Nineteen-year-old Matthew is writing the story of his life and that of his older brother, Simon, who had Down syndrome. Simon, Matthew writes, had a beautiful smiley face like the moon. But thinking about the past is like digging up graves, for Simon died in an accident when he was 11, and Matthew, 10 years later, still blames himself for his brother's death. Although the moon that was Simon's face now isn't, Matthew continues to hear his voice where he is being kept in an acute psychiatric ward. For Matthew is schizophrenic. Mental illness turns people inwards, he writes. Will writing about what he finds there offer him healing and relief from his guilt? British first-novelist Filer is a mental-health nurse who, having worked as a researcher on inpatient psychiatric wards, writes with authority and sympathy about schizophrenia and Matthew's life as both inpatient and outpatient. The story Filer tells is deeply affecting and insightful in its account of mental illness. And Matthew is a character the reader won't soon forget.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2010 Booklist

A fatal accident forever marks the life of a young British man struggling with his own demons. Originally published in the U.K. as The Shock of the Fall, this debut novel by mental health nurse Filer is a startlingly authentic portrayal of the rigors and tribulations of navigating the modern health care landscape while struggling with mental illness. The novel's protagonist is Matthew Holmes, a fairly typical 19-year-old lad living in Bristol under the shadow of terrible grief. When Matt was very young, he and his brother Simon, who had Down syndrome, sneaked out one night, like boys do, and Simon died. Slowly, we learn that Matt now suffers from a potent form of schizophrenia, accompanied by command hallucinations that come in the voice of Matt's dead brother. Filer ably captures what's going on in Matt's head, and it's not the gibbering, 12 Monkeys caricature that so often emerges from these kinds of tales. As Matt himself says, he may be mad, but he's not an idiot. Even more interesting is that Matt's story comes in the form of a diary, both hand-scribbled and hurriedly typed on a computer in the health care center where he seeks treatment and is given the plan. "It tells me exactly what I have to do with my days, like coming in for therapy groups here at Hope Road Day Centre, and what tablets I should take, and the injections, and who is responsible for what," Matt says. "This is all written down for me. Then there is another plan that comes into play if I don't stick to the first one. It follows me around, like a shadow. This is my life." This is a terribly unsettling novel, but it works on many levels--as family drama, as a searing indictment of Western health care and as a confession. A haunting story about how to mourn when the source of your grief will never go away.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Meet Matthew Homes. He's 19, quirky, lives in Bristol, England, and comes with a lot of baggage that he's happy to share in his own way and at his own pace. Matthew is also bipolar. He's the heart of this fractured tale about serious subjects ranging from mental illness and guilt to isolation (but it will make you laugh, too). Matthew is haunted by the fate of his older brother who years ago went missing on a family seaside holiday. Matthew's parents cope as best they can, and in Nanny Noo he has the gift of a grandmother. Much like someone you might meet on a park bench, our hero has lots of documents at his disposal, ranging from typed letters and handwritten notes and printouts to line drawings to make his complicated case. But hear Matthew out, and you'll be rewarded. VERDICT In this very assured debut, performance poet and mental-health nurse Filer shows that he knows what he's writing about. It should prove catnip to book group participants (especially those who loved Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and will appeal to anyone looking for a serious (but not ponderous) story that's impossible to put down. Readers might even end up seeing some similarities between their lives and the "cut and paste kind of life" Matthew lives as a "service user" in a National Health Service facility.-Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.