The Non-Fiction Book Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday, June 11th @ 6:30 pm
to discuss
"Annie's ghosts: a journey into a family secret"
by Steve Luxenberg
to discuss
"Annie's ghosts: a journey into a family secret"
by Steve Luxenberg
"Throughout her life, Luxenberg’s mother, Beth, reveled in her status as
an only child. Then, a few years before her death in 1999—and utterly
out of the blue—she admitted to having a mentally and physically
disabled younger sister named Annie, who died in 1972. Beth’s failing
health precluded Luxenberg and his siblings from learning any more.
After Beth’s passing, Luxenberg set out in search of answers. His dual
roles as reporter and son proved both blessing and curse; the journalist
dug furiously for facts, while the son wondered if long-buried secrets
were best kept that way. His questions were many: What prompted Annie’s
commitment, at age 21, to Eloise Hospital, southeastern Michigan’s
sprawling psychiatric facility? Why was there next to no record of her
early years? Most baffling of all, why did Beth, two years Annie’s
senior, refuse for so long to acknowledge her sibling’s existence? Armed
with superb investigative skills and relentless determination,
Washington Post senior editor Luxenberg tracked down remaining family
and friends and interviewed an exhaustive list of experts who might shed
light on Annie’s plight. Part memoir, part mystery, part history of the
mental-health movement, Annie’s Ghosts is a fascinating account of a
life lived in the shadows and a family beset by despair".
The book can be requested here