JANUARY FIRST

A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her.

At six years old, Michael Schofield's daughter January was diagnosed with a severe case of child-onset schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is 20 to 30 times more severe in children than in adults and in January's case, she was hallucinating 95 percent of the time that she is awake. Jani, as she's known, has hundreds of imaginary friends who go by names like 400-the-Cat, 100 Degrees, 24 Hours, and Sycamore and live on an island called "Calalini" which she describes as existing "on the border of my world and your world." Some of these friends are good, and some of them are very bad. They tell her to jump off buildings, crawl in ovens, eat her brother, throw herself through doors, and push her father's car into neutral. The "bad ones" are the reason January has a 50 percent chance of dying or becoming catatonic before she reaches 18. In the middle of these never-ending delusions, hallucinations and paroxysms of rage are Jani's parents: her father, Michael, a college English instructor, and her mother, Susan, a former radio traffic reporter. They have gone to the ends of the earth to keep both of their children alive and unharmed. They live in separate one-bedroom apartments -- communicating with walkie-talkies to keep her little brother, Bohdi, safe -- and wage a daily war against a social system that has all but completely failed them. The book, based on Michael Schofield's blog (www.janisjourney.org), will capture the family's remarkable story. In the beginning, readers will see Jani's incredible early potential: her brilliance, her savant-like ability to learn extremely abstract concepts, and her kindness and empathy toward other children. Next, they will see the early warning signs that something was not right, her parents' attempts to rationalize what was happening, and then their descent alongside their daughter into the abyss of schizophrenia. Their battle has included a two-year search for answers, countless medications and hospitalizations, allegations of abuse, violence and despair that almost broke their family apart, and finally victories against the illness and a new faith that they can create a life for Jani filled with moments of happiness. This book will be a testament to their belief that they can use their experiences to help others.