Die Autorin, bereits in ihrer Kindheit mit der psychischen Erkrankung ihrer Mutter konfrontiert, beschreibt sehr bewegend das Abgleiten ihres Bruder in die Obdachlosigkeit und Verwahrlosung, die vergeblichen Versuche der Familie, ihn aufzufangen, und die Versuche, sich abzugrenzen, das Bemühen und das Scheitern des professionellen Hilfesystems – und seinen Suizid zu einem unerwarteten Zeitpunkt. Sie schreibt:

When you go hunting for advice on helping a mentally ill loved one, much of what you find focusses on education: learn as much as you can about mental illness, ask questions, and find a supportive community. In our family, we did all of this, and more—we took classes, consulted experts, conferred with lawyers, and met with people with schizophrenia who had rebuilt their lives. But applying what we learned was rarely simple. Though our efforts often helped us enormously, they did not, in the end, do much for Tom. I wonder, still, what could have saved him. The right kind of therapy early on, perhaps—someone to help him talk through his experiences and come to terms with them. And, later, public programs to enable him, and others with schizophrenia, to participate in society rather than be pushed to its fringes.