«Rusty’s Story» by Carol Gino

“Why do they keep locking me up?”Rusty’s Story is Carol Gino’s account of the extraordinary life of the woman she undertook to help — the woman who ended up teaching her an invaluable lesson about the will to live, the strength of hope…Rusty used to wonder if she would make it through the day, seeing danger in everyday living. Rusty has epilepsy.She was twenty when Carol Gino met her and learned of her past ordeals: the stigma of mental illness, the drugs that took away her self-control, the treatments that only worsened her symptoms.Carol and Rusty set out to prove that illness can be overcome, and that there is no substitute for love and care.From Library JournalWhile many advancements have been made in understanding and treating epilepsy, the disease is still surrounded by an aura of dread. Rusty was a teenager when she was stricken with epilepsy. Misdiagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, for years she suffered more from inappropriate medical treatment than from her condition. The reader is mesmerized as Gino passionately relates Rusty’s plight. Despite repeated incarcerations in a frightful state mental institution and the toxic effects of drugs, she never lost her sense of humanity or her strong desire to help others. Gino’s deep distrust of the medical establishment, her fervent attachment to nursing, and her conviction that the patient knows best are themes that are interwoven into the emotional story of Rusty’s fight for a normal life. — Carol R. Glatt, Helene Fuld Medical Center Lib., Trenton, N.J