Mesmerizing story of mental health and growing up in a large family dealing with mental health. This was sad but I also learned a lot.

3.5 stars
A good memoir. Meg really does a good job of portraying how mental health was such a huge stigma in the not so distant past. Hiding and not addressing these issues can only make things worse. She stressed the importance of finding a balance and not being afraid to seek help.

Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this arc.

“In headlines and news copy, we call them “the mentally ill.” In truth, they are our mothers and fathers, our brothers and sisters.
They are us.”

Ok Meg Kissinger, you win. I’m mad. More mad than I have probably ever been at the injustices for the mentally ill in this country.

“No one I knew had a sister who was sick like this, lying in bed most of the day with some strange illness that had no name, couldn’t be seen on an x-ray or confirmed through blood tests.” The silent killer. 😞

This is a powerful and utterly fascinating memoir that takes a hard look at how mental illness absolutely ravaged a family and how little was available to them at the time in the way of help, counseling, or support.

This book is raw and real and at times very frustrating and difficult to read. Can you imagine getting up EVERY day and having to fight your own mind? I cannot. And I simply cannot fathom why anyone is judged for having to fight that fight. I am disgusted. Truly.

This book should be required reading for everyone on how mental illness can destroy a person and, thus, their family and how to be supportive, compassionate, and how to talk about it. They should not be shamed. They need help, not judgement.

As seems to be the norm as of late, i purchased this book after having been #gifted a digital copy by @celadonbooks. So thank you, and to Netgalley and the author.

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger focuses on Kissinger telling the story of her parents and siblings while growing up in 1950’s Chicago amongst a large Catholic family. She shares the profound impact mental health had on her family while shedding light on the legacy created by covering up, denying or just having a lack of education on how to support someone facing mental health challenges. Her personal stories shed a light on a much bigger systemic problem which a lot of people may find all too relatable.

Kissinger is a journalist who has spent years investigating and working to combat the stigma surrounding mental health. We follow her family's story from her and her siblings' early childhood long into parenthood. It’s both easy to understand and hard to digest as Kissinger does not shy away from the painful and the personal. Yet, despite the tough hand the family was dealt, it reveals how they were able to come to a better understanding of themselves and one another, which ultimately increased their connection.

I highly recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading.

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing a review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence by Meg Kissinger ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A big thanks to @netgalley and @celadonbooks for the ARC. Pub day is today! 🎉

This was an intimate look at a family’s life with mental illness and their dedication to be aware of and advocate for better treatment. I got warm fuzzies at the end reading about how much the siblings leaned on and supported each other. I also was impressed with the author’s investigative journalism career that shed a light on the horrible conditions in which mentally ill people were having to live.

This is one of those books that you have to read the entire thing to understand the choices the author makes. The beginning was confusing for me at first as 1) it introduced so many family members and 2) it was told from the perspective of a confused child. I appreciated these choices by the end of the book as I think it helped me see how the author processed and put together the story of her family. Her journey to discover why and what could have been different unfolded in this book. It was hard to read at times with its raw honesty.

All in all, if you want a look at generational trauma, mental health struggles, shame, grief, and love, pick this one up. Please research triggers before diving in and take care of yourself before, during, and after reading.

#FirstLine ~ When we were little, my sister Patty and I liked to pretend that ferocious tigers lurked in the space between our twin beds, just waiting to rip us to shreds.

Prepare to embark on an emotional journey like no other with this remarkable memoir. Through its pages, the author shares a deeply personal account that is both brilliantly written and profoundly touching. With raw honesty, they invite readers into the most intimate corners of their life, laying bare their struggles, triumphs, and heartbreaks. The narrative is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, as the author navigates through life's most challenging moments with unwavering courage. The emotional depth of this memoir is staggering – the stories are heart-wrenching and the experiences are recounted with such vividness that you feel every emotion alongside the author. Each chapter is a poignant reminder of the beauty and fragility of life, leaving a lasting impact that lingers long after the last page is turned. The author's writing skillfully captures the complexity of their emotions, and their vulnerability is both inspiring and humbling. While the stories may be heartbreaking, they are also a testament to the power of the human spirit to find hope and healing even in the darkest of times. This is a memoir that will touch your soul and make you reflect on your own journey. It's a reminder that life's challenges can shape us into something stronger, and that even in our moments of deepest sorrow, there is still room for the beauty of resilience and the triumph of the human heart. Truly a masterpiece that will resonate with readers long after they've closed the book.

An absolutely incredible memoir!

