A Fine Line A Balance to Survive (English Edition)

“This is a courageous and moving story written by a courageous woman, in which she describes vividly her experiences of some of the best and the worst of human behaviour. It should provide help and insight to many people who are enduring mental suffering. It is a powerful lesson for those who live with, care and provide support for people with mental disturbance and those who administer health- care systems.” Prof. Fred Toates and Dr. Olga Coschug-Toates.
The British Psychology Society 2010
‘Well done to Lisa WB who has had amazing success with her first book ‘A Fine Line’. ‘A Fine Line’ is based on Lisa’s own story of suffering years of child abuse. The main character, Bridget, is persuaded to check herself into a psychiatric unit, for what she thinks is a matter of weeks, which then turns into years as she unravels a sequence of appalling abuse, blocked from her memory.
Professor Antony Sheehan, Chief Executive of the Leicestershire and Rutland NHS Trust. March 2010
“A Fine Line is a very significant text for all those trying to understand what it is really like to use the mental health system, indeed why so many of the women who use MH Services need help in the first place. Lisa has been forthright in her account of the good, the bad and the indifferent. As the chapters go on we see a compelling story unfold with lessons for managers, clinicians and service users jumping out of every page. It‘s not easy but it‘s a must!”

Dr Ojeicha, GP
“Nothing splendid has been achieved except by those who dared to believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances… The book, like its author is splendid.”

This book was No 1 in child abuse for over a year on Amazon UK, endorsed by the medical professionals.

IT WAS QUITE A MOMENT WHEN I RECEIVED A COPY OF THIS BOOK WRITTEN BY A FRIEND OF MY DAUGHTER. IT IS THE STORY OF HER STRUGGLE FOR MENTAL STABILITY AFTER SEVERE TRAUMA AND BETRAYALS. SHE HAS HAD TO SELF-PUBLISH, DESPITE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PSYCHIATRISTS, BECAUSE ‘SOB-LIT’ IS SAID TO HAVE HAD ITS DAY. BUT, ‘SOB-LIT’ THIS ISN’T. IT IS, I THINK, A VERY IMPORTANT BOOK.

THE TIME WHEN HER TRAUMA’S WERE OCCURRING WAS THE 70’S. WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY. IT WAS AN ERA WHEN WE WERE EXTREMELY CAREFUL HOW AND WHAT WE SPOKE TO OTHERS, ESPECIALLY OUR ELDERS AND THOSE IN AUTHORITY. REPUTATIONS WERE ALL AND THE NEXT GENERATION KNEW WHAT WAS AT STAKE FOR OLDER PEOPLE. THE BOOK IS A TIMELY REMINDER THAT EVEN NOW SOME PEOPLE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THEIR VOICE, IN A DESPERATE SITUATION.

THE BOOK IS VERY READABLE: I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN I HOPE IT WILL BE WELL BORROWED FROM OUR OWN LIBRARY, ESPECIALLY BY THOSE CONCERNED WITH TRAINING NURSES AND CARERS IN MENTAL HEALTH SITUATIONS. SHE QUIETLY GIVES EXAMPLES OF THE COMMENTS FROM BOTH UNCARING STAFF AND FROM THOSE WHO CARED, AND THUS GAVE HER BOOK HER LIFE. THE REMEMBERED DIALOGUES ARE SO VIVID.

I AM, HOWEVER, LEFT WITH DEEP SADNESS AND SHAME THAT MY GENERATION DID NOT NOTICE ENOUGH, WERE NOT AWARE.

I THINK THE BOOK BELONGS IN OUR GIRARDIAN SECTION IN THE LIBRARY AS IT GIVES A LIVING EXAMPLE OF HOW HUMANS ARE AFRAID TO GET INVOLVED IN THINGS-AFRAID TO STEP OUTSIDE GROUP-BELONGING-AFRAID TO UPSET THE APPLECART:ALL MANIFESTATIONS THAT LOVE IS EMBEDDED IN.
BY BRENDA WALL
OLD MIDDLE FOSTER HOME, THE RETREAT. YORKSHIRE.

When Bridget is admitted to a psychiatric unit for intensive therapy, neither the medical professionals, her husband Joseph, nor even Bridget herself realise the extent of the horrors that will unfold.
The initial two week voluntary stay eventually turns into an inimitable sectioning that lasts for nearly four years. The pain and distress of Bridget‘s revalations cause her to be detained in a High Security Unit and the police become involved.
As Bridget reveals more and more of her past, the medical team are repeatedly shocked and even her consultant is shaken to the core when she eventually reveals her darkest moment. Prequel to The Survival