Tell Me I'm Here

Tell me I'm Here is one of those heartbreaking true stories of the lengths a mother will go to in order to help her son who has schizophrenia as well as developing a drug habit.

Anne Deveson is an Australian producer and writer who has 3 children and her eldest Jonathan begins to develop strange behaviour and is eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Her search for something to help Jonathan even takes her to a progressive institute in India and in the meantime her children are quietly suffering. Granted she is aware of this and feels guilty for putting so much energy into only 1 of her children and you really feel for her trying to balance so many roles in her life. A lot of this book is set in the 70s/early 80s so it is also interesting to see issues that are still going on today back in that time period.


We had to read this book as one of the English texts in upper high school. I have re-read it several times and what really stands out is the amazing lengths Anne goes to in order to help her son. She is willing to try anything to bring her son back to what she remembers before his mental illness takes hold and while she goes on living her own life everything else to an extent is thrust into the background. You also emphasise with her other two children. Recently even Anne's daughter wrote her own book about that time in her life.

I really appreciated Anne's honesty and compassion for her son. This isn't a new book but I think (although I'm no expert on mental illness) its themes are still relevent for those suffering or living with those who have a mental illness. It's such a hard thing for other people to understand since it is not a physical illness but as this book shows it can have such an effect on ordinary families and the way they live their lives.