Point Of Books A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness

Title	:	A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness
Author	:	Tom Davis
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 288 pages
Published	:	September 1st 2011 by Hazelden
Categories	:	Psychology. Health. Mental Health. Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. Mental Illness. Self Help. Biography

A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness Paperback | Pages: 288 pages

Narrative Concering Books A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness

The story of a loving family coming to grips with its own fragilities, A Legacy of Madness relays the author's journey to uncover, and ultimately understand, the history of mental illness that led generations of his suburban American family to their demise. Dede Davis had worried, fussed, and obsessed for the last time: Her heart stopped beating in a fit of anxiety. In the wake of his mother's death, Tom Davis knew one thing: Helplessly self-absorbed and severely obsessive compulsive, Dede led a tormented life. She spent years bouncing around mental health facilities, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities, but what really caused her death?

A Legacy of Madness portrays Tom Davis's captivating discoveries of mental illness throughout generations of his family. Investigating his mother's history led to that of Davis's grandfather, a top administrator at one of the largest psychiatric hospitals in the country; his great-grandfather who died of self-inflicted gas asphyxiation during the Depression; and his great-great grandmother who, with her eldest son, completed suicide one tragic day. Ultimately, four generations of family members showed clear signs of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and alcoholism—often mistreated illnesses that test one's ability to cope.

Through this intimate memoir, we join Davis on a personal odyssey to ensure that he and his siblings, the fifth generation,—recover their family legacy by not only surviving their own mental health disorders but by getting the help they need to lead healthy, balanced lives. In the end, we witness Davis's powerful transition as he makes peace with the past and heals through forgiveness and compassion for his family—and himself.

List Books To A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness

ISBN:	1616491213 (ISBN13: 9781616491215)
Edition Language:	English

Rating Of Books A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness

Ratings: 3.63 From 173 Users | 21 Reviews

Commentary Of Books A Legacy of Madness: Recovering My Family from Generations of Mental Illness

There are fascinating parts of this memoir, but ultimately I think it's just a little too personal of a story to work for a wider audience.  A heavy handed editor could have improved the final product, but maybe that's not the point.  Hats off to the author for achieving so much for himself and his family's mental health.

Coming from a family with a history of mental illness, suicide and simply odd behaviours, I couldn't wait to read this book. At the end of the day however, I was disappointed. The ultimate theme (to educate about mental illness as a journalist) lay a little flat because I did not feel that educated by his book. I took from it that his main points were that mood, behaviour and psychiatric disorders have a a genetic component (surprise!). The other big theme was a kind of continuous, low grade

Tom Davis is so brave. Despite advances in medical technology, our society still does not know the illnesses and causes of death for grandparents and great grandparents-especially those family members who suffered from mental illnesses.When children are very young, they assume how their parents run the home is normal or like other homes. As children age, they begin to see their parents might be different. The author dove into his family history, confronted his troubled childhood,shared his

This book is a true story about Tom Davis and his family's struggles with mental illness. It contains many personal stories about his own experience with bulimia and how his family dealt with his mother and grandfather who suffered from depression, OCD, and were alcoholics. He also investigates the circumstances around the suicides of his great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother.I was impressed by the author's story and willingness to share very personal information about his family's

A must read to help understand mental illness and its devastating impact on families. Tom writes with great clarity and detail about his mom's struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and alcoholism. He delves into his family's history and the tragedies of how failing mental health has cascaded through prior generations. The author also recognizes his own issues, those of his siblings and the steps taken to protect his children's mental health.

This was an incredibly moving and very personal account of generations of mental illness deeply effecting the lives of everyone involved in Tom Davis's family line. I'm very impressed by his honesty and openness. For people without experience with mental illness, I'm sure this will be a very illuminating book. As an added bonus, the author's career is writing, he has been a professional journalist for over 20 years. Not only does he convey an honest and personal history, but he does so with the

Wow! Thats my first impression. This is an important book everyone needs to read. Everyone is affected by mental illness. Make no mistake about it, whether its a family member, a friend, or co-worker . Davis crafts this page-turner with such clarity and detail about his generations of family mental illness, starting with his great-great grandparents who both committed suicide to the decades long struggle of his mother before her eventual death in 2003. Its clear from the beginning this isnt a