The Law of Loving Others by Kate Axelrod continues the trend of contemporary books highlighting important social issues, such as mental illness.

Axelrod’s novel is about a girl named Emma who comes home for school on a holiday break, only to find out that her life has turned upside down. Though her family is far from perfect, it was relatively normal until she discovered something her parents had kept secret her entire life.

Immediately upon returning home, Emma knows something is off with her mother. A few days into her vacation, her mother’s strange behavior, which includes a strong bout of paranoia, reveals itself as a psychotic break, and Emma finds out her mother has had schizophrenia since she was in her 20s.

Emma’s mother is institutionalized, and she doesn’t know which way is up. While trying to come to terms with the effects and consequences of this illness, Emma struggles to maintain a normal relationship with her boyfriend. This is further complicated when she meets another guy while visiting her mother at the mental institution. As Emma’s life goes sideways, she must decide how she will handle the situation and what it means to love someone with schizophrenia.

‘The Law of Loving Others’ book review

The Law of Loving Others tackles a difficult subject when it addresses the realities of mental diseases, and specifically the concerns surrounding schizophrenia. Emma is painstakingly portrayed as a normal teenage girl, wrapped up in normal teenage dramas, like boyfriends, sex, drugs, parties, and school. She doesn’t always make the right decisions, and yet that only makes her more relatable.

Emma has a lot of questions about her mother’s mental state, and the subsequent Google searches and accompanying worries are those that would be the concern of anyone caught in her situation. Will she have schizophrenia? At what age does it usually begin to show signs? Will her mom be okay? Will their lives ever be normal again? These questions are not easily answered, and yet they are questions asked every day by those dealing with a loved one who has schizophrenia. It truly puts you in the mindset of someone who is concerned with their future and the future of their family.

The situation is further complicated when Emma’s romantic entanglements are no longer cut-and-dry. Her boyfriend does not give her what she wants, but she doesn’t necessarily even know what that is. When someone new enters the picture, she is pulled in a direction that could cause heartache on multiple fronts.

The greatest merit of this book is the portrayal of a person dealing with a loved one’s mental illness. It’s not always easy, and it’s not always pretty, but The Law of Loving Others does the right thing by showing all facets of the dilemma, and as awareness of mental diseases increases in our society today, so does the importance of having a book like The Law of Loving Others.

The Law of Loving Others by Kate Axelrod is available now. You can purchase it on Amazon or IndieBound, or add it to your Goodreads list for future reading.