I wonder how often people mentally corroborate family trauma with a lack of love? It's true that emotional abuse is not loving. It's also true that dysfunction in family can evolve from people not showing up at their best or being their most loving. In the case of the Kissinger family, though, I think abuse, trauma, dysfunction, mental illness, and love coexist. As an outsider, I can track where some of the dysfunctional behavior is rooted in love but isn't loving. I had similar thoughts when reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I appreciate the courage and work it took to write this memoir. I enjoyed the story portion more than the analysis and summary (that's how it seemed like the book was divided--either purposefully or not). I'm glad the author could come to conclusions about herself and her family, but felt like those conclusions could happen off the page or at least more nuanced in the story. I will forgive the journalistic style because the author, of course, is a journalist, and this is her first memoir. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

While You Were Out is my new favorite book and memoir. The author is from my time and her story made me think I was reading about an old friend. This book made me examine my own life and was very relatable. I promptly ordered the print version.

A powerful memoir that delves into the kind of tragedies that no family should ever endure. It tackles complex subjects without feeling overly dramatic or sensationalized. With her journalist background, Meg Kissinger presents these events in a matter-of-fact style, but it never comes across as cold or uncaring.

Despite the pain and hurt life has thrown their way, her affection for all generations of her family shines through. This love and care add a poignant layer, making this not just a story of hardship but also a testament to the enduring bonds of family.

Kissinger's narrative style strikes a delicate balance between fact and emotion. There is a depth of research that underpins the family stories. Kissinger doesn't just recount her family's experiences; she also weaves in extensive research into mental health and other aspects of society that parallel her family's journey, providing a broader perspective on their challenges.

Is it just me or is fall going super fast? These past 2 weeks have just flown by. I blinked and it’s already the middle of October…and I’ve yet to share my favorite book from September!

I am fascinated by all books regarding mental health. Some mental illness runs in my family and so much of it was hush hush 🤫🤐 as I was growing up. When I read books like this I realize more and more that our family is not alone!

While You Were Out is written by one of the eight children of a young conservative Catholic family. The mother was besieged with anxiety and having eight hyper children sure didn’t help. It was the 1960s when this family began and you’re brought up to present day in the end.

If you’re into memoirs, family dysfunction and any and all information about mental illness, then this book is for you! This book was my top book last month and I highly recommend it. Glad I was able to fit it in around throwing ghost 👻 toys for Zoe and folding endless loads of laundry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the eARC.

This book was heavy. I find it very difficult to rate memoirs, but for the purpose of a review Meg Kissinger's work centered on a family grappling with mental illness it was an easy 5 stars. Heavy, sad, but poignant.

While You Were Out is a family memoir intent on breaking the silence and shining a light on mental illness in the family setting. Written in the voice of an immersive investigative journalist whose life’s work has been in the disclosure of the true state of mental health resources in the United States, it’s paradoxically deeply vulnerable and borderline impersonal. Meg, the narrator and third child of 9 children, tells the story of a family fraught with unresolved trauma in a time where there was limited understanding and resources available for healing. She tells the story as if she’s watching the story unfold before her eyes and she’s simply disclosing what she’s witnessing.

It is possible that this means of telling the story made it easier to grapple with for those who also have chronic trauma, but it’s a dark and hard memoir nonetheless. Meg is an excellent writer and even telling bits of the stories of four generations of a family fighting back against mental illness and its stigma, it was compelling and very well done. I appreciated the efforts she went through to thoroughly research her family’s run ins with psychiatric care, the law, the documents, the interviews with people who knew of her family members. To go through the Herculean efforts to relive a hard childhood and adolescence while maintaining an impartial commitment to the telling the truth of what happens behind closed doors and dealing with the aftermath of the effects of old traumas is not one I’d wish on my worst enemy, but her story is one that needed to be told and should be told. It’s one that doesn’t end with the fourth generation moving confidently forward with no struggles, but it’s not without hope. And the hope of what’s to come is what I’m taking away from this one. So much hope comes from speaking up and speaking out - you find you aren’t alone in this world after all. Though we are far from where we need to be in this country, there is no incentive to get better without bringing awareness to a problem. That’s what this book does in its telling.

I’d like to thank Celadon Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a very very heavy book but was well written. There were several times that I gasped and I am in awe that this all happened and feel devastated for the family as a whole. Very sad but an important look at mental illness and the power it has. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Deeply moving and thought provoking. This intimate portrait of a family suffering from mental illness and loss is a must-read.

I have to say not only did I enjoy this book, but, I was amazed at what the author was able to accomplish and do with her life with all the adversity that she grew up with. She is definitely someone to be admired. I would not hesitate to recommend this read and it was a story that will more than likely stay with me. Than you so much for the opportunity to to receive this ARC.

very heavy subject matter where i had to put it down more than a few times. happy that the author was able to write it so that others have something to relate to if they are going through the same issues.

