While you were out : an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence
Kissinger, Meg,
While you were out : an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence Intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence / Meg Kissinger. - First edition. - xii, 303 pages : illustrations, photographs ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references.
Part I. Loving what is mortal — The tiger pit — Get out of jail free — Secret hiding places — Dangerous tricks — It's all in her head — While you were out : grandma died — We all have to go sometime — A hard molt — Love and a hate crime — Arrivals and departures — The prodigal son returns — Collecting treasures for heaven — Part II. Against my bones — Swimming back to Devil's Island — Building character — Holmer in the gloamin' — Be wounded by the stories you tell — Part III. Letting go — Life sparks through stubble — Pillars of light.
From award-winning journalist Meg Kissinger, a searing memoir of a family besieged by mental illness, as well as an incisive exploration of the systems that failed them and a testament to the love that sustained them.
Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard.
But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding—a heavily medicated mother hospitalized for anxiety and depression, a manic father prone to violence, and children in the throes of bipolar disorder and depression, two of whom would take their own lives. Through it all, the Kissingers faced the world with their signature dark humor and the unspoken family rule: never talk about it.
While You Were Out begins as the personal story of one family’s struggles then opens outward, as Kissinger details how childhood tragedy catalyzed a journalism career focused on exposing our country’s flawed mental health care. Combining the intimacy of memoir with the rigor of investigative reporting, the book explores the consequences of shame, the havoc of botched public policy, and the hope offered by new treatment strategies.
Powerful, candid and filled with surprising humor, this is the story of one family’s love and resilience in face of great loss.
9781250793775
2023002648
Kissinger, Meg.
Families of the mentally ill--United States--Biography.
Mentally ill--United States--Biography.
Mental illness--Physiological aspects.
Families--Biography.
Biography.
RC464.A1 / K57 2023
While you were out : an intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence Intimate family portrait of mental illness in an era of silence / Meg Kissinger. - First edition. - xii, 303 pages : illustrations, photographs ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references.
Part I. Loving what is mortal — The tiger pit — Get out of jail free — Secret hiding places — Dangerous tricks — It's all in her head — While you were out : grandma died — We all have to go sometime — A hard molt — Love and a hate crime — Arrivals and departures — The prodigal son returns — Collecting treasures for heaven — Part II. Against my bones — Swimming back to Devil's Island — Building character — Holmer in the gloamin' — Be wounded by the stories you tell — Part III. Letting go — Life sparks through stubble — Pillars of light.
From award-winning journalist Meg Kissinger, a searing memoir of a family besieged by mental illness, as well as an incisive exploration of the systems that failed them and a testament to the love that sustained them.
Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard.
But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding—a heavily medicated mother hospitalized for anxiety and depression, a manic father prone to violence, and children in the throes of bipolar disorder and depression, two of whom would take their own lives. Through it all, the Kissingers faced the world with their signature dark humor and the unspoken family rule: never talk about it.
While You Were Out begins as the personal story of one family’s struggles then opens outward, as Kissinger details how childhood tragedy catalyzed a journalism career focused on exposing our country’s flawed mental health care. Combining the intimacy of memoir with the rigor of investigative reporting, the book explores the consequences of shame, the havoc of botched public policy, and the hope offered by new treatment strategies.
Powerful, candid and filled with surprising humor, this is the story of one family’s love and resilience in face of great loss.
9781250793775
2023002648
Kissinger, Meg.
Families of the mentally ill--United States--Biography.
Mentally ill--United States--Biography.
Mental illness--Physiological aspects.
Families--Biography.
Biography.
RC464.A1 / K57 2023
