Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness

by Jessie Close, Pete Earley

The Close sisters are descended from very prominent and wealthy ancestors. When the Close sisters were very young, their parents joined a cult called the MRA, or Moral Rearmament. The family was suddenly uprooted to a cult school in Switzerland and, ultimately, to the Belgian Congo where their father became a surgeon in the war-ravaged republic, and ultimately the personal physician to President Mobutu. Shortly after the girls returned to the US for boarding school, Jessie first started to exhibit symptoms of severe bipolar disorder (she would later learn that this ran in the family, a well-kept secret). Jessie embarked on a series of destructive marriages as the condition worsened. Glenn was always by her side throughout. Jessie's mental illness was passed on to her son, Calen. It wasn't until Calen entered McLean's psychiatric hospital that Jessie herself was diagnosed. Fifteen years and twelve years of sobriety later, Jessie is a stable and productive member of society. Glenn continues to be the major support in Jessie's life.

In Resilience, the sisters share their story of triumphing over Jessie's illness. The book is written in Jessie's voice with running commentary and an epilogue written by Glenn.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Biography, Psychology, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Jessie Close is an internationally recognized speaker, author, poet and advocate for mental health reform. She lives with bipolar disorder in the foothills of the Tobacco Root Mountains outside Bozeman, Montana with her Service Dog, Snitz, and three other dogs. She is the author of The Warping of Al, (Harper & Row 1990) and she writes a regular blog for Bring Change 2 Mind, an anti-stigma organization that her sister, Glenn, created at Jessie's request.

Jessie has received awards from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health organization in America with more than 600,000 members, and Mental Health America, the largest grassroots group of persons living with mental disorders. She also has received the Jed Foundation Award and The McLean Award. Along with her son, Calen, Jessie is a much sought-after inspirational speaker.

Reviews

[Sherry Joiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the weekend, I finished reading Resilience: Two Sisters And a Story Of Mental Illness by Jessie Close with Pete Earley. The story delivered a powerful message for those who face a life long struggle with reality, addiction, and Bipolar Disorder. I have a deep appreciation for Jessie's story. Her struggle has been doubly difficult because the love she sought from her father has been heartbreaking and discomforting. A light shines through when she takes care of her son who has schizoaffective disorder. A complex and serious mental disorder. Living with schizoaffective disorder, I found myself searching within, and playing the hallucinations in my head as I read about Jessie's son. Medicine keeps me stable. I praise Jessie for seeking help for her condition of Bipolar Disorder and for the care that she has given her son and others with mental illness. I commend Jessie for exposing the details of her life in order to help others. Glenn Close's Vignettes were an added touch and gave insight into Jessie's past. A very inspirational story.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A harrowing and honest story about mental illness that needs to be told. I greatly enjoy Jessie's voice. She's articulate and has a dry sense of humor which I liked.

My one observation is that her tremendous connection to wealth and privilege makes her very different from the average reader. She always had a lot of money, connections and relatives to support her and access to the best mental health care due to family connections. Her struggles are no less impactful to the reader but the last third of the book is really distancing at times. She picks up the phone a lot and the troubles get taken care of. It's just not realistic to those who had to pay for their own financial mistakes and lack access to care. It seems Glenn, Granny Close and Mom did a lot of clean up at times.

Overall, a good read and the yin/yang relationship between Jessie and Glenn is beautiful.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It must be remembered that for the person with severe mental illness who has no treatment, the most dreaded confinements can be imprisonment inflicted by his own mind, which shuts reality out and subjects him to the torment of voices and images beyond our powers to describe." ~ Anthony M. Kennedy (US Supreme Court Justice)

"Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness" is a vivid stunning portrayal of both individual and family life impacted by serious mental illness. Jessie Close, sister of actress Glenn Close has authored this incredible memoir, revealing the complex inner emotional/behavioral terrain of emotions, symptoms, and actions related to mental illness. Both sisters educate, raise awareness, and advocate for the mentally ill with their organization BringChange2Mind (since 2010).

The Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a morally/spiritually conscious lifestyle was founded in London, U.K. by Frank Buchman in 1938. The Close family's parents were part of the MRA governing majority, as their father was a physician. With their parents assigned abroad: (their father spent 16 years in the Congo), the Close children were raised by a series of MRA staff and nannies stateside. This unconventional upbringing and separation from her parents, had a large impact on Jessie's mental/emotional health: she was unable to finish High School, married (an abusive husband) at a young age to gain independence, and was exploited by others for indirect access to her trust fund.
Glenn excelled as a teen: she became interested in preforming while touring with MRA's "Up With People" (1968), completed her college education and moved to NYC to pursue her long highly successful career as an award winning actress.

