When the Bough Breaks: A Memoir about One Family's Struggle with Mental Illness (Denise Brauer and Michelle Brauer)

Why I have this book: It was on a list for inexpensive Kindle books, if I remember right.

I have found that mental health issues seem to be a huge challenge in our world today. I know so many people who struggle. We've had more than a handful of suicides in our community and among our acquaintances and friends. It has been heartbreaking. I find myself drawn to these books because I think it's very important to be educated about mental illness for our own lives and for the lives of those we love.

This book was an interesting perspective from two sisters whose mother committed suicide after a year of struggling with what seemed to be a sudden decline into mental illness. It is painfully honest, and I appreciated that. It helps me to be more sensitive to what the children of a mentally ill parent might be feeling.

I'm glad I read it, even though it was very sad and emotionally wrenching. I can only imagine how the authors felt as they put their emotions and experiences into words… and I think their effort to reach out and share what they went through will ultimately be a blessing to others.

There is quite a bit of swearing in this book, including using the Lord's name as an exclamation of emotion. The "big" swear words are also used several times. There are a couple of instances of sexual contact between unmarried teenagers. Obviously, suicide is part of this memoir, and the trauma of it is not sugar-coated.