Profiles in Mental Health Courage

Starred review from March 4, 2024
Former congressman Kennedy and journalist Fried (coauthors, A Common Struggle) deliver a heartrending portrait of mental illness and substance abuse disorder in America. Among the 12 individuals spotlighted, actor Gabrielle Anwar recalls life as a “Bipolar Mom” whose “stormy moods and addictions” impacted her children’s upbringing before she began regular therapy and psychiatric medications. As a severely depressed UPenn undergrad, Henry Platt had made progress dealing with his depression by his junior year, when the head of the school’s counseling center died by suicide, bringing into painfully ironic relief the depth of the mental health crisis on college campuses. Elsewhere, a wrenching profile chronicles healthcare aide Ashley Dunlop’s cycles through periods of sobriety and drug relapses. Her frustrating odyssey to find proper treatment highlights the challenges Americans face from a poorly funded healthcare system that often fails to take mental illness and substance disorders seriously. With fine-grained attention to detail, the authors draw out the personal and social challenges of these illnesses without sensationalizing them. In the process, they fulfill their mission to improve visibility for those struggling to get help, and take a step toward rectifying the widespread lack of understanding about mental illnesses and substance disorders, which they argue is “as big an epidemic as the diseases themselves.” It’s a revealing window into an important and timely issue.

April 1, 2024
A collection of individual stories that could alter perception of addiction, mental health, and treatment in the U.S. Kennedy, a mental health advocate and former member of Congress, and journalist Fried, co-authors of A Common Struggle, model their latest collaboration on the classic Profiles in Courage, written by Kennedy's uncle, John F. Kennedy. The authors seek to amplify the experiences of a dozen individuals who struggle with mental illness and/or addiction. Kennedy and Fried present a wide array of stories that are compelling, heartbreaking, and inspiring, including those of a bipolar Hollywood actor and crack addict turned addiction counselor. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is Kennedy's adroit faculty for interviewing. Likely borne of empathy and knowledge from personal and familial experiences and difficulties with addiction and mental illness to which he often refers in the text, Kennedy's intelligent questions elicit poignant and blunt answers from his subjects. Their testimonies illuminate all aspects of their addictions and diseases, successes and failures, in addition to those of medical professionals and family and friends. His experience in crafting public policy and his knowledge about the significant deficiencies of mental health care add unique perspective. Readers will gain a better understanding and perhaps become less dismissive, disdainful, or fearful of family members, patients, clients, and strangers who are in the clutches of addiction and mental illness and need help. "We often quote the statistic that...at least a quarter of all Americans struggle with mental illness, substance use disorder, or both," writes Kennedy. "And while these are still sometimes viewed as two separate illnesses--because two distinct worlds developed to address them--I can tell you as someone who has them both that they are best understood and treated together as one complex continuum of diseases of the brain and mind." An insightful, compelling book.

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April 15, 2024
Mental-health advocate and former U.S. congressman Kennedy presents a compelling variation on Profiles in Courage, by his uncle, President John F. Kennedy. Rather than celebrating public acts of valor, these 12 in-depth portraits chronicle private struggles with mental illness and addiction. Kennedy bravely told his story in A Common Struggle (2015). Here he joins forces once again with medical journalist Fried to present thoroughly researched accounts of the difficult experiences of diverse individuals, including Philomena Kebec, a Chippewa tribal rights, human rights, and public health attorney; Ashley Dunlop, an elder-care aide; actor Gabrielle Anwar; and NFL player Solomon Thomas. Aerospace engineer and NASA Space Fellow Naia Butler-Craig tried to conceal her illness, worried that receiving treatment would derail her dream of becoming an astronaut. Young attorney Justin Maffett was considering a career in politics until he suffered a psychotic break. Gretchen Ficek became unhoused due to addiction, which runs in her family. Aidan Understein nearly did himself in, acquiring opiates on the Dark Web. Richly informative, harrowing, and moving, these courageously shared tales cast much-needed light on the many obstacles to mental health.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.