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889 reviews for:
While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Meg Kissinger
4.28 AVERAGE
889 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
funny
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Kissinger does a wonderful job accounting her experience in a family and upbringing abounding in mental illness. She reflects on things that were detrimental to their development (such as not talking at all about her mother going to a psychiatric hospital, and saying "if anyone asks, it was an accident" to a family member's suicide – both behaviors exhibited out of shame), and she shows a better understanding and position on mental health now than when a child (i.e. "I should have realized she was struggling with severe depression instead of being mad at her for being mean to me.").
I loved how Kissinger's journalistic passions are focused on exposing failures in USA's mental health system. She says she's not an advocate, but by bringing these things to light she is helping change stigma and improve protocols. This book makes you feel understood if you come from a dysfunctional family strife with mental illness and abuse, and/or if you suffer from mental illness yourself.
As a fellow Wisconsinite, I considered it neat that Kissinger's story takes place mostly in Wisconsin and Chicago. However, her self-narrated audiobook has a relatively heavy midwestern accent that can be painful to listen to at times. That being said, it’s usually a gamble when a non-actor narrates their own book, and Kissinger's interpretation was lovely.
I loved how Kissinger's journalistic passions are focused on exposing failures in USA's mental health system. She says she's not an advocate, but by bringing these things to light she is helping change stigma and improve protocols. This book makes you feel understood if you come from a dysfunctional family strife with mental illness and abuse, and/or if you suffer from mental illness yourself.
As a fellow Wisconsinite, I considered it neat that Kissinger's story takes place mostly in Wisconsin and Chicago. However, her self-narrated audiobook has a relatively heavy midwestern accent that can be painful to listen to at times. That being said, it’s usually a gamble when a non-actor narrates their own book, and Kissinger's interpretation was lovely.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
an honest, vulnerable and i think one of the most difficult memoirs I’ve read. we know that family can be messy, but this one feels so scary because almost all of the characters have mental illnesses. please check the TW!
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced