'This is the compelling story of Jonathan, a charming teenager who turns into a fearful and tormented young man; it is also the heart-rending story of a mother facing the realisation that her child is going mad. First published in 1991, this book has become a classic, and is as moving and as relevant today as it ever was. This 1998 edition has been updated with a new Foreword from the author detailing the effects this book has had on society, both in Australia and worldwide; a new Afterword which discusses the advances in treatments for schizophrenia and developments in community attitudes and programs for mental illnesses in general; and a new, up-to-date section on Where to Go for Help.' (Publication Summary from revised 1998 edition)
'The life-changing memoir, now a breathtaking Belvoir play.
'Since its publication thirty years ago, Anne Deveson’s family memoir Tell Me I’m Here has become a classic. And now, in a superb adaptation, it comes to the Belvoir stage.
'Anne’s life – the familiar juggle of marriage, career, emotions, chaos – is thrown off-balance when her son Jonathan begins speaking oddly, standing strangely, flashing into irrationality and rage. Is it just a phase, part of growing up? The years pass, and it’s clear, Anne’s son has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. But putting a name to it is one thing – getting attention, getting help is another. Even the strongest families, the most steadfast parents, buckle under such stress.
'Heart-rending, exquisitely touching, a play which speaks things which normally aren’t spoken. A play about getting on with life, before it’s too late.'
Source: Belvoir St Theatre.
Unit Suitable For
AC: Year 10 (NSW Stage 5). Note: This is a highly emotionally and psychologically sensitive memoir. Knowledge of the students, their own backgrounds with mental ill health, suicidal tendencies, drug use and violence, as well as family or community experience with these, does need to be taken into account when considering this text for use in the classroom. Deveson’s harrowing memoir about her son’s mental illness deals with significantly affecting themes. The care and lack of care that accompanied Jonathan’s schizophrenia, and the impact of this on Deveson’s ill son, on her other children, on herself and on their friends invites readers to seriously question the health care and support services in existence in our society for those who experience mental illness.
Themes
community, family, friendship, hope, human experience, identity, isolation, love, mental illness, overcoming adversity, prejudice, resilience
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Literacy, Personal and social
Writing Disability in Australia
| Type of disability | Schizophrenia. |
| Type of character | Primary (auto/biographical). |
| Point of view | First person (not the schizophrenic character). |
'A short way into Tell Me I’m Here, Anne Deveson’s magnificent account of her young adult son Jonathan’s catastrophic mental illness, she describes yet one more struggle to get Jonathan to agree to go to hospital. Her needs – like her assessment of his needs – are clear: he should be kept safe there for as long as possible and he should be medicated to subdue his rapidly accelerating psychosis. To say his behaviour is extreme at this point barely describes it. Anne takes up the story.'
Anne Deveson's 'Tell Me I'm Here'
Glebe
:
Pascal Press
,
1994
Z1612081
1994
single work
criticism
Anne Deveson's 'Tell Me I'm Here'
Glebe
:
Pascal Press
,
1994
Z1612081
1994
single work
criticism
'A short way into Tell Me I’m Here, Anne Deveson’s magnificent account of her young adult son Jonathan’s catastrophic mental illness, she describes yet one more struggle to get Jonathan to agree to go to hospital. Her needs – like her assessment of his needs – are clear: he should be kept safe there for as long as possible and he should be medicated to subdue his rapidly accelerating psychosis. To say his behaviour is extreme at this point barely describes it. Anne takes up the story.'
