How very generous is the author, sharing the realities both physical and emotional of the journey her family takes. Her husband develops a mental illness and she is very candid about their experiences which will offer support to those living with a mental illness and insight to those of us who have not had this experience.

I wouldn't feel comfortable beginning this review without first thanking Marion and John Gibson for sharing their story. I hope in the not too distant future that we as a society find it common place to talk about mental illness more often than just when tragedy strikes and a haphazard link between it and mental illness is tossed out by the media. Indeed I'd love it if we could find another term than "mental illness" to use when referencing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and clinical depression. Because the term "mental illness" falsely differentiates these conditions from so-called "physical" ones as if the causes of the former are any less organic than the latter.

I thought the last few chapters effectively summarised circumstances that many people who suffer from mental illness can relate to, as well as their loved ones, and the author conveys the most important message of the story, which is that mental illness is not uncommon, it's not a character flaw, and society continues to stigmatise illnesses that could benefit the most from the support of others. I wish this chapter had been at the beginning of the book because unfortunately I fear some people who need to hear that message the most will not read to the end of the book. I particularly liked the passage at the end by the psychiatrist.

This story doesn't reflect well on the Canadian healthcare system clearly, but hopefully it can be a catalyst for change.

I would recommend this book to anyone suffering from a mental illness, particularly those seeking to learn more about schizophrenia, but quite frankly I'd recommend it to everyone because the mentally ill deserve to be acknowledged in the same way sufferers of other diseases are. And right now society by and large does choose to ignore its existence.

I received this book as an Early Reviewer, but that did not influence my review. ( )

This is the true story of one couple's struggle with schizophrenia. This was a fascinating and difficult read. Thy experiences that Marion dealt with and the struggles that the Canadian healthcare system, being public, brings about as a result of a medical crisis.

Ultimately the Gibsons come through to the other side. While clearly Marion is not a writer in terms of flow, there is a raw emotion that clearly shows through.

In this book, Gibson speaks from the heart. It's an unveiled account of her husband's mental illness, the fear that it struck at the heart of the family and the battle it required from both her and her husband.

The book has its weaknesses: it's awkwardly structured - the intent to educate about schizophrenia might have been better explained at the outset of the book rather than just the conclusion. The language is raw and often unpolished. These are also elements, however, that contribute to this book's greatest strength: its honesty and authenticity. Gibson does not try to dress up or excuse her husband and her emotions. While their previous lifestyle might have been idealized, there is no doubting the tremendous strain the illness brought into their lives.

Ultimately, this story did what it set out to do: it educated me on a disease that I know little about and which is highly stigmatized. Mental illness is not often discussed and when it is, it is often shamefacedly. I applaud the Gibsons for their courage in making their story public. ( )

This review is for Unfaithful Mind by Marion Gibson. I received it from the author for free through LibraryThing.com's August 2013 Early Reviewers batch. This is my first review for a LibraryThing book. It is nonfiction, with which I am inexperienced.

I loved this book. Marion (AKA Mar)'s story is a true story so I can't complain about how things went or things like that. But I do however have a problem with how she switched back and forth between the past and the present, and how she would refer to things that she now knows but didn't at the time that she is talking about. It made it kind of hard to follow and I wanted to follow every word because this is a truly heartbreaking and wonderful re-telling of her story.

A thing that I want to point out is that she spelled out times and dates constantly and that made it hard to read in places because it was hard to understand what she was meaning by them since she did not put it a common format. I don't know, maybe that's something she was taught to do in her writing but I was not.

There was also a major autocorrect malfunction on page 52 of 178 in which I assume that she meant to put "...and his piercing glare.", but it was published as "...and his Pier-Mariecing glare." I point this out not for readers or for myself but in hopes that the author will read this and fix it. It took me a few minutes to understand what was really meant, and I know that isn't the author's fault. Stupid autocorrect.

Before the film A Beautiful Mind was mentioned (I didn't think it would be!), I was comparing this story to that movie. If you haven't seen that movie, you should. It's great!

I will end by saying that you should read this book! It is heartbreaking, beautiful, and everything all at once. I wish the best for her family and would really love to read more from her about her husband's progress. I think she should start a blog for all of the people who want to know more in real time. Mrs. Gibson is a very strong lady and I support her decision to publish this 100%. More people need to know that this happens to normal people every day! I definitely recommend this book. ( )