Drawing on more than thirty years' experience as a practicing psychiatrist, Dr. Rubin shows the reader the heartrending and hope-filled stories of emotionally disturbed children as they struggle to make it through each day. Along with two classic stories in the literature of psychology, Lisa and David and Jordi, Dr.. Rubin has now added Little Ralphie and the Creature. Together they demonstrate the power of love and its ability to heal. Meet these four extraordinary young people as they search for a place and time in the world where is it safe to be themselves. David: Extremely intelligent, with extraordinary abilities in math, physics, and chess. He is passionately interested in clocks. he cannot bear to be touched, in petrified of germs and human contact. Suffers overwhelming panic attacks and obsessive-compulsive behavior. Lisa: A schizophrenic who must constantly speak in singsong rhymes to avoid losing herself to Muriel--her moody, brooding, scowling, silent other self. Jordi: Schizophrenic, with autistic tendencies. He's afraid of garbage cans, all garbage cans, because he believes them to be ears. Ears that will hear him. Only his "jiggler"--a doorknob tied to a long string--can offer him an comfort or protection. Little Ralphie: Actue schizophrenic reaction--catatonic type. Ralphie hides in alternate realties to escape his unbearable pain.