Torn Apart: The Heartbreaking Story of a Childhood Lost - Hardcover

Cory Friedman was an ordinary fun-loving little boy. That fateful March morning in 1989 started just like any other but later that day, he started to feel very different and the course of his life was set to change. It started with an irresistible urge to shake his head, and before long, his body became a volatile, explosive and unpredictable force. Overtaken by physical urges, tics and compulsions, the bright young boy started to feel and look like a puppet on a string. Cory had developed a rare combination of Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety Disorder and other neurological conditions. The life he knew had been torn apart and his family was left watching him suffer. Desperate to help and hopeful of a cure, they embarked on a fifteen year plight which took them beyond breaking point. Cory was seen by thirteen doctors who in total prescribed sixty potent medicines. He was mistakenly sent to a psychiatric ward and. On the brink of utter despair, he and his family decided to try a form of intervention that had never been tried in cases such as Cory's: he was sent to a wilderness survival camp in a bitter, unforgiving snowy Utah winter. This felt like their final chance. Throughout his young life, Cory struggled to have the same childhood and adolescence as his friends. From time to time an overwhelming anger and frustration overcame him when one doctor after another and an unprecedented number of medicines continually failed him. Still, throughout it all, Cory battled against the extraordinary events that were unfolding, and would take him on one of the most terrifying personaljourneys ever recorded. Torn Apart is a true story of one family's courage, heartbreak, sacrifice and ultimately, triumph.

James Patterson is one of the bestselling writers of all time. He is the author of the two bestselling detective series of the past decade, the Alex Cross novels and the Women’s Murder Club series, and he has written many other number one bestsellers. He has won an Edgar award, the mystery world’s highest honour, and his novels Kiss the Girls and Along Came A Spider were made into feature films. Torn Apart is his first work of non-fiction. He lives in Florida. Hal Friedman has published five works of fiction. He lives with his wife northern New Jersey.