While You Were Out
by Meg Kissinger
Published by: Celadon Books, September 5, 2023
Genre: Nonfiction | Biography & Memoir
Page Count: 320 (Hardcover)
Audiobook Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
Audiobook Narrator: Meg Kissinger
ISBN: 9781250793775
Publisher’s Description
From award-winning journalist Meg Kissinger, a searing memoir of a family besieged by mental illness, as well as an incisive exploration of the systems that failed them and a testament to the love that sustained them.
Growing up in the 1960s in the suburbs of Chicago, Meg Kissinger’s family seemed to live a charmed life. With eight kids and two loving parents, the Kissingers radiated a warm, boisterous energy. Whether they were spending summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan, barreling down the ski slopes, or navigating the trials of their Catholic school, the Kissingers always knew how to live large and play hard.
But behind closed doors, a harsher reality was unfolding—a heavily medicated mother hospitalized for anxiety and depression, a manic father prone to violence, and children in the throes of bipolar disorder and depression, two of whom would take their own lives. Through it all, the Kissingers faced the world with their signature dark humor and the unspoken family rule: never talk about it.
While You Were Out begins as the personal story of one family’s struggles then opens outward, as Kissinger details how childhood tragedy catalyzed a journalism career focused on exposing our country’s flawed mental health care. Combining the intimacy of memoir with the rigor of investigative reporting, the book explores the consequences of shame, the havoc of botched public policy, and the hope offered by new treatment strategies.
Powerful, candid and filled with surprising humor, this is the story of one family’s love and resilience in face of great loss.
About the Author
Meg Kissinger is an American journalist known for her work in investigative reporting. She has been a reporter and editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a major newspaper in Wisconsin, USA. Meg Kissinger has been recognized for her investigative journalism, particularly in areas such as mental health and social issues. Her reporting has earned her several awards and accolades for shedding light on important and often sensitive topics.