By the time Jessie had two sons Calen (1981) and Sander (1983) she had married her third husband, her daughter Mattie was born in another relationship after her marriage ended due to her chaotic, irrational behavior and inability to remain faithful. Jessie quit/changed jobs unexpectedly, moved frequently, forcing her children to change schools often. Her parents generously offered to send her sons to top notch boarding schools in preparation for college. Mattie struggled in school with dyslexia, yet helped her mother remain fairly stable as Jessie's alcoholic consumption increased to self-medicate her bipolar disorder. Jessie received both medication and first rate mental health care, yet she was frequently unstable and occasionally suicidal. Calen's admission to McLean Mental Hospital after his own struggle with mental illness challenged this entire family. This was understandably tremendously difficult for Jessie to deal with, and leads to the shocking and astonishing conclusion to her unforgettable story.

Among the things that matter most, is having access to quality lifesaving mental healthcare. I haven't seen a book that compared until now to my all time favorite of this genre: "Will There Ever Be a Morning?" ~ Francis Farmer (1973). "Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness" is of the same quality and it is impossible to say which book is better. There are many pages of excellent photos included.

[Jeanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't understand why people write books about themselves that only show the mistakes, disappointments, failures and repeated bad behaviors. Mental illness took a backseat in this book. It was a very uncomfortable read.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admired Glenn Close after reading this book.

Though it was interesting, I did not think the book was well written. It often seemed as though I was reading the diary of a teenager. The author's story became tedious as I lost track of the men she chased and the alcohol she drank. Blaming her father for some of her problems (while probably true) did not seem overly helpful, especially since, as she wrote, "Some of my memories will inevitably not jibe with other people's memories, especially those of my children." I'm sure her father's memories didn't always jibe with hers. Yet it's her story and she has the right to tell it as she experienced it.

How responsible are we for our lives? How much of our life is determined by us, how much by our genes, and how much by our environment? I tend to believe that a lot is determined by us and what we decide to do with our genes and our environment.

Mental illness can be devastating. I see it around me, in me (I think we're all mentally ill to some degree) and read about it in this book. Money can help a great deal to obtain treatment; and barring that, at least a place to stay and food to eat. What do people without resources do? What do people without caretakers do?

[Koz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a really hard time deciding what to rate this book. Even as I type, I keep switching. First of all, no one should have ever, ever let Close read for the audiobook. Like mine, her voice is whiny and irritating. (This trend of authors reading their own books is getting old.) Aside from her voice, I found it very, very difficult to connect with the writer because of how insanely privileged she is. I applaud her courage in writing about her own struggles, but the constant referring to her trust fund, her family's money, her sister's wealth, etc. was off-putting. I felt alienated. Additionally, I found that she took very little accountability for her actions. I, too, suffer from mental illness, but that doesn't excuse me from behavior that is destructive to others (or myself). I often got the feeling that Close was using her illness and addiction to absolve her of any neglectful parenting. At the very (VERY) end of the book, she does acknowledge that she was not always the best parent. However, I felt it was too little too late to cancel out her lack of recognition throughout.

My mixed feelings for this review are due largely to her obviously significant work in the area of destigmatizing mental illness. Both Jessie and Glenn Close have contributed heavily to the national conversation on the burdensome stereotyping and unnecessary shame we (people with mental illness) experience. If this book helps quash that toxic behavior for any reader, its worth obviously will have outweighed any 1- or 2-star ratings.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to more than half of this book on audio CD. After that, I couldn't take it any more. Not only was Jessie Close's voice unpleasant, her story was boring and repetitive. Perhaps because I was raised by a mother with undiagnosed bipolar disorder, I have little sympathy and no patience for someone like Jessie who did not seek help sooner, especially after her children were born. Intellectually, I understand that mental illness is likely due to some chemical imbalance. But emotionally, it is hard to reconcile that with the reality of living with a parent who refuses to recognize her illness. I felt that Jessie took no responsibility for her bad choices, blaming it all on her illness. Maybe I am being too harsh, but I just couldn't bear listening to her whining any longer.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this Free book through Goodreads First-reads. This book was a real eye-opener to mental health. The impact on children, husbands family and friends and the healing with the correct medication; that takes many trials and errors to get the right dosage. Jessie with the help of her sister Glenn Close founded a group "Bring Change 2 Mind" to educate the public about this disease. A heart felt story.

