Struck down with an utterly debilitating "mystery' illness, Sydney Anglican and Sky News presenter Leigh Hatcher falls from the high-flying, adrenalin fuelled life of one of Australia's best known TV journalists to an anonymous welfare recipient in a matter of months.
Previously the picture of health and revelling in an industry where many others would have opted out long ago, Hatcher's dramatic and catastrophic fall leaves everyone baffled " his doctors, his friends, his family, and most of all himself. How could someone doing so well fall so drastically? Couldn't he take the pressure? Was some emotional turmoil to blame? Was it all in his mind?
At just 120 pages and dealing with a two year battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), I'm Not Crazy, I'm Just A Little Unwell is a remarkable book for its size. Hatcher encapsulates the deeply personal experience of chronic illness with clarity and honesty, wrapping it up in a punchy, exhilarating, rollercoaster ride of a story.
Hatcher's story is filled with irony. The most devastating case occurs when Hatcher is at his sickest and most in need of support and understanding. His family instead has to face the "collateral damage' that comes from the ignorant and misguided speculation anyone facing CFS is forced to confront. The clichéd questions arise: Is this all in his mind? Does he somehow want it? The hurt this nonsensical notion causes merely burdens him and his family further.
Hatcher's response to his and his family's suffering as he loses his health, his relationships, and his very identity is inspiring and stubbornly optimistic. His life-shaping experience of God in the midst of all this is profoundly real. The God of absolute trustworthiness reveals more of himself to Hatcher the harder things get. However, the Church's response to his personal crisis, save for a few select individuals, is anything but inspiring.
Hatcher's insights into how we as a Christian community can care for the sick will be of particular interest to Sydney Anglicans.
I'm Not Crazy is a captivating and enthralling read that is as accessible as it is confronting.
