“A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction” by Patrick J. Kennedy.

On November 22, 1963, my mother was eight months pregnant with me when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. She cried so hard that my dad had to yell at her to stop. He said, “If you don’t stop crying you are going to lose the baby.” So she pulled it together and stopped crying. Perhaps the timing of my birth attributes to the fact that I will read pretty much anything written by or about a member of the Kennedy family. I recently read “A Common Struggle,” about Patrick J. Kennedy’s battle with bi-polar disorder and addiction. This book was a fascinating read because it not only told his personal story, but also explored the stigma that continues to surround mental illness. He freely admits that his parents’ (Joan and Ted) personal challenges contributed to the national problem. For example, often when members of his family sought help for their drug, alcohol or psychiatric problems, they paid in cash rather than use their insurance in order to hide it from the public. A former Congressman, Patrick has now dedicated his life to advocating ways to remove the shame and embarrassment that too often shrouds mental illness and addiction. By the end of the book, Patrick gets his life back on track. He falls in love (my favorite part), finds the treatment he needs and embarks on a whole new career all his own, outside of his family’s shadow.  To purchase this book on Amazon click here.