Lunacy and Death received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author Tom Dombrock.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The book is titled Lunacy and Death (lunacy & death) and was published on 1-29-2018.
What’s the book’s first line?
The title says it all, but perhaps some elaboration is in order.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
See the above answer, and the one above that . . . and the subtitle. It’s about working thirty years and earning a living, the first eight of which were spent as an aide in a secure psychiatric unit, and the next twenty plus in a county medical examiner’s office. It relates events I experienced in both places, dealing with the mentally ill and then being involved in events related to unexpected and sudden death. It relates what it’s like to be directly involved in highly stressful situations in either position, and how it ultimately shapes one’s world view.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I’ve been writing all my life. In this case, it came about for several reasons. The first that comes to mind is finding myself in a situation that falls out of the parameters of what most people consider “normal” and how I react/respond to it, then trying to sort out what I’ve experienced and how this same event would be perceived by someone else. Much of this stems by how mental illness and death are presented to Americans in pop culture, which, in both cases, is woefully wrong. Anytime I’ve related something I’ve experienced in either line of work, somebody has always said: “I hope you’re writing this down,” or “You should write a book.”
I’m also compelled to add that there’s a huge therapeutic element in putting it all down and “throwing it out there.”
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
I wanted to put a recognizable face on the people who I’ve encountered over the last thirty years, be they mentally ill, dead, or who’ve suffered the loss of a loved one to either mental illness or unexpected demise. I’d like to think that has some value. Also, despite the subject matter, parts of it are pretty damn funny.