Acquainted with the Night is a candid memoir by Paul Raeburn chronicling his family's struggle when both his son and daughter experienced severe adolescent mood disorders. Drawing on his skills as a science reporter, Raeburn pieces together diagnoses, therapies and the medical debates that shaped their care.
The book follows episodes of emergency hospitalization, years of misdiagnosis and shifting treatments, and the strain these crises placed on family life. Rather than offering easy answers, the narrative explains how information, advocacy and clinical choices affected outcomes.
Readers seeking an informed, compassionate account will find both a personal story and practical insight into child psychiatry, medication, and the emotional work of parenting through serious mental illness.
- First-person memoir of parental advocacy
- Discussion of diagnosis, treatment, and hospital care
- Useful context for parents and caregivers