[Carrie-Anne O'Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a volunteer crisis advocate for victims of sexual assault and child abuse I have struggled to understand why people do the things they do. In the law enforcement academy, we had crisis training on how to deal with the mentally ill. However, there simply isn't enough time study or understand the various conditions. This book has done a better job at making me understand the individuals that have the illness.
I applaud Jessie's willingness to open up in a public forum about her past. That is never easy. She did something that no one else had bothered to do. She started a conversation. We're still talking.
I believe that Jessie did an amazing job of describing her symptoms. The "creature" is a frightening thing to imagine. To have something in your mind saying, "kill yourself" is almost beyond my understanding. I can't say I have ever heard of a manifestation like that. After some research I've discovered that it's more common that people realize.
Jessie comments that people are afraid of people with mental illness and that is true. It is a stigma and it needs to end. However, one of my first encounters as a police officer involved a man who'd taken some very nasty drugs. He was running, barefoot, in December, in the middle of nowhere speaking gibberish. At the time, I was off duty and trying to get home. He was playing "chicken" with semi trucks. It took 2 officers, 2 firefighters and an EMT to get him on the ground. It took ten more minutes to get him cuffed. He fought his restraints for two hours in the hospital. He tested positive for meth and we suspected bath salts. I now wonder if he had other issues that needed to be addressed. I believe this is part of the problem today. Ilicit drugs and the reactions to those ingesting them is being mistaken for other illnesses. I think police officers need to be better trained about this also. Drugs are scary. The mentally ill just need some assistance.
I learned a lot from this book. I highly recommend it to everyone. I don't care what your profession is. Society needs to reed this book.

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway.

[S. Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mental illness memoir is rarely a pleasure to rate. I read so many, in hopes of gaining empathy, in hopes to unlock a key, to gain some wondrous insight or to perhaps try to reassure myself I am not mentally ill, which is a great joke on me, as the mentally ill do this too.
The angle in this book that was particularly heart rending is that mother and son go through mental illness together. Oh the grief and pain. Oh the love and confusion. The same love and confusion I feel as an on-looker to my mentally ill family members.
I appreciated the author’s attempt to reconcile and forgive her father. She took responsibility for her actions and ruined marriages. (The ones that were possible for her.)
Once again, a takeaway I get from a lot of these bipolar/mental illness memoirs is that our genuine Christian beliefs of a loving Savior and a careful conservative lifestyle have benefited our family greatly. Thank you Jesus. Drugs, alcohol misuse and lasciviousness combined with mental illness is heartbreaking and tragic. And while “our” family mental illness may sooner take the turn to religious scrupulosity, or fanaticism, we are spared some anguish. A lot of the grief and acceptance described in this book resonated with me. I am so thankful that my mom has received many casseroles and loving care, NOT rejection or ostracism on her return from the mental hospitals. Things are changing for the better as advocacy improves, but our brains still remain a mystery.
The medical study touched on at the end of the book really intrigues me. I’d like to know more.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some stories need to be told and retold until society begins to understand them. Resilience is yet another memoir of lives touched by severe mental illness, and it is told well. It is also a story of how mental illness can be hidden, ignored, or simply disguised for a very long time before it is finally addressed.

E. Fuller Torrey wrote a very moving and helpful account of his family's experience in his book, Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers. Long before Dr. Torrey, there have been many influential people who have worked to change the way society understands deeply troubled people. Dorthea Dix worked tirelessly in the decade before the American Civil War to provide for "the most enlightened, curative treatment" of persons suffering with mental illness.

Today, The National Alliance on Mental Illness is an influence on where we are headed in removing the stigma associated with mental illness and giving people the courage to tell their stories, to find support for themselves and their families, and to continue the legacy of people like Dorthea Dix in finding hope amid the wreckage and pain caused by mental illness.

It is a story that needs telling, as though it has never been told before. In Resilience it has been told with the fierce courage it needs.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was probably unnecessary to include actress Glenn Close as a co-author. While her fame and charitable efforts supporting those with mental illness lend some credibility to her sister, the author, they do not advance the story. Jessie Close has a compelling tale that tracks her life in a dysfunctional family as well as her constant battle with extreme mental illness. Her chaotic childhood with distant, distracted parents would be enough to scar any child, much less one with brain chemistry that causes her to make decisions that are dangerous and injurious to her and those around her. I was struck by the trainwreck that her life seemed to be, and encouraged that with the necessary professional treatment (finally!) Close and her children could find some peace and a more balanced life.

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story that shines a light on how mental illness affects a person's life especially when they don't know they have a mental illness. I'm sure it was very frustrating for Jessie and her son not knowing why they were acting the way they were acting.

