Book Review: *Hurry Down Sunshine* by Michael Greenberg

Hurry Down Sunshine is Michael Greenberg’s candid memoir of the summer of 1996, the summer his 15-year-old daughter, Sally, suffered a manic breakdown that left her hospitalized for several weeks, and medicated for years.  It is a vivid portrayal of a father watching his child struggle against the inner turmoil that has a hold on her.  As a parent, I found it difficult to read – we all want to protect our children from any kind of “monster”;  yet it was also compelling -  I felt Greenberg’s compassion for Sally, and pieces of her brilliance shone through. 

As Greenberg describes it, Sally is his bright beautiful daughter one day, and a complete stranger the next.  Convinced that she has uncharacteristically experimented with drugs, he tries to wait out the madness; soon, with the encouragement of his wife, Pat, Greenberg accepts that they need professional help to deal with Sally’s crisis.  The reader follows their heart-wrenching journey through the next few months, guided by the author’s honest and descriptive prose.

Throughout most of the book, Greenberg uses long narrative passages which flow smoothly in the present tense, as the hot sticky Manhattan summer trudges along outside the doors of the psychiatric hospital.  His experience as a freelance writer and widely-published essayist are reflected in this polished style.  A few passages reflect a more urgent telling - at one point the family becomes “initiates to [the psych ward's] tacit code of behavior and arcane ways”; Greenberg lists them in a quick staccato burst:

Keep your empathies to yourself.  Avoid eye contact with patients.  Never argue.  Resist overidentifying with others, and maintain the illusion of privacy with fellow visitors as you would with picnickers on separate blankets in a crowded park.  Make friends with members of the staff, if possible, and expect nothing in the way of reassurance from them in return.

The author writes of his marriage to Sally’s step-mother, “we have been married for two years and our life together is still emerging from under the weight of the separate worlds each of us brought along.”  That weight, in his case, includes not only Sally and her illness, but also Greenberg’s older brother for whom he acts as guardian and caretaker, awkward interactions between Pat and Robin (Greenberg’s former wife), financial strain, and an uncertain living arrangement.

Greenberg is distressed, yet as supportive as he knows how to be, and surprisingly doesn’t show anger.  He remembers to bring special treats to Sally, artichokes and chocolates, although he is almost paralyzed at the newsstand, overwhelmed by the magazine choices and wondering if any of the cover articles would spark a reaction from her.  Greenberg keeps up a steady stream of positive hope, despite the weight of the situation; day after day he waits with family in the visitors’ lounge, hoping that Sally will emerge from the ward and sit with them, “when I question why we’re sitting here without her, I tell myself: If we weren’t waiting for her to come back to us, she would lose the sense that there was a point of return.”

The memoir is divided into three parts, breaking at each major turning point over the summer.  The tone stays the same throughout – bewildered and cautiously optimistic.  The author does an excellent job telling his experience; he makes no attempt to get inside Sally’s head and make her story his own.  It is a tale that leaves you rooting for the best for each member of the family, yet knowing that there are rarely fairy-tale endings in real life.

Click here to read the first ten pages of Hurry Down Sunshine.  This linkwill take you to a short and haunting video presentation in which Greenberg describes the genesis of Sally’s breakdown and his compulsion to write about it (scroll down, the video box is on the left, just under the product listing).  Click here to order the book from amazon.com, or click here to order from your local IndieBound independent bookseller.

I received my review copy of Hurry Down Sunshine courtesy of Other Press LLC and LibraryThing.