Meg Kissinger writes her memoir, While You Were Out, and touches on stigma of mental health, and what could be happening behind closed doors. It is unfortunate that there is still a stigma around mental or emotional health. Meg's family seemed like the typical American family, as she grew up in the 1960s in Chicago. Meg Kissinger now, is an award winning journalist, and I was so amazed at how she told her story. Her family's story, making her very brave to share something so intimate and personal. Meg's mother had depression and anxiety, and was sometimes hospitalized and over medicated. Her father, was, at times, manic causing violent outbursts, and of course, this also affect the children. Two of Meg's siblings had bipolar and depression and committed suicide. Their family dynamic was more than dysfunctional, but it had an emotional and mental toll on each family member. Perfect in public, depressed and suicidal in the confines of their home. It a story that is very candid, and though, they have had their problems, the family could use humor, and love. The secrets stayed in the home. Meg grew up and dedicates her life to exposing the cracks in the mental health system. I was so honored to read this story. It's an endearing and heartbreaking true story of their experiences. While You Were Out is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.

Journalist Meg Kissinger charts her family's history with mental illness in her memoir While You Were Out. She grew up in a large Irish Catholic family in the suburbs of Chicago, one of eight children. As she recounts her childhood, the challenges her family faced were very much a mix of genetics and environment. Both her parents had mental health struggles- her mother was frequently hospitalized, but the family did not talk about it. Her father has bipolar disorder and struggles with alcoholism. One by one, Meg's siblings start having mental health challenges, some becoming quite disabled by them, with two ultimately ending their lives. Despite the widespread challenges throughout the family, it was not something discussed. When her sister ended her life, the family wanted everyone to say it was an accident, and no one properly deals with the death leading to more mental health issues and alcoholism among some family members. This is a tough read a times- it seems like they just cannot get out from under the weight of mental illness. And it is not until much later that the surviving siblings compare notes and support one another. Because Kissinger is a journalist, this memoir reads differently than others I've read involving mental health challenges. She appears very much an outside observer through much of the book, and balancing the journalist/subjective memoirist aspect appeared to be a challenge at times, especially as the latter half of the book pivots to more of a journalistic piece about the history of mental health treatment, statistics around the population, etc. I enjoyed most of this though as it is a fascinating case study of a strong genetic connection, a challenging home environment, and lack of communication.

Thanks to Celadon Books for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC. Well, when I was trying to select new novels for my memoir course, I knew from the subtitle that this one would be in strong contention. Kissinger's memoir is heartbreaking, especially in its scale. The story begins with a family of 10, 8 siblings in total. The tragedies that befall this family are vast and span the course of decades, but really, the most tragic is that many of these tragedies happen in an era of silence. The attitudes toward mental health in America are changing, somewhat, but this memoir shows the scope of that change from the 1950s, beginning with deinstitutionalization, onward into the contemporary moment and in the aftermath of COVID. The memoir sings best when Kissinger focuses on her family, but there is a notable shift in the tone of the text starting around part 3, lapsing from a family-focused piece to the larger implications of medical care for the severely mentally ill. It breaks one out of the reverie a bit, but overall, this text hits you in the gut and it's one that I'll be recommending to my students for a long, long time.

5 STARS! I loved this story about a real family, with a history family mental illness, including their incandescent personal journey. The author explores her unique perspective as a journalist, and how she was able to unveil the poor conditions of the mental health care system through her work. This story will also inspire readers to look out for those they love & emphasize that asking for help is something everyone must do more of in this world.

I so appreciated Kissinger’s expertise in investigative journalism which made this raw memoir even better with history of mental health practices and advice with a call for communities to do better. Her childhood family life is, at times, hard to read as she is unflinching in her recount of the widespread mental illness within her parents, grandparents and siblings. As a member of a family with generational mental illness, I related to the “accepted” chaos in the family and not talking about the many elephants in the kitchen. It’s shameful, indeed, when our government doesn’t provide care for those who need day to day help functioning because of mental illness. I hope many read this one and reach out to their government reps and demand more.

While You Were Out is a harrowing story of one family's experiences with varying levels of mental illness. At times difficult to read, Meg weaves an incredibly intimate and vulnerable look at the individual struggles not only of her family members, but also herself. I can't even write this review without tears.

This book was heart wrenching and extremely heavy. The devastation that Meg and her family experienced left me speechless. My heart broke for every single one of them. I also really commend the surviving family members for taking a stand against mental illness and banding together with love and compassion to hopefully save the family that remained.

Meg's investigations into and interviews with people impacted by mental illness and the lack of an adequate system of care infuriated me. While I'm so glad we've made progress in how we talk about and address mental health, it breaks my heart to think about all of the people the system has failed. It doesn't seem that long ago that there were illnesses that didn't have a name, medication, or even people willing to put into the research to find answers and solutions. And it's infuriating to think about the time that was wasted due to stigma and silence. So many lives lost for no reason. As someone who has struggled with and been on a journey of healing crippling anxiety, depression, and postpartum depression, I know first hand that medication and therapy can improve, change, and/or save lives.

I can't stress enough how important this book is. Everyone should read it, not just those currently suffering. Everyone knows someone who has suffered with or suffers from mental illness whether they are aware of it or not. As society is starting to talk more openly about mental health, it's so important that we capitalize on this moment and fix the system. We cannot keep failing people.