Wow! How much tragedy is too much for one family? The Kissingers got their share and more. If anyone doubts that mental health issues are hereditary, they need look no further than this book for proof. The author tells of the mental health struggles of her parents, her multiple siblings, and to a lesser extent herself. I found it very interesting to learn about how her journalism career went on to focus on the mental health crisis in our country, and the impact she was able to have on mental health services and policy in Milwaukee. The author skillfully intertwined policy with her family story. For fans of Hidden Valley Road.

Family memoirs are often riveting, and While You Were Out is no exception.

Meg Kissinger is one of the eight children in the Kissinger family, parented by two devout Catholics who each suffered their own mental illness; many of the children experienced the same. This is their story – a story of love, frustration, anger, and ultimately a story of loss and the struggle to make sense of it all. It would have been easy to lay blame at the feet of some characters, and the author writes unflinchingly as she describes he exploits of her parents, brothers and sisters – but never does she refer to them with disrespect, even when describing the nearly overwhelming anger she feels toward different family members during specific times of crisis.
The love always comes through, always.

It’s difficult to speak objectively about the writing, because the story itself is so engrossing that the reader never really steps out to examine the writing (at least this reader didn’t) – and I suppose that statement speaks for itself. One aspect of my critical reading of a new book is this: did some quality of the writer’s style pull me out of the story (like an alarm clock waking one from a dream)? In this book the answer is no, for the most part, and I only stopped reading when I had other obligations. The foreshadowing at the end of several chapters was a bit heavy-handed, but this is a minor point.

Anyone who appreciates family memoir will find this book fascinating and real. Meg Kissinger knows how to tell a story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book; I used it to write my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of While you were out by Meg Kissinger!

Meg Kissinger's While You Were Out was a moving, beautiful, heart-breaking memoir. A 5 star read for me.

The writing of this book was very strong and kept me hooked the entire time. Meg and her family's story itself was captivating and touching. For anyone who has or has known someone who has struggled with mental health (aka everyone?), I can highly recommend this book. Kissinger walks us through her childhood, growing up with parents who struggled with mental illness and the loss of multiple of her seven siblings to suicide. The last section of the book is much more about Kissinger's battle with reflecting and sharing her family's story. It reads quite differently than the first part of the book but I enjoyed both. I applaud her for sharing her story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced reader copy of this memoir in exchange for my honest review. The good news is that it's now out as of September 5th.

I like reading memoirs because they let you experience people's life and how it turned out for them. In this particular book, Meg Kissinger describes growing up in a family that ended up having two cases of suicide, and all the mental struggles the family went through. The writing style is compelling and makes you want to learn more about how they coped with the situation.

The author writes about growing up in a large family in the 1960/70s, Her clan was ripe with mental illness in a time when it was an embarrassing secret, and swept under the rug. The tragedies this family suffered due to their afflictions are horrific and just plain sad.
This book illustrates how far we have come in acknowledging, treating and accepting mental illness, but also how far we still have to go.
Thanks to #netgalley for this #arc of #whileyouwereout by #megkissinger in exchange for an honest review.

Meg Kissinger pulled me in from her very first sentence. This novel packs a powerful punch. Family units, for many, are not easy. Kissinger is honest, raw and leaves it all on the page.

As a current clinical psychology trainee, I am frequently on the hunt for books to add to my imaginary "required reading" list for future clinicians - this is one of them. Drawing on an impressive history of investigative reporting and mental health advocacy, Meg Kissinger crafts a tender yet candid portrait of a family ravaged by genetic vulnerability to depression and Bipolar disorder amid a wider culture of stigma and silence. The story reads as part autobiography, part journalistic exposé, as Kissinger paints a vivid portrait of her family and their struggles with a deeply flawed mental health care system. I applaud Meg and the entire Kissinger family for contributing to this powerful memoir, digging deep into a challenging family past marked by terrible tragedy and persistent intergenerational trauma in order to shine a light on a crisis that many families suffer in isolation.

This memoir is EVERYTHING. So well done.. it never fell flat. When I read a memoir I look for one that feels like I’m having coffee with a close friend. I, as the reader, want to feel engaged and apart of the experience in some way. Meg grants you this as well as a raw and honest look at familial dynamics that one must learn to grow through and out of. Coming from a home riddled with mental illness books like this will always be so important to me. You won’t regret reading this.

In this memoir, the award winning journalist recounts her childhood in the 1960’s suburbs of Chicago as one of eight kids in a large Catholic family. While the Kissinger family appeared to those around them as a typical, warm and loving family, they were hiding the truth from even those closest to them. Several of Meg’s siblings and both of her parents were dealing with mental health issues, ranging from depression to bipolar disorder. She shares the devastating suicides of two siblings and discusses how the mental health system failed her family time and time again. This could have been a very heavy book, but the author did a great job of balancing out the tragedy with humorous and thoughtful stories of her family’s time together. It was a very well written and insightful look at how mental health issues can, and do, affect the person’s entire family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for my early reader copy.