moving, this is the heartbreaking yet triumphant story of how Randi Davenport navigated the byzantine and broken health care system and managed not just to save her son from the brink of suicide but to bring him back to her again, and make her family whole. In The Boy Who Loved Tornadoes, she gives voice to the experiences of countless families whose struggles with mental illness are likewise invisible to the larger world.
Review
"A brave and beautiful story by a born writer . . . This book is like a beacon, offering clarity, inspiration, and validation for us all, especially those of us, like myself, who have struggled with serious mental illness in our families . . . and that's two out of every five families in the United States." --Lee Smith
Review
"A heartbreaking, disturbing, and truly courageous story of one mother's fight to save her son." --Alice Hoffman, author of
The Story Sisters Review
"An unforgettable memoir of a shattered family, a mother's abiding love, and the frightening permutations of the human mind." -
-ElleReview
"A gripping memoir of motherly love and absolute devotion."
--KirkusReview
"This is her gripping account of that unrelenting battle. It isn't a medical thriller that climaxes with an 11th-hour cure. The light of its happy ending burns low, but in this courageous mother's eyes it shines as bright as the sun." --
Boston GlobeSynopsis
Giving voice to the experiences of countless families who struggle with mental illness, this is the heartbreaking yet triumphant story of how Davenport navigated the broken health care system and managed to save her son from the brink of suicide.
About the Author
Randi Davenport received her MA in creative writing from Syracuse University as well as a PhD in literature. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in publications like the
Washington Post, the
Ontario Review, the
Alaska Review, and
Film/Literature Quarterly. She is the executive director of the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.