Hurry Down Sunshine Review

I enjoyed reading Hurry Down Sunshine; it was a very interesting, thought-provoking book. It was neat to follow Sally's life through her experiences with bipolar disorder, both in the hospital during treatment, and after she was released. I also liked how the book was about more than just Sally-- it also dealt with the experiences of Michael's family. It was interesting to hear about Helen's struggles with postpartum depression and how she believes she was the cause of Steve's mental illness. This brings up and interesting question: what causes mental illness? Is it caused solely by chemicals in the brain, or does it also come from life experiences?
The writing style was intriguing as well. While the first two parts of the book were sometimes dry or slow, Part 3 was full of action, and was my favorite part of the book. The vocabulary was very large, which sometimes made it difficult to read, but I felt like that made me read more closely. There were a few instances where Greenberg would give information about his past through the use of flashbacks, which I found interesting. In addition, Greenberg added a postscript at the end to give some information about their lives after the year of Sally's mental breakdown. It was interesting to read about Sally's life after the year of her mental breakdown, and also did a good job of showing how mental illness often affects people for their whole lives. In all, I definitely enjoyed this book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about mental illness.

Violence and Mental Illness

As I was reading these articles, I noticed several connections among them, as well as connections to other materials we've studied in this class. One common theme in these articles is the debate about guns-- particularly mentally ill people owning them. "Guns and Mental Illness" talks about recent shootings that have happened, including Aurora and Newtown. These shootings have sparked debate throughout America over gun control laws. Nocera believes that we need a combination of gun regulations and more treatment for mental illness to avoid these shootings in the future. In “Please Take Away My Right to a Gun,” Wendy Button takes a more personal stance on the issue of guns. She has struggled with depression and thought of this as she considered buying a gun. Button believes that mentally ill people should not have access to guns, not because they might hurt others, but because they might hurt themselves.

Another connection I found in these texts was the issues with treatment for mentally ill people. “Guns and Mental Illness” and “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother” both mention this. There is a huge lack of treatment options for many people with mental illnesses. An increasing number are being put into prisons, because there are very few hospitals where they could get actual treatment. This was also talked about in “The New Asylums,” which we watched earlier this quarter.

Finally, I found a few connections to the memoir I’m reading, Hurry Down Sunshine. This relates most closely to Liza Long’s article, “I am Adam Lanza’s Mother.” In the memoir, the author’s daughter struggles with bipolar disorder and often has violent fits of mania that involve hitting and kicking. Long also has a child with a mental illness, and her son acts violently as well. What surprised me was that Long was told that she would need to have her son charged with a crime to get him treatment. In Hurry Down Sunshine, Sally was able to get treatment fairly easily.

Institutionalization

As I was watching these two films, I noticed several similarities and differences to Cuckoo's Nest. It's Kind of a Funny Story obviously took a more humorous approach to mental health institutions, but there were certain moments that reminded me of the hospital in Cuckoo's Nest. For instance, when Craig first arrives at the hospital, he tells the lady at the front desk that he wants to kill himself, and she has a very lukewarm reaction by telling him to fill out a form. This is similar to the staff in Cuckoo's Nest who have very mild reactions to the patients' behavior. Also, It's Kind of a Funny Story showed a scene of group therapy, which has also been shown in various parts of Cuckoo's Nest. I found it interesting to actually be able to see a group therapy scene and learn how it works. The differences in the movie came mostly from the fact that it's more modern. The hospital is better kept, and they do not use practices like electroshock therapy or lobotomies there.
The New Asylums gave me some interesting insights on real situations for mentally ill people, and I was surprised at how many similarities I found between the documentary and Cuckoo's Nest. The biggest similarity I found was the condition of the patients and prisoners. In the book, the patients almost seem like they are in a prison. They are constantly being watched and they have almost no authority over their own lives. The maximum security part of the prison also reminded me of Disturbed, because of the extreme treatment of the patients/prisoners. The biggest difference I found was that in the book, many of the patients were there voluntarily. However, in the prison, the people are all forced to be there. There aren't enough mental health hospitals, so many people with mental illness end up on the streets and get put in prison.

Fortunado's Perspective

"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchesi. If anyone has a critical turn, it is he. He will tell me--" (p. 4)
I stop him right there.
"Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry." (p. 4)
It's true. What a fool he is. That old clotpole is all talk. He does not know wine like I do. No man does. Montresor suggests that his taste is a match for my own. Ha! He must jest, as he always does. I do enjoy the company of Montresor. Indeed, he has quite the sense of humor.
He seems hesitant about proceeding to the vaults; he is concerned about imposing upon me. What a good-hearted man! But I press on until he concedes. I must have this Amontillado. How envious it would render Luchesi! No, this opportunity I cannot miss.
We proceed to his vaults, and I cannot wait to taste the Amontillado upon my lips.

Introduction

Hello! I'm Sarah, obviously. I'm 17, and I'm a senior. My interests include art (ceramics, drawing, painting, and photography), reading, musicals, and swimming. I plan on majoring in art education, and I'm not sure what school I'll be attending yet. My favorite book is The Fault in our Stars, my favorite movie is currently Les Miserables, and my favorite band is Mumford & Sons. My pirate name is:

Cap'n Wilma Bluebeard