The Bottom Line
By Michael Greenberg; 234 pages. From book flap: "Hurry Down Sunshine tells the story of the extraordinary summer when, at the age of 15, Michael Greenberg's daughter was struck mad."
The line past which creativity and brilliance and energy become mania and psychosis and a danger to others is the one that Sally crosses one summer day, sending her to a psychiatric hospital and her family into a dark period of doubt and fear and second-guessing. It's a good illustration of the fact that anyone can become a special-needs parent, in a flash.
Pros
- Well-written and compelling account of a parent's nightmare
- The author deals with both a daughter and an adult sibling with mental-health issues
- Gives a good sense of how a teen can spin quickly from brilliance to madness
- Doesn't sugar-coat the story or provide an easy happy ending
- Postscript provides update on the characters
Cons
- This is purely a memoir, not a book with advice for handing such situations
- Gives only one side of a potentially complex story
- Short on details of the therapy that brought the girl back from the brink
Description
- Part One includes Sally's breakdown and the start of her hospitalization.
- Part Two ends with Sally on the brink of discharge.
- Part Three follows her home and back into something like a normal life.
- Postscript gives some details of Sally's life from 1998 through 2007.
Guide Review - Book Review - Hurry Down Sunshine
Most parents assume that if they can just get their children, their brilliant and gifted children, successfully through birth and early development and elementary school without racking up labels and diagnoses and injuries mental or physical, they're pretty much home free. When you've got a teen who's smart and creative and intense and bursting with promise, you're starting to feel like a parent who knows what to do. But of course, one illness, one car crash, one sports injury, one traumatic event, or in this case one break from reality can make you realize how cosmically clueless you are.
The author gives a compelling account of all the ways a suddenly sick child can strain family dynamics. As his daughter struggles to regain her sanity, he's also trying to care for a brother who has been living on that edge for years. Just as he second-guesses his actions now regarding hospitalization and medication and diagnosis, his mother is still taking on blame for his brother's mental illness. Though Sally seems on track for a brighter future than her uncle's, the book's ending makes it clear that there is no magic wand that makes these challenges disappear.
What the book doesn't offer is much detail on Sally's condition and treatment, or much guidance for other families dealing with the same scary circumstances. And that's okay; it's one father's story, and a good read. If you've been there, or worry that you might one day be, it may be helpful to have some company.
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