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Hurry Down Sunshine
Hurry Down Sunshine
Author: Michael Greenberg
Hurry Down Sunshine tells the story of the extraordinary summer when, at the age of fifteen, Michael Greenberg's daughter was struck mad. It begins with Sally's sudden visionary crack-up on the streets of Greenwich Village, and continues, among other places, in the out-of-time world of a Manhattan psychiatric ward during the city&...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780307473547
ISBN-10: 0307473546
Publication Date: 9/8/2009
Pages: 240
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 26

3.5 stars, based on 26 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book is a true to life, "I experienced this"! In dealing with mental illness/health issues it's good to have authentic voices. They don't necessarily provide your answers, but they provide you with the feeling that someone out there also asks the same questions, feels the same gnawing fear, and is trying to understand what has yet to be understood: the human mind. I highly recommend this though initially it is rather a dry reading, I ended up liking being able to focus on something, like the authors questions, not the pain and trauma only.
reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on + 412 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The author details his daughter's mental illlness. A very sobering look at the roots and treatment of psychosis, as well as it's total unpredictability.
cattlefarmer avatar reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I very much enjoyed reading this book.
reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a very interesting book about the author's daughter, Sally.. This book was engrossing and I read it in the matter of hours. Sally shows classic symptoms of bipolar disease, even though at a younger age than most, and the story develops through the diagnosis and treatment. The author goes through a journey of redeveloping all of the relationship and connections with people in his life because of the defenselessness he felt while his only daughter "was struck mad".

The author does a good job developing characters in the book and describing relationships between him and his ex-wife, current wife, brother and his daughter. There are also side stories of other psyche patients that are very interesting. The nurse in me was eager to read more about the symptoms, treatment, treatment facility and other patients, however this book was not so much about bipolar disorder but about how his daughter's diagnosis has affected everyone around her and how people are affected by the mental illnesses of loved ones around them.

I recommend this book to people who are interested in mental illness, bipolar disorder or for a powerful, self-reflecting memoir.
reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on + 102 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was a disappointment - dry writing. I didn't even finish it.
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reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on + 407 more book reviews
This was an interesting book about how mental illness affects a family. I liked how Sally's parents struggled to understand what's happening.
mess72603 avatar reviewed Hurry Down Sunshine on
The tense pace of this book matches the tension Greenberg experienced as he watched his daughter during this summer. The book is one of the best written books I have read - there are certain passages where you just pause and are moved by how a sentence is written. As a former resident of Youngstown, Ohio, I also laughed out loud when I read the part about his son describing Youngstown as "people wandering the streets day and night, in a hell of idleness. Like on the psych ward..." (88) because it is very accurate! This is a poignant look at mental illness and a family's struggle to accept it.


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