Rate this book

In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores The Mystery Of Her Mother's Suicide (2009)

by Nancy Rappaport(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

046501450X (ISBN13: 9780465014507)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Basic Books

review 1: I hesitated to pick this book for reading. My brother committed suicide while he was in medical school. I had thought that maybe she was writing this book as attempt to understand her mother's decision and possibly help others with family suicides. I can understand why she would want to find out everything about the mother that she lost at the age of four. The reason that I hesitated to read it was that I didn't agree with her decision to sell it as a book. I felt that it should have been kept private. I can see how her family would not feel comfortable with her decision to publish it. To me, it increase hurt instead of dealing with it.If the author had gained some insight into why her mother took her life, and then wrote a book in an attempt to prevent the suicides of oth... moreers, I would have felt better. But the way that she wrote the book, it made me feel like a voyeur into the family's pain and suffering. This is not a book to race through, I picked up, read some and put it down. I felt strong sympathy for her mother (also named Nancy) as a child. If you read this book I am sure that you will agree with me that tremendous damage had been done to her as a child. The only thing that hooked me to finishing the book was my hope that the book would change and she would do some self examination instead of just factually reporting what happened. I have a background in psychology and counseling and the book left a very cold feeling instead of a deep understanding of why it happened.The author goes into great detail about the messy divorce that her mother and father, including horrible custody battle. She profiles her siblings one by one and also tells of her mother and father. The happy times in their early married life, I felt were the best part of this book.I don't think that including her patient stories are really needed in her book. In summary, I was disappointed in the amount of insight in it. I didn't really feel her love for her brothers and sisters. When I read it, I cannot recommend this book, especially to anyone who has had someone in their family attempt suicide.I received this book from GoodReads but that in no way influenced the content of my review.
review 2: "In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother’s Suicide by Nancy Rappaport is a heartbreaking memoir that examines from personal, family and professional perspectives the decision of Rappaport’s mother to take her own life when the author was only a 4-year-old. I applaud Rappaport for taking on a topic that must have taken immense courage, especially under the circumstances of less-than-supportive siblings, as readers will learn. As a child psychologist, one might expect the author to have a very clinical viewpoint, but in what I think is a refreshingly unexpected approach, readers will witness the consequences of the tragedy from the author’s personal perspective. Though heartbreaking from the outset, Rappaport tells of her coping mechanisms and ultimately how she came to accept her past, understand the complexities of suicide, and how this all influences her as a mother of three. Readers will appreciate the depth of research and digging through family records that was necessary to piece together her own understanding of her mother and Rappaport offers resources for those dealing with suicide and other mental illnesses, making In Her Wake a work that educates as well as captivates. For discussion groups, I highly recommend In Her Wake for its unique perspective on the topic of suicide." JH/2011 less

Download links for: In Her Wake: A Child Psychiatrist Explores the Mystery of Her Mother's Suicide

Advertising