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Excellent memoir of a father's description of his teen daughter's descent into madness. I couldn't put the book down; I had to find out what happened to Sally. I have a daughter with OCD so I could understand his helplessness and feelings of futility. Recommended for anyone who has ever had a child with a mental illness.
Check.The premise-and promise- of a contemporary glimpse into how one 'cracks up' in the City in the summer was tantalizing.but while pieces of the story engaged and even enraptured me (tell me more along the lines of how you, having popped your daughter's antipsychotics ,convinced a screenwriter that you're aloof and trendy enough to land a writing gig to die for)., I was left feeling as though I bought real estate in an ocean and was only permitted to wade up to my kneecaps.I want to know more about Pat- about the contrasts in your relationships with these two women, how your mother influenced your choice in women and even in how you chose to parent Sally. Spoiled by the haunting story-weaving of Lamb and by the raw lyricism of Sheff, I eagerly paid full price (in tough times my book budget is quite slim). How did you weave the tapestry of your life around such circumstances without a hint of excess, save for the violent moment in the bathroom. By the end of the first half hour in I was looking at the back cover again to remind myself of the genre. Yup, it's a memoir, daughter crack-up. I think you held back so much, and your story is only partly told. Clearly a talented writer; but the story feels too antiseptic and at times, oddly removed from the writer himself.
My only wish is that the long road to wellness and the one step forward, two steps back nature of the illness was expanded upon. That can be fixed.
As a mother of a Bipolar son, it was spot on in telling about the feelings of parents and helplessness that come with a diagnosis of mental illness. I particularly identified with the difference in Sally as an infant with regard to being able to be soothed.
I just finished Hurry Down Sunshine and found it to be very realistic in its portrayal of family reaction to an initial diagnosis of mental illness in the family. I identified with the author's "wish" for is daughter to have a drug problem.
This is identical to my son's behavior which we chalked up to his not wanting to be a baby. I can recall going through the same denial, trying to recall a specific incident that "triggered" the illness and how my poor parenting caused this to happen.
This is the most acurate account of the impact on the family as a unit. Recommended for anyone who has a teen with mental illness.
"There is now a feeling that these traits have survived because they have some adaptive value. The epilogue which reveals Sally's long term success reminded me that mental illness, for many of us, is a lifelong journey.The book is painfully and believably honest, earnest, and well written. It gives the book a trustworthy feel of authenticity. The price paid for having those traits is that some will have mental illness." - so says Professor Gordon Claridge, emeritus professor of abnormal psychology at Oxford University. These are people to remember, the average ordinary people who fear the stigma of having a family member labeled this way, but who allow their love and attachment to overcome their prejudices. The strong correlation between creativity and mental illness is so well known as to be passe, but this book provides glimpses into that difficult realm that so many creative people walk between illness and enlightened.I found the story both hopeful and sad. To be mildly manic depressive or mildly schizophrenic brings a flexibility of thought, an openness, and risk-taking behavior, which does have some adaptive value in creativity. Greenberg has a talent with understated concrete language which he combines with his own piercing personal reflections about people.
Hopeful in that it shows people with mental illness in their context, in their recovery, and in their uniqueness. Sally's own awareness of her mania, the way she grieves the loss of the feelings that go with it, her doubts about the insights she had while under "it's" spell, all highlight the wonder of the human mind, able to reflect on itself, on truth, and on what is valuable. We see the supporting characters (family members mostly) in the story as completely human and driven by their needs and fears, but we also see them trying their best to be more than their fears, moving past their prejudgments about "crazy people" to real understanding. This aspect of the book makes it a heartening read.
I was reluctant to read Hurry Down Sunshine--yet something about it did appeal to me--because it sounded a bit of a downer. It's not. Mental illness is one of those conditions we hear about, mostly the heart breaking/disastrous results, but not what it's like to be involved in the process.
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