John Tolley

Disturbance with a Mental John Tolley

The police code that is called out to officers when an incident occurs with an individual suffering from mental illness is Disturbance with a Mental, a term that immediately evokes the stigma that follows mental illness: unpredictability, lack of control, someone completely out of touch with reality. In other words, dangerous. Officer John Tolley, a veteran of the Chicago Police Department, takes charge in a crusade to treat those suffering from mental illness with greater compassion and comprehension than criminality by breaking those stigmas with a raw unflinching look inside his and his family's survival everyday, coping with child abuse, bipolarism and schizophrenia. This unprecedented look, through poetry and short stories, not only gives the reader the access to understanding the struggle that millions go through but also illuminates the strength and perseverance inherent in fighting the same day to day battles as everyone else, whether it be raising a child or falling in love, while also battling your own mind. And for those that suffer themselves, Tolley's works provide a beacon in the darkness to show that while the invisible "Bullies" may be persistent, you are not the only one fighting them.