Review and Giveaway: 'Hurry Down Sunshine' by Michael Greenberg

Hurry Down Sunshine
By Michael Greenberg
ISBN-10: 1590511913
ISBN-13: 978-1590511916
Hardcover, 240 pages
September 9, 2008
Other Press
Reviewed by Sabrina Williams

Michael Greenberg's memoir about his daughter's mental illness is an unabashedly straightforward work of literary merit, despite its biographical origins. When Sally Greenberg experienced her first major bout with psychosis in 1996 at the age of fifteen, her family was at a loss for explanation. In their eyes, Sally had never exhibited any previous traits of mental illness and her breakdown came as a major shock. Regardless of Michael's ongoing experience with a mentally ill older brother, Sally's situation was alien and unfamiliar to a concerned father.

The book is divided into three parts; the first being the alarming events leading up to Sally's hospitalization, the second spanning her treatment and progress, and the third closing on her recovery and reassimilation back into society. The author provides incredible first-person perspective from his role as Sally's father and protector. Until the worst bouts begin to fade and Sally begins to emerge from her pychosis, the reader follows along, just as bewildered as her family is.

The depth of Sally's emotion and mental capacity is not explored until her recovery, which may be a direct result of her medicated stupor while being treated within the mental health facility. What this tactic does is allow the reader to more closely identify with the family's feelings of inadequacy and worry when Sally's recuperation remains uncertain. At no time is Greenberg unrealistically optimistic. He takes his daughter's condition one day at a time. His own distress over finding Sally adequate care with his sporadic income as an uninsured freelance writer is incorporated into the story.

As Sally regains her mental competence and her medication is methodically adjusted, more explanation and vision from her own perspective emerges. The reader learns of her personal experiences just as her family does. Her own feelings of inadequacy become apparent, as well as her trepidation about encountering people who may have been unwitting victims of her psychotic episodes prior to her hospitalization. Conveniently, her initial breakdown occurred during the summer, so she is released just in time to return to school without having to explain any absence.

Michael Greenberg includes a postscript to bring readers up to date on Sally's progress since her release. Whereas previous mental illness biographies, like Girl Interrupted, focused mainly on the patient's experience, Hurry Down Sunshine is a vision of the disorder from the caretaker's perspective. The artistic talents of Sally, her father and stepmother contribute a great deal to the intensity of feeling expressed in the story. Greenberg has created a sobering account of mental illness.

Would you like to read this book for yourself?

I'm giving away my own advanced reader copy. Please note because this is an ARC, it is a trade paperback version of the hardcover that will be released in September.

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this review by Sunday, September 7th, 2008. I'll randomly select a winner the following Monday.

For a second entry, sign up for the Breeni Books email list. Enter your email address into the box at the top left sidebar, confirm your subscription using the email link you will receive, and leave me a comment to let me know you're on the list! Current subscribers are also eligible. Just leave me a comment letting me know you're already a subscriber.

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