Like Crazy

Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends

By: Dan Mathews

Narrated by: Dan Mathews

“Exquisite. Full of wry humor, tenderness, and compassion.” —Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author

A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about a mother and son’s outlandish odyssey of self-discovery, and the rag-tag community that rallied to help them when they needed it most.

Dan Mathews knew that his witty, bawdy seventy-eight year-old mother, Perry, was unable to maintain her fierce independence—so he flew her across the country to Virginia to live with him in an 1870 townhouse badly in need of repairs. But to Dan, a screwdriver is a cocktail not a tool, and he was soon overwhelmed with two fixer-uppers: the house and his mother.

Unbowed, Dan and Perry built a rollicking life together fueled by costume parties, road trips, and an unshakeable sense of humor as they faced down hurricanes, blizzards, and Perry’s steady decline. They got by with the help of an ever-expanding circle of sidekicks—Dan’s boyfriends (past and present), ex-cons, sailors, strippers, deaf hillbillies, evangelicals, and grumpy cats—while flipping the parent-child relationship on its head.

But it wasn’t until a kicking-and-screaming trip to the emergency room that Dan discovered the cause of his mother’s unpredictable, often caustic behavior: undiagnosed schizophrenia.

Irreverent and emotionally powerful, Like Crazy is a “journey to self-acceptance and ultimately finding love” (Alan Cumming) and shows the remarkable growth that takes place when a wild child settles down to care for the wild woman who raised him.

Critic reviews

"Author Dan Mathews narrates this entertaining memoir about caring for his elderly mother in a raggedy old Virgina house. His voice is full of quiet amusement as he describes his larger-than-life mom and the ups and downs of their spontaneous costume parties, vegan feasts, and home improvement mishaps. Mathews's narration is mostly fun and breezy, but his voice fills with emotion when he speaks about his mother's undiagnosed schizophrenia and their challenging visits to the hospital. . . . his lively, heartfelt performance adds a lot of depth to this lighthearted but ultimately moving audiobook about a complicated mother-son relationship."

Crazy mothers love this book

I know because I am one. Having raised two sons while grappling with my own crippling depression and anxiety, it was somehow deeply affirming to read this. Dan Matthews has written a loving but no-holds-barred memoir of his mother’s final years that carries the reader through a gamut of emotions and leaves one with a peaceful sense of hope.

hilarious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming

Since Dan Mathews'' first book, Ccmmitted, is one of my all time favorites, I knew I was in for a treat but I didn't know I was in for such a rich ride.. What a beautiful story of family - crazy, painful, beautiful family. I loved it.

Just what I needed.

I had heard about this book while listening to the Dan Matthews interview with Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown. Episode 26, a must. I immediately purchased this and listened in one sitting. I have been taking care of my schizophrenic grandmother for 15 years as her guardian. This experience had begun long before then, dating back to when I was a baby and grandma was juggled between relatives. I am currently in the thick of our mental shift between schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s. The caregiver burn out is in full swing. It helped me reset and offered a fresh perspective to what she may be experiencing on the other end. I am really thankful to have found this book when I did. We are currently in the midst of decisions and how to move forward. This story helped me put words to my desire to keep her with me in my home while also validating it’s importance. Thank you so much. I am very grateful to know it wasn’t just our family.

A personal tale told in a fun, inventive way

I really felt like I got to know Dan in this beautifully told story of mother and son. Listening to Dan speak is like having lunch with a good friend while they go on about their lives and you just sit there and are fascinated and laugh at the funny anecdotes. So much of who we are is thanks to or in spite of our parents. Dan was blessed with an amazing mother who overcame her suffering with an incredible sense of humor and a love for animals which she passed on to her son.

Loved

Parting is such sweet sorrow. As the mother of a schizophrenic child this book also gave me the much needed gift of laughter.