Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence by Meg Kissinger

11 reviews

readingpicnic's review

5.0

This is such a devastating book, but I’m so glad it exists. The compassionate approach that the author takes towards severe mental illness and the honest thought processes of working towards this view is a point of view I don’t see very often. This book really hit hard as someone who has a lot of mental illness in my own family from both sides, but especially my mom’s side since her brother committed s*icide when she was in high school. I beg you to check the trigger warnings for this book, especially if you’ve lost (or almost lost) someone close to you to s*icide or dealt with s*icidal thoughts yourself, but it is so well written and has incredible narration from the author. The advice for living with the grief of losing someone in this way was very helpful I think, as this book was very well researched due to the author being a journalist who wrote extensively on how the mentally ill are treated in the US, but also contains personal advice on living with grief from some of her living siblings and people she connected with during her lifetime of research. I’m so glad I picked this up; thank you for the recommendation @bridgetish, this is why you’re my favorite booktoker.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Eating disorder and Pedophilia

katreena's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Very raw! 
This memoir explorers a lot of the uncomfortable feelings that people don't talk about having when in a mentally ill family. The author doesn't sugarcoat suicide and shows the real emotions for multiple sides. The author is a journalist so it's very well written and informative sections. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Alcohol

katiedoesntftba's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

If you are going to read this book, be sure to be in a good headspace. The author does not dance around the subject of mental health and suicide, however, it's a wonderful depiction of it all. I normally don't read non-fiction but I am SO glad I gave this book a try especially as someone whose family is Irish Catholic from Chicago.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

alisherly's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

malalaisee's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I wish that there was a bit more balance between traditional memoir and journalism-style coverage of others’ stories, since it throws the pacing off a bit, but otherwise, this is a great, digestible, and beautifully written story. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to write and share.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexual assault, Car accident, and War

westeggspinster's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative sad fast-paced

5.0

First book of the year! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

caldweka's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Suicide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Cancer and Abortion

kelly_e's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Title: While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence
Author: Meg Kissinger
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: September 5, 2023

I received a complimentary eARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Candid • Traumatic • Impactful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I have a keen interest in books (particularly memoirs) that tackle and advocate for mental health issues, so I was grateful to be offered an advanced reader copy of While You Were Out. I was unaware of who Meg Kissinger was ahead of picking this one up, yet I quickly came to hold a special place for her and her siblings in my heart.

Meg tells her family's story in a moving, yet professional manner. She combines personal memories and experiences with steadfast research to deliver a heartfelt exposé of a system failing the most vulnerable of people. From a young age the Kissinger family was faced with continual heartbreak, and yet somehow Meg is still here to tell their story. This is a memoir that will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you empathize. And it will make you angry at a system designed to fail.

While You Were Out is an important and impactful addition to the growing list of mental health literature. I could not put it down. It's a memoir I won't soon forget, and will be continually recommending. If you do decide to pick this one up, I'd definitely suggest proceeding with care for yourself.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• memoir readers
• fans of Educated and/or The Glass Castle
• mental health advocates

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"This is what telling your story can do, she told them. It can bring the dead back to life - not in the same way but as a kind of transformation. It doesn't take away the injury, but it can give you a feeling of power when you are in control of the narrative. The balance is shifted back to you. There's new life, resurrected." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Abortion, and Pregnancy

death of sibling, anxiety, depression

florapants84's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

nordstina's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

Journalist Meg Kissinger charts her family's history with mental illness in her memoir While You Were Out. She grew up in a large Irish Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago, one of eight children. As she recounts her childhood, the challenges her family faced were very much a mix of genetics and environment. Both her parents had mental health struggles- her mother was frequently hospitalized, but the family did not talk about it. Her father has bipolar disorder and struggles with alcoholism. One by one, Meg's siblings start having mental health challenges, some becoming quite disabled by them, with two ultimately ending their lives. Despite the widespread challenges throughout the family, it was not something discussed. When her sister ended her life, the family wanted everyone to say it was an accident, and no one properly deals with the death leading to more mental health issues and alcoholism among some family members. This is a tough read a times- it seems like they just cannot get out from under the weight of mental illness. And it is not until much later that the surviving siblings compare notes and support one another. Because Kissinger is a journalist, this memoir reads differently than others I've read involving mental health challenges. She appears very much an outside observer through much of the book, and balancing the journalist/subjective memoirist aspect appeared to be a challenge at times, especially as the latter half of the book pivots to more of a journalistic piece about the history of mental health treatment, statistics around the population, etc. I enjoyed most of this though as it is a fascinating case study of a strong genetic connection, a challenging home environment, and lack of communication. 

Thanks to Celadon Books for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug use