Hurry Down Sunshine

Didn't finish it

High quality product. A+

Good

I first heard of this book and Sally's story on NPR last week. I gasped as I wondered if Michael had written my story before me and wondered if I could even bring myself to read a similar account of what surely must be the most terrifying experience a parent can ever go through. I read the book quickly and with great interest and with of course the upmost respect for what this family and in particular, Sally, went through. In addition to this very personal account, the book provides an accurate view of what it is like to be suddenly thrust into the world of psychiarty.My son went through a similar although much more prolonged psychotic break which was diagnosed as 'cannabis induced'. He has fully recovered through medication to stablize and nutritional supplements of amino acids and essential fatty acids. The journey to this point was horrifying, terrifying and confusing. I, like Michael, threw myself into all the available information to try to make sense of this condition and to help my son recover. I came through it with a profound sense of concern about the state of psychiatric care in our country. My views and experiences in this regard go well beyond what I could ever write in a book review though.I live every day in gratitude that my son is healthy and I pray that the psychosis that griped him for almost two years will never return. I accept and understand that psychosis is not always - and not usually - induced by drug use and that it can be an organic chemical imbalance. I do believe though, hopefully not naively, that brain imbalances can be improved through nutrition. I found great solace and understanding in the book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" by Dr. Amen (to which I have absolutely no association other than as a reader). I did find it difficult to get a proper response from his clinic though when I sought to make an diagnostic appointment for my son in one of his darkest phases - which only speaks to scarcity of resources and the demand for such. I also believe that the incidence of this type of mental illness is rapidly increasingly as a result of the toxins and stressors that surround us all.I've often thought of writing about my own experiences with my son through this period. What I lived through is known only to me as I struggled alone to bring him back. I applaud Michael for taking the painful step and making the effort to share his account with others. It is only through understanding and recognition that we can learn to deal effectively with this condition.

Despite some critical reviews that Mr. Greenberg somehow focused too much on himself, I found his perspective rather refreshing. Generally, we only receive the points of view from doctors & patients. Now, we finally get an insight to a parent of someone afflicted. Plus, in addition to his daughter's plight, Mr. Greenberg manages to handle a brother with lifelong mental illness, as well. Here is a man who NEEDED an outlet from all he's endured & he provides real insight to his family, which is left confused & stunned by the onset of his daughter's mania. The WHOLE family unit must learn to live & cope with bipolar disorder, not just the ailing daughter.For the critics who found him neglectful to his daughter for discussing his own emotional trauma...he wrote his memoir more than a decade after the incidents in the book. He didn't leave her alone in a hospital while he maliciously laughed & furiously wrote behind her back. In contrast, we get the details of his frustration during the times when he would wait at the hospital all day, hoping to spend time with her, even after he'd been denied visitation for the day...or when he tries her medications to better understand the disconnected fog they leave over her. Indeed, at the time of all of this upheaval, he was far too busy with his daughter, brother, wife & eviction to focus on much else. When he finally took the time to write his book, his daughter supported it enough to want him to use her real name. Clearly, she supports her father & the book. If people want to read HER perspective, they'll have to wait for her memoir, but it's unfair (to both father & daughter) to expect him to write HIS story from her eyes.For an inside look at a parent sifting through confused denial, playing the self blame game, second-guessing the choices made for healing, & coping with the complications of blended families, all while still having to face day-to-day life, I would certainly recommend this book.

I am very hopefully awaiting the arrival of the book. I have a daughter in law who is severely bi-polar and am still hopeful we can find some kind of help for her. Her family, for the most part, has tried to isnore and deny that she has a severe problem. Having said that, we found out they put her in the state mental hospital when she was eleven. Her Mother ignores the name calling and says she is just mad at something. Her brother simply tries to avoid her at all costs. The poor girl cannot be left alone with her children; much too dangerous. Unfortunately, ALL mental health facilities in the state they are in were shut down in 2001/2002. The patients were given a years Rx for what ever drug they were on and sent on their way. She has gone down hill dramatically and her episodes have escalated into screaming violence from which her children must be protected. She has had episodes where she broke vertibra in her husbands back; where she threw a coke can and cut his face...too many horrible things to mention. Still, he feels that God means for him to take care of her, since there is no alternative. He cannot leave her to go to work, he cannot trust her to be there when the children get off the bus. She has been on Geodon (sp?) with disasterous results. She now takes some kind of drugs that make her slur her words, close her eyes and then scream about nonsense. I am hopeful this book will shed some light on the horrible disease for the family.