Breaking Out: A Novel

Bob Brink
iUniverse (2010)
ISBN 9781450226769
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (11/10)

 

Author Bob Brink has written an exceptional book about a young boy who grows up in the 1950s in Mayfield, Iowa. We follow Britt Rutgers as he tries to find exactly who he is and what he is missing in his life.

Born to parents who are very strict and very religious, Britt’s parents did not feel a need to hug or openly say they loved Britt. They doted on and proudly proclaimed the accomplishments of his older brother Kevin. Regardless that Britt made good grades, loved sports and was enthusiastic for literature, never once was he encouraged to seek a higher education for it. From the time he was young, he had a paper route to help out with his expenses. His mother was unrelenting with her sarcasm and criticism. His father acted as if Britt didn’t exist. Where does that leave a young boy psychologically and emotionally?

As we watch Britt grow up we see someone who has a low self-esteem, who is depressed and very conscious about what others are saying about him. This leads him to three trips into a mental hospital where the professionals continue to diagnose him with schizophrenia and give him several treatments of shock therapy. Little does Britt know that this will have a detrimental impact on his life as he grows into adulthood.

The author has an exceptional talent in letting readers experience what Britt and his family’s dysfunction have on a young child. Readers will develop a love/hate relationship with the parents and medical professionals who care so little for human beings. As patients are described in full detail, readers will be in the same mental hospital seeing what he sees.

One can tell the author has a passion for his writing and portrays that in his vivid description of characters and settings.

As a Psychology college instructor, “Breaking Out” by Bob Brink is one book that I will definitely discuss with my class.

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