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

by Meg Kissinger

Trauma does that to you. It steals your memory.

Leaving the house we grew up in felt like another death in a way. It was hard to let go.

I had a choice, Nat told me. I could feel sorry for myself and wallow in pity or choose to be happy and do what I could to make that happen.

After all that our family had been through, I didn’t think I needed any more character.

But I have too much already, I said as I started to cry. I have too much fucking character.

but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my relationships with any of them either. We’d already lost too much.

the more I learned that it’s never too late to reckon with your past.