Hurry Down Sunshine: A memoir by Michael Greenberg
Stars: ****
Summary: Hurry Down Sunshine tells the story of an extraordinary summer when, at the age of fifteen, Michael Greenberg’s daughter was struck mad. It begins with Sally’s visionary crack-up on the streets of Greenwich Village, and continues, among other places, in the out-of-time world of a Manhattan psychiatric ward during the city’s most sweltering months. - from Random House
All mental illness memoirs bring out emotions in me as I can identify with parts of it although my experience wasn't nearly as severe as Sally's. I remember this being a fairly quick read as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. The author is Sally's father and so it's written from his point of view. It must have been very hard for him to have to deal with. If you are curious what life is like for a family with a child who is in and out of psychiatric hospitals, this is a good book to read.
Other Reviews: Linus's Blanket, She is Too Fond of Books, Frequency of Silence,
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A Promise of Hope: The astonishing true story of a woman afflicted with Bipolar Disorder and the miraculous treatment that cured her by Autumn Stringam
Stars: ****
Summary: Autumn and her brother Joseph inherited the family bipolar disorder, a severe mental illness that led to their mother's and grandfather's suicides. Autumn, at 22, was in a psychiatric hospital on suicide watch; Joseph, at 15, was prone to violent episodes so terrifying his family feared for their lives. But after they began taking a nutritional supplement - based, incredibly, on a formula given to aggressive hogs - their symptoms disappeared, and today they both lead normal, productive lives. - from back of the book
Unlike the previous book, this one is written by the mentally ill patient. If you are interested in alternative treatments for bipolar disorder, this book will definitely interest you. I found a few parts of the book a bit slow but overall I enjoyed it and was intrigued with the alternative treatment. You see the background of their family's fight with mental illness and Autumn's journey through it but you also see how the treatment was thought up, tested and found to work.
Visit AutumnStringam.com for sample chapters, bipolar info and more.
Other Reviews: The Indextrious Reader,
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