Randolph C. Hack's Story

I began having problems when I was in high school. My father was in the Army and we moved around a lot. I was the victim of cruel teasing and harassment, and I did not go to my junior or senior prom. My mother took me to see an Army psychiatrist in 1962 and he knew there was something wrong but, in those days, there was little they could do to help.
 
I got accepted at college but had to drop out due to my illness. I went to an American junior college in Munich , but I dropped out of school after returning from Europe and I had a couple of hospitalizations.
 
I remember taking a plane from Dulles Airport to San Francisco during the winter in 1968. Turn on, tune in, drop out. I became a part of the hippie culture and was also homeless for about a year.
 
In 1969, I went to Hawaii and got hospitalized at Hawaii State Hospital . A kindly doctor helped me recover, with seven years of individual therapy and one year of group therapy. I completed my education and got a B.A. in geography with the assistance of the Hawaiian Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. From there, I was able to start working and have been in recovery ever since.

Randolph C. Hack