Apparently my last blog entry that I wrote about this did not end up on my actual blog, so now I will try again!
I Know This Much Is True.
1. The insight this book gave me was that of a sibling that has to deal with the effects of his brother's illness for the entirety of his life. Being a sibling to that of a mental ill person must be the most difficult thing. I know that my ex-boyfriend had a lot of mental issues that he refused to get help with, and that caused a lot of stress on our relationship. Now, his mental illness was not what pushed us apart, but with a sibling or family member you are tied to them forever and the stress will be a constant in your life. It is amazing to me the ways that Dominick learned to deal with his brother, even after many years he learned a lot of new things.
2. I think one of the most prevalent themes in this book is perseverance. Dominick, despite all of his outrages and Thomas' episodes, he never gives up. Most of the fuel that causes his perseverance is the fact that he thinks that this is all his fault. He believes he started Thomas' schizophrenia because of the beatings Thomas got when Dominick made Ray angry. As Dominick grows and learns more about schizophrenia and his life with his brother in general he learns how to deal with the ups and downs of Thomas' life along with his own. Dominick struggles with more than just Thomas though, he struggles with learning to deal with his own emotions in relation to his mother, Ray, and Thomas. Dominick shows a lot of perseverance in that he continues to learn new ways to deal with his own emotions, such as seeing a therapist. Although Dominick goes through some serious life changes, such as the death of his mother, and the eventual death of Thomas, he perseveres throughout live to be able to live a true and happy life in the end of the book.
Another place where I think Dominick shows perseverance is when he is trying so hard to get Thomas out of the "Hatch." He knows that Thomas hates it in there, and he wants to do well by his brother. Dominick does everything he possibly can to get Thomas out of there and back to his life with friends and a job. I think that guilt has a lot to do with his persistence as well, because he always pointed the finger at Thomas when he would do something wrong, because he knew that Ray would believe him.
I think that Dominick handled Thomas' illness as well as anybody with a schizophrenic brother would handle it. I can't imagine dealing with something like that every single day of my life. It truly makes you count your blessings.
