My Sister's Keeper: Learning to Cope with a Sibling's Mental Illness

by Margaret Moorman

Overview

Now a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV-movie starring Kathy Bates, Elizabeth Perkins, and Lynn Redgrave.

When Margaret Moorman's older sister, Sally, was first hospitalized with schizophrenia in 1959, her family denied the truth to neighbors, friends-and even themselves. Not until thirty years later, when their mother's death made her Sally's sole caretaker, did Margaret face the truth. In this poignant memoir, she tells the brave story of her struggle to come to grips with the legacy of her sister's devastating disease, its effect on her own life and on her entire family. Candid, moving, and ultimately healing, My Sister's Keeper is a heartwarming story about two sisters and their love for one another. "As gripping as a well-crafted thriller, but much more moving."—Washington Post "Moorman tells her family's story with courage, honesty, and generosity."—Kirkus Reviews "A brave, poignant memoir of a difficult coming-of-age... a lifeline to siblings of the mentally ill."—Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393324044
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	03/17/2002
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Margaret Moorman is the author of Waiting to Forget. She lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Freelance journalist Moorman here discusses the devastating effect of her older sister's mental illness on their family. Suffering from manic-depressive disorder, Sally became the focus of her parents' attention. Poisonous arguments between Sally and her symbiotically involved mother, punctuated by fights between her parents, racked their upper-middle-class suburban home during Peggy's childhood and teens. The author fell into a pattern of denying her sister's illness, even her existence, while at the same time identifying profoundly with Sally's pitiful unhappiness. In the wake of her father's death, a teenage Peggy gave up a baby for adoption; for years she lived in terror that she would become mentally ill herself, was deeply depressed and plagued by feelings of self-doubt. Their mother's death in 1987 compelled the author to confront the reality of Sally's needs and freed Sally to take a measure of responsibility for herself. The book succeeds as a brave, poignant memoir of a difficult coming-of-age, as a lifeline to siblings of the mentally ill and as a crucial addition to the literature on the subject. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A personal account by a woman whose sister is schizophrenic. No scholarly paraphernalia. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews