The Tunnel: A Memoir

The Tunnel is a father's memoir about a family's odyssey through the world of serious mental illness. It is a story about the battles Friedler's son Henry fought with his parents, with various authority figures--including schools, teachers, and the police-- and most importantly, the battles Henry fought with his own mind. Henry's story takes place for the most part in the distinctive air of Uptown New Orleans. He came from a well-educated and prosperous Southern family, the only son between two sisters. The memoir chronicles the way society views, treats, and even criminalizes the mentally ill. It is a love story of a husband and wife as well as a fractured love story of a father and son. But at its heart The Tunnel is a story of the resilience of a family, a man, and a marriage. It is a story of taking that gasp of air at the end of a tunnel--a breath that says you are alive, you made it through your own tunnel of darkness, and you will find happiness on the other side.