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Daughters of Madness: Growing Up and Older with a Mentally Ill Mother
June was 9 years old when she came home from school and her schizophrenic mother met her at the door, angrily demanding to know, Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house? Tess's mother would wait outside church, then scream at family friends as they emerged, accusing them of spying and plotting to kill her. Five-year-old Tess and her 7-year-old brother would cr
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Hardcover, 196 pages
Published
September 5th 2000
by Praeger Publishers
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-59)
Oct 10, 2009
Tatjana
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
daughters of Mentally Ill Mothers
Recommended to Tatjana by:
Kat
Shelves:
non-fiction-self-improvement
This book, on first glimmer, seems academic.
In fact, I got it from a University library in an inter-library loan programme. I saw the very crisp, very white pages, footnotes, extensive bibliography and shuddered. It would take me a month to pour through it.
I was fooled.
Though the book is not written as a pop-psych classic usually is, it is a pleasant read. Susan Nathaniel, while clearly an educated counselor, is also a lyrical writer. Within one chapter I was mesmerized, but not in that overly e ...more
In fact, I got it from a University library in an inter-library loan programme. I saw the very crisp, very white pages, footnotes, extensive bibliography and shuddered. It would take me a month to pour through it.
I was fooled.
Though the book is not written as a pop-psych classic usually is, it is a pleasant read. Susan Nathaniel, while clearly an educated counselor, is also a lyrical writer. Within one chapter I was mesmerized, but not in that overly e ...more
Of the three books on unavailable mothers this was by far the best. Real stories from interviews. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have each woman's story stand alone. It was divided by stages of life (for example: Adolescence; middle childhood) and so the continuity of each woman's story was lost. Very moving in many cases.
It's primarily anecdotal from Nathiel's patients with some insights and trends from the doctor. Most of her patients/clients grew up in the 60s, 70s, 80s, so it feels out dated in some respects.
I did find myself connecting to certain phrases and view points. Much of it wasn't relevant in my case - my mother never went to a psychiatric hospital nor my father never sexually abused as was the case with some of the patients -- but some stories were relate-able to my own past, and in all cases, I of ...more
I did find myself connecting to certain phrases and view points. Much of it wasn't relevant in my case - my mother never went to a psychiatric hospital nor my father never sexually abused as was the case with some of the patients -- but some stories were relate-able to my own past, and in all cases, I of ...more
I thought this book would be more clinical or academic, but instead it is a series of slightly disjointed personal anecdotes from women who grew up with mentally ill mothers, describing their lives at various stages: early childhood, adolescence, etc.
This book is a must-read for women who have or had mentally ill mothers. There is no other book quite like it.
I don't like the way this book is organized. It doesn't flow and it's hard to follow the individual stories of the women interviewed.
Jan 15, 2008
Linda Owen
added it
This book was really not what I thought it would be. I was looking for advice, but all the book included were stories. It deals primarily with serious mental illness, such as Schizophrenia.
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