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876 reviews for:
While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Meg Kissinger
4.28 AVERAGE
876 reviews for:
While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Meg Kissinger
4.28 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
I read this in one day. Riveting personal story of mental illness in one family and a reflection on the sorry state of support for those suffering.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I’m interested to know how I’d have responded to this book 11 years ago before a person with severe mental illness entered my life. Before I learned all I could. Before more and more people around me started showing their anxiety more. All I do know is that this book captures brilliantly the two sides of living in this world. The horror and the love. The tragedy and the laughter. This book is tough to read but wonderful at the same time.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Let me start with a trigger warning. This book is most definitely not to be read by just anyone. There is ample discussion of suicide and mental illness, with perhaps more details than necessary. However, this is an incredibly important and poignant piece that weaves one family’s tragic history with the overarching tragedy of the history of the mental health system, or lack thereof, in the US.
As someone who loves Jesus and knows, as Lysa TerKeurst brilliantly writes, that we are living this “life between two gardens,” I know that there is some brokenness that cannot be healed on this side of heaven because of sin. However, I also realize that we are called to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and this book is like watching the film of a football game and coming up with plays to do things differently next time.
If you do read this, please discuss it with someone, as it is a difficult read and there is a lot to process and unpack.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
As someone who loves Jesus and knows, as Lysa TerKeurst brilliantly writes, that we are living this “life between two gardens,” I know that there is some brokenness that cannot be healed on this side of heaven because of sin. However, I also realize that we are called to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and this book is like watching the film of a football game and coming up with plays to do things differently next time.
If you do read this, please discuss it with someone, as it is a difficult read and there is a lot to process and unpack.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This memoir about Megs life was very interesting to hear about. Her family has dealt with many struggles. It was interesting to hear about how this informed her journalism career and the ways that she fought for change through her story telling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt