Dancing With My Mother

Joe was seventeen when a single night and a little-known psychedelic changed the way he saw the world - and never stopped. What began as altered perception became Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD), a condition that would shadow the rest of his short life, tangled up with depression and addiction. Dancing With My Mother is his mother's memoir: an unflinching yet tender account of loving a child through years of struggle, of hope held and hope lost, and of the grief that follows when love alone is not enough. Sheree da Costa, a former principal dancer with The Australian Ballet, writes with a performer's eye and a mother's clear, aching honesty. Running through it all is a refrain between them: "Let's dance, Ma." Both an intimate family portrait and a quiet act of awareness-raising, it gives a name to a condition few people know, and a voice to the parents who carry these stories. A book about profound loss, and about a bond that not even death can destroy. * * * If this book raises difficult feelings, support is available. In Australia, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 (24/7) and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.