MADreads

Mental illness in the family

September 27th, 2008 Kim - Central

I downloaded 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell on my MP3 player, at the suggestion of a coworker. Despite the focus of the book being mental illness and all its repercussions, I really enjoyed this work of fiction which read like auto-biographical non-fiction to me.

This book will take you on an emotional roller coaster as it shows the ups and downs of mental illness, specifically bi-polar disorder. Campbell tells the story from a variety of viewpoints as the characters in this book try to deal, or not deal with the issue at hand. She also explores the ups and downs of false hope and its promise of a quick fix and the blatant disappointment that comes with dealing with the mental health system of the United States.

The book starts with Keri Whitmore, a divorced mother of one exceptionally talented daughter, Trina who was slated to attend Brown University after her high school graduation. Keri was also a successful business woman, and an individual with the ability to nurture those who are receptive of her nurturing ability. When Keri and her ex-husband had to face the reality that Trina wasn’t ‘normal’ by societies standards, Keri stepped up and accepted the fate of her child’s mental illness. Though Keri worked at acceptance, her ex-husband turned his grief inward to avoid dealing with the reality that his oldest child, his first daughter, was sick, mentally. Keri will do and had done everything possible under the sun to give Trina unconditional love, guidance, and tolerance as she watched her only child move in and out of manic-depressive mood swings that eventually threatened Keri’s own physical safety.

72 Hour Hold reveals the loops and inadequacies a parent or loved one goes through battling the mental health system. Everything from filling out multiple forms to making many court appearances and appointments with various professionals and specialists is explored. At one junction, Keri gets so desperate to help her daughter to either cure or control the bi-polar disorder, she joins a covert underground movement of individuals dedicated to a costly, secretive, firmly holistic approach to curing mental illness.

There are tender lessons that are promoted along the way for everyone involved. Campell, who was an advocate for the mentally ill in her real life, uses this fictional effort to delve into the need to educate oneself on the hereditary and genetic links of mental health diseases, how African Americans disguise and disregard the need for mental health treatment and the virtues of patience and acceptance when dealing with a mentally ill loved one.

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction