M. A. Marks

Beyond Tears M. A. Marks

The book Beyond Tears is a true story of what one family had to deal with when their eleven-year-old daughter was diagnosed as being mentally ill. The writer attempts to share a variety of issues that a family may have to address while living with a child who is emotionally disturbed (ED). He explains how the illness caused his daughter to become so dysfunctional, that she could no longer attend regular classes in school. The book also tries to explain how the Special Education Program tries to accommodate her special needs. As the issues escalated, his daughter had to be placed in a residential treatment center far away from the home environment. This placement created many new concerns for the family. The author has attempted to present his story in a way that most parents could relate to if they were in a similar situation. The story was written in a chronological order of events beginning with some family history, moving to the school years up through high school graduation. He tries to explain some of the methodology, logic and sometimes, just plain common sense of how his family worked through these issues. The book encompasses the dynamics of family life, social relationships, school systems, finances, community services (mental health centers, social services, courts, etc.), and the medical establishment. Each year there are more and more children being placed into our Special Education Programs, who have been diagnosed as emotionally disturbed (ED) or learning disabled (LD). There have been many books written about these children by doctors, social workers, therapists and educators. This is one of the few books that are written by a parent, who wanted to share with other parents, how the illness of his child effected their family. It is hoped that by reading this book you will have a better understanding of what a family has to address relating to a child with mental illness.