The Ghosts Behind Him

Bruce wanted his book of poems to be called The Ghosts Behind Things. His mother, author Doris Ray, does not say so explicitly, but I am sure that is why she named the book she wrote about their family's struggle with his schizophrenia, The Ghosts Behind Him.

The story she tells is a touching, often gripping, chronicle of her own attempts to come to terms with her son's illness, in the midst of a life that embraces not only Bruce but a large and complex extended family with a committment to literary pursuits that permeats their everyday lives, and inspires an open-minded quest for meaning wherever it is offered.

Anyone suffering through similiar turmoil will find an unadorned courage in this book, as well as friends with human failings, who survive tragedy and negotiate, repeatedly, with new hope. Anyone who can't imagine what it would be like to have a loved one who suffers from a disabling and personality-altering mental illness, can find out, in Ray's book.

As a last thought, I would like to commend Bruce Ray, himself, for believing in literature enough to support his mother's work with his cooperation.