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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherDoubleday Religious Publishing Group, T.H.E.
ISBN-100385478526
ISBN-139780385478526
eBay Product ID (ePID)2132360
Product Key Features
Book TitleMad House : Growing Up in the Shadow of Mentally Ill Siblings
Number of Pages224 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicPsychopathology / Schizophrenia, Developmental / Child, General, Dysfunctional Families, Siblings
Publication Year1997
GenreFamily & Relationships, Psychology
AuthorClea Simon
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Weight12.6 Oz
Item Length8.7 in
Item Width6.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN96-026893
Dewey Edition20
Dewey Decimal362.2/6
SynopsisWhen theBoston Globefirst published Clea Simon's cover story on growing up with her two schizophrenic siblings, the response was overwhelming. "Healthy" siblings constitute that silent majority of people who have grown up in dysfunctional families and, largely due to their age have often stood on the sidelines as the tragic consequences of a mental disorder claimed either the health or life of a brother or sister. For Clea Simon, the experience was shattering as first her beloved, older brother Daniel, the brilliant Harvard freshman started hearing voices and dropping out of school when his schizophrenia made functioning impossible. And then again as the same illness claimed her sister Althea, who has bounced around from one state institution to another after her parents eventually gave up on helping the daughter who refused their help. The issues "well" siblings face run the gamut from guilt (why do I deserve to be OK?), fear (what are the chances that I have this disease, or that my children may inherit it?), to the burden of caring for a sibling (am I my brother's keeper?), and overcompensating in the family, or its converse, acting destructively to get attention. In talking to hundreds of other siblings and experts in the field, Simon has written a comprehensive book that combines the best of memoir writing with the kind of practical advice that should ease the pain of any brother or sister who has felt helpless in the face of a sibling's mental illness.