Author: Felicia Johnson
Series: Ok Danny Boy Trilogy (Book 2)
Genre: Young Adult to
New Adult...Coming of Age
Publisher: S.P.E. Media, Productions and Publishing
Release January 8, 2018
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
The spin-off of “HER”
is called “OK
Danny Boy". This three part book series follows the story of an
artistic and mysterious young man who Kristen meets during her stay in Bent
Creek Hospital. Daniel proved to be a supportive peer, whom Kristen saw as a
positive influence throughout her recovery. However, Daniel had not always been
a role model. Daniel is diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder, OCD and Juvenile
Diabetes. His story follows his journey throughout his healing and learning to
cope with life’s transitions, coming of age, living with mental illness as well
as a physical illness and the suicide of a close friend. Fans of “HER”
will get to see what it was like on the other side of the Adolescent Ward.
Part one: "CHAOS"
follows Daniel's life before he goes into Bent Creek Hospital during his mental
breakdown.
Part two: "MONSTER"
follows Daniel's story while he is in Bent Creek Hospital through his
treatment.
Part three: "LOVE" follows Daniel after his
treatment in Bent Creek Hospital into his recovery process.
*** This is part of a trilogy. These are the first two books in the OK Danny Boy series. The third book is to be released this summer. However, the OK Danny Boy trilogy is a spin-off of my first novel called “HER”. Daniel is a character from “HER” and OK Danny Boy is his story. It is recommended to read “HER” before the Danny Boy trilogy but it is not necessary. It is important to read Ok Danny Boy volume 1 before you read volume 2. ***
After a couple of days, I got used to the routine at Bent
Creek. Wake up, check vital signs, chat for a bit with your group and group
leader while waiting for breakfast, and take my insulin, morning goals group
with a mix of different counselors along with the doctor leading the goals
group, my doctor, Dr. Finch.
Dr. Finch
sat with me in the room after morning goals group. As always, he looked dapper
and acted chill. Dr. Finch always seemed to have a cool composure and calm
demeanor.
It was easy to talk with him. I mostly stayed on the
surface of things with him because when it was time to go deep I couldn't do
it. I felt like if I did go down the dark path of what had actually happened
and how I truly felt about it all, I would lose the comfort zone I was in and
in turn I'd lose my ability to want to talk to Dr. Finch or even be in Bent
Creek Hospital. What else was I going to do if I didn't stay here? Go back home
where Mom and Pop fight and make me feel crazy? Sit and watch reality fake TV
with Mom-Mom and we take our insulin together and stay silent about the other
medications that I need to function? There was no way in hell I was going back
to that church so that the scary priest man could squeeze my head and the
bronze statue of the man with arms wide open would stare at me and watch and
let them do those things to me.
"I
want to talk about home, Daniel." Dr. Finch said. "What is home life
like for you?"
I put my
feet up in the chair and rested my chin on top of my knees. It made it easier
to untie and retie my shoelaces. I don't know where or how I picked up this
nervous picking habit. It seems to have started at the beginning of the school
year, shortly after I was put on academic probation.
"Home," I said. "Home. Home. Home." I almost began
to sing it as I belted the word out once more.
Dr. Finch
blinked and waited.
"It's okay. Mom-Mom is great. She is weird like me, but she is
different because she is into church stuff. I don't judge her or anything. I
wish that she wouldn't judge me. Pop, well, Pop is just Pop. I mean," I
chuckled. "He is in and out. He doesn't have a job yet. Mom is working
around the clock and she leaves it to me to take Mom-Mom to the doctors. Which,
really, I don't know what's going on there because Mom-Mom has been going to
the doctor's office a lot lately and it worries me. It could be because of
Diabetes. Anyway, she says that she is okay. You see, me, my Pop and Mom-Mom
all have Diabetes. We got it when we were kids. I shouldn't have kids because
they'll probably have it too. Besides, Theresa would hate that. She wouldn't
want to..."
Dr.
Finch's expression changed. He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the
side. He looked thoroughly confused yet concerned.
"Go
on," he encouraged me to speak more.
I
shrugged my shoulders and leaned back in my chair. I said, "I worry about
my mother."
"Tell
me more about that, Daniel. Tell me about what worries you."
Dr. Finch
was the first doctor that I ever had that wanted me to talk about it. Still, I
felt uncomfortable as I sat in the chair across from him. I picked at my
shoelaces and kept my head down. I desperately wanted to smoke. It was out of
question to ask for cigarettes.
Dr. Finch
waited for me to answer him, but I had no idea where to start. It was
frustrating, trying to find the right words to explain the hows
and whys of everything when most of the shit didn't make enough sense to try to
explain.
"It's okay," Dr. Finch said. "I'll ask you in another
way. Why did you ask to come to Bent Creek? You could have gone home after you
were released from Egleston Hospital."
"I
guess..." I said with a heavy sigh, "I guess it was because I had no
other place to go."
"What do you mean?"
"I
mean that I couldn't go back home after everything that had happened. It was
hard for them."
"It
was hard for whom?"
"Mom-Mom, my Mom, my Pop and Theresa..."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Since you've been here, you have only talked about everyone else's
problems, but what about you?"
"I
don't know," I admitted.
Dr. Finch
didn't look like he was buying it. He shook his head and gestured his hands out
to me as he spoke, as if he was pleading with me.
"Look, Daniel," Dr. Finch said. "I know that it's not easy.
Especially when you have been through all of what you've been through in the
last week or so. The emotional stress on top of your physical stress from the
complications you suffered with Diabetes, it's-"
I don't
know what came over me. I put up my hand to stop Dr. Finch from speaking and I
cut him off.
I said,
"Having diabetes isn’t the real challenge. Sure, I have to stick myself
with a needle about two times a day. I have complications if I don't watch what
I eat and take care of myself physically. Like, I can’t eat what everyone else
eats like candy bars and birthday cake. I can live with that. I always have
lived with it. It’s the Bi-Polar Disorder that messes me up. One minute I’m
fine and as soon as something happens that makes me angry, I lose it. It's like
when I last saw Theresa talking to Ryan, I just wanted to kill him." I
paused and looked out of the window. Still picking my shoelaces, I tried to
calm down. It felt like my emotions wanted to get the best of me. I didn't want
to cry. I couldn't cry!
Dr. Finch
remained calm and quiet. He watched and listened to me intently. It was a
strange feeling to have someone listen and care about what I had been through
the way that Dr. Finch seemed to.
I continued,
"I don’t understand Bi-Polar like I understand Diabetes. Diabetes is
simple. It’s genetic. My grandmother has it and my father has it. Maybe
Bi-polar is genetic too?" I paused. When Dr. Finch didn't respond I said
with a shrug, "I don’t know."
Dr. Finch
nodded his head and remained silent. I expected him to tell me if it was true
or not. I wondered if it was genetic. I expected him to hit me with some
popular statistic or something. I looked at him and something about his
concerned expression made me chuckle. He made me a bit anxious. The next few
words out of my mouth seemed to spill out without thought.
"When I was a kid, I watched my father beat a man into a coma. I
didn’t do anything to help the man. I just stood there and watched as my father
beat the man’s face into a bloody pile of meat with his bare hands. I didn’t
cry. I didn’t scream. I didn’t react at all. I even had a bad dog bite from the
guy's German Shepard. I still didn't show any emotions. My dad just spent the
last few years in prison for hurting that man. After serving seven years, he
came home last week. We never talk about it. My mom tried to talk to me about
it one time, but I didn't know what to say. Mom concluded that I was in shock
and she didn't press me anymore about it."
Dr. Finch
raised his eyebrows. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something,
but I didn't let him speak. I started to laugh and he shut his mouth. He looked
at me questionably and asked, "What's funny about that, Daniel?"
I
continued to laugh as I said; "It's funny to me because now it makes
sense."
"What makes sense?" Dr. Finch asked.
I
answered, "I guess that I’ve been in shock for the past seven years."
What is the one thing
you hope your readers takeaway from your titles?
I hope that they find
the message of hope within the pages of the story. It's a book that is written
as a story for people to relate to and get into the emotions and experiences of
the characters. However, it has the heart of an educational book to help raise
awareness about mental health issues.
Felicia Johnson is a
mental health and youth advocate. She is a motivational speaker who shares her
life story about surviving abuse and living with mental illness. Felicia has
spoken around the world to many diverse audiences. She is an active youth
mentor with Youth Villages Inner Harbour. She speaks for organizations such as
The National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI) and Personality Disorders
Awareness Network (PDAN). Felicia Johnson's first novel called “HER” has gained
popularity and recognition from audiences and organizations worldwide.
Twitter @FeliciaLJohnson
Site for her book Her
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