Thank you to Celadon and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy. All opinions are my own.

CW: mental illness, depression, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, suicide attempts, death by suicide, suicidal thoughts, self harm, unplanned pregnancies, alcoholism, drug use/abuse

heart wrenching but beautiful and important. had to pace myself because it was very, very heavy but i’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

Dopesick's investigative reporting meets the family mental illness of Hidden Valley Road in this memoir about a large Catholic family's traumas of suicide. The author is a gripping audiobook narrator. This book made me feel less alone in my own family struggles, as Kissinger lost two siblings to suicide while enduring other familial illnesses including depression, bipolar disorder, and cancer. Kissinger is genuinely curious about the "curse" that intimidates her surviving family members and uses her journalistic talents to spotlight the societal pitfalls that keep mentally unhealthy individuals in a state of vulnerability.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Meg Kissinger is one of eight siblings who grew up in the 60s under the turmoil of mental illness that was never discussed and highly stigmatized. She tells the story of her family's struggles from the early days until now, exposing raw emotions and the demons they faced.

This book is honest, and in that honesty, is dark. There's drug and alcohol use and abuse, suicidal ideation, institutionalization, suicide attempts, death, grief, trauma, and more. This family deals with a lot, but the story is handled with care. Heavy, but worth a read if you can handle it.

While You Were Out by Meg Kissinger

This heartbreaking story about Meg Kissinger's family left me wondering if I could finish the story with a feeling of hope. The past can't be changed no matter how we may wish it so and when it comes to mental health and what seems to be a lack of ability to help the people and their families in the throes of their agony, I wasn't sure this book could end without me feeling sad. I do feel sad but the last chapter left me feeling happy, too. Meg's family is doing the work that needs to be done to help each other and those around them to continue on a path of healthy thinking, healthy sharing, and healthy reaching out so that the pain of what they have been through can be alleviated, if not erased.

Meg's mother gave Meg's dad a chance to back out of their marriage, not long before their wedding. She suffered greatly from anxiety and depression and wasn't sure he should be taking on her as a burden in his life. Meg's dad didn't hesitate to marry Meg's mom and probably wouldn't have done so even if he'd known he suffered from bipolar disease. Both were heavy drinkers and that drinking ramped up over the decades for each of them. Meg's dad had a temper that could have him screaming at everyone of every age and he'd not hesitate to hit whoever caught his rage at the moment. Meg's mother was so very much put together in every way yet she had a distant, standoff-ness to child rearing that was in such contrast to her otherwise organized managing of the household. She had toddlers wandering down streets, getting lost at the beach, let loose in department stores while she did other things. She was so very overwhelmed by her eight children born in twelve years and it seems the only place to go was the bottle and into her own head.

This is a well off family of very smart parents and children, the envy of most, for sure. This was also a family that loses two children to suicide and each and every family member, parent and children alike, are greatly affected by the fact that almost nothing that happens in the family is acknowledged. All these people and so much left unsaid, each family member living with guilt and regrets that weren't even theirs to claim. Through Meg's story we learn how the surviving siblings have finally come together to talk about the past and the things that happened in their lives, things that each of them could never fully understand until they actually talked to each other and Meg being able to talk to friends, family, neighbors, and to use research documents to piece together at least a little bit of what led to events in their lives.

Could the suicides have been prevented? We will never know but this book gives me so much to think about after reading about this family and how hiding mental illness, pretending it's not there, can do such great harm to those who have it and those who love the people who suffer from it. I can't put in to words how much the book touched me, instead I can just say that I'm thankful to have read this book.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

This memoir is a personal account of a woman and her family’s struggle with mental illness as it travels across the family throughout their lifetime. I, like many of us, come from a long line of family members who’ve struggled with their own internal battles- so I felt like I could relate heavily to the author immediately.

It’s no secret that mental illness is a huge modern day concern worldwide, with minimal resources available for those that need it most. It always shakes me to my core when I read real life stories about how these conditions were “treated” in the past, and makes me grateful for the privilege and access to healthcare I have had- albeit its flaws.

This was an emotional and intense read, but one I could not put down once I started it. I enjoyed each of the three parts and think the author did a fantastic job presenting her story and the accounts of others in such an honest and respectful way.

Highly recommend picking up a physical copy of this one over the ARC, as it was missing the labeled photographs at the start of each chapter. I would have really loved to connect with the characters this way!

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for my copy to read and honestly review.

A beautifully written, sensitive and thought provoking book about mental illness in the context of the mid-to-late 20th century. The story of the Kissinger family will stay with me for a long time.

Thanks to Net Galley and Celadon Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I appreciate an author who will give an honest look into their family and the mental health struggles they face. I found this one to be candid, frank, and very readable.

The writing style is incredibly readable, and I definitely felt for this family and all the craziness going on in their lives. I plan to recommend this book for one of my book clubs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the ARC.