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862 reviews for:
While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Meg Kissinger
4.28 AVERAGE
862 reviews for:
While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Meg Kissinger
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Antisemitism
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Self harm, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Abortion
Masterful. I’ll be carrying this family and this story in my heart for a long time.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Simply put, this is an important book.
We all have those in our lives who struggle, or who we’ve lost too soon to mental illness and all its associated difficulties. The person who struggles most, may even be you. This book details why checking in on loved ones, speaking up, getting rid of the stigma, and ultimately asking for help is so important.
@kissingermeg so bravely tells the story of her family and growing up in a time when people not only remained silent about mental illness, but also added lies to the mix in order to hide it.
Her parents each had their own struggles, which unfortunately surfaced in the lives of several of her siblings. She watched mental health issues and addiction destroy the lives of two siblings way too soon, while realizing finally that in order for their remaining family to survive, they needed to break down the barriers and support those in need.
Outside of the family, the general public, law enforcement, and judicial system of that time all showed ignorance in how to best support and rehabilitate those that suffered from the various forms of mental illness. Our country was just very much in its infancy in reforming how we interact with those that struggle. That reform and programming around how we help this large portion of our population has come a long way since then, but is still unfortunately needing to be further improved upon today.
This book was sad, but enlightening. If you or someone you love is struggling, you can text or dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline which provides free and confidential support for anyone experiencing a suicidal, mental health, and/or substance use crisis.
Much love to all those who need it
We all have those in our lives who struggle, or who we’ve lost too soon to mental illness and all its associated difficulties. The person who struggles most, may even be you. This book details why checking in on loved ones, speaking up, getting rid of the stigma, and ultimately asking for help is so important.
@kissingermeg so bravely tells the story of her family and growing up in a time when people not only remained silent about mental illness, but also added lies to the mix in order to hide it.
Her parents each had their own struggles, which unfortunately surfaced in the lives of several of her siblings. She watched mental health issues and addiction destroy the lives of two siblings way too soon, while realizing finally that in order for their remaining family to survive, they needed to break down the barriers and support those in need.
Outside of the family, the general public, law enforcement, and judicial system of that time all showed ignorance in how to best support and rehabilitate those that suffered from the various forms of mental illness. Our country was just very much in its infancy in reforming how we interact with those that struggle. That reform and programming around how we help this large portion of our population has come a long way since then, but is still unfortunately needing to be further improved upon today.
This book was sad, but enlightening. If you or someone you love is struggling, you can text or dial 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline which provides free and confidential support for anyone experiencing a suicidal, mental health, and/or substance use crisis.
Much love to all those who need it
Wow! What a powerful memoir of one family impacted by mental illness. loved the SFX connection. So much more needs to be done in this country about mental illness and removing the stigma. One of the very best books I read in 2023