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Listened to this book. My rating was raised from 2 to 2.5 because the ending held my attention more than the earlier chapters the story of mental illness in a family was fascinating but at times it dragged. I was not a huge fan of the author as the reader.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that as much as I was looking forward to reading this book - I was equally if not more disappointed in Jessie Close' s story.

Her version of events and how she views mental illness seems skewed because of her wealthy upbringing.

Maybe if she hadn't been a trust fund baby and hadn't felt so dirty for herself or that she had been abandoned by her parents and raised by nannies and sent to boarding school and maybe if someone had been paying closer attention and noticed the "obvious" signs sooner she could have been diagnosed in her teens or early twenties.

Instead she led her life rather recklessly and left several men in her wake.

Her alcohol and drug abuse only exacerbated the situation.

It wasn't until her oldest son was finally diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder that she finally realized and/or accepted that she too may need to seek actual treatment/help.

She was overly concerned with figuring out where the mental illness may have come from...this grandfather or that one.

Does that really matter at this point?

When someone gets breast cancer they get treatment they don't deny deny deny and/or try to figure out where in the family history it started before they can get treatment.

I just don't and can't relate to her way of thinking.

if you are sick you get help.

She was sick as a teenager and she didn't get help because she thought not me this doesn't happen to me it happens to them.

I can't have any empathy for someone who thinks like that.

She choose not to get help and to live her life on her terms.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable story of courage and dedication to make it through the darkness of mental disease. Jessie Close has bravely opened her life to examination to raise the awareness for others.

For so long, this issue has been avoided/stigmatized and Jessie's writing is part of a valient effort to raise awareness and make us talk about mental health. People who suffer from depression, schizophrenia and other issues are not monsters.

I love this book for the discussion it can inspire and the awareness of invisible diseases that affect many of us.

At times I found the very linear story itself a little tough to wade through but Jessie delivers a home run for showing us the need for more research, understanding and love.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who suffers from mental health issues or loves someone with them. It will make you realize you are not alone and there is hope.

I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to read this book. It was given to me by NetGallery in return for a fair and honest review.

[Claire Barfell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt so sorry for Jessie and her son. I never really understood the symptoms of mental illness and the stigma attached to it. This book really opened my eyes as to what terrible ordeals the mentally ill endure. Jessie is so brave and honest to tell the details of her life. We should never judge others or put a label on them. Unless we walk in their shoes, we have no idea what they are going through. I think society needs to read books like this so that we can have empathy for this kind of illness. I am so glad I read this book it makes a huge difference in the way I look at others. I sincerely hope a lot of people read this book.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My university's diversity committee sponsors an annual common reader, and this year we chose Resilience because of its compelling call to remove stigma from mental illness....not only that, but to give college-aged people the vocabulary and action tool-box to interact with peers who may feel isolated or unwelcome. I found the writing honest and raw despite a slow start when it seemed the editing was trying to collapse too much back story in at the front end. Important and timely, especially knowing that these types of mood and thought disorders typically manifest in the early college years.

[reneeNaDaCherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read to help you understand mental illness that can run in families for generations. This is what happened in the Close family which gives us a face along with knowledge and acceptance. I thoroughly enjoyed every word written by Jessie Close and her sister Glenn.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for the gift of this book and the courage of an honest portrayal of mental illness.

[Jan Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Talk about honest. Jessie Close, younger sister to Glen Close is to be commended for sharing the pain she suffered with bipolar disorder in order to advocate for those who suffer with mental illness.

The book is divided into several parts. The first part details her unorthodox upbringing with parents who got involved with a strange religious cult at the children's expense. The second part deals with un-medicated or "self-medicated" Jessie as her illness begins manifesting itself in her young adulthood. She is brutally honest about her promiscuousness, her drug use, alcoholism, 5 marriages and the wounds she inflicted on those closest to her. Underneath all that, I got a sense of a person who was bewildered by her own behavior and unable to find stability in life.

The third part was about her children, especially Calen, her first born and his descent into schitzo-affective disorder as a young adult. Most moving was her despair when she found that he needed several weeks in a mental hospital to find a diagnosis and a good cocktail of medicines to stabilize him and health insurance would only pay for two weeks. Fortunately, her parents were well off and she had Glen Close as a sister, so they came to the rescue financially, but she has great sympathy for those who are without the resources to help their loved ones.

As she left her son in the hospital, she stated "I'd done all that I could do. Now it was up to him and the doctors. I cried so much that I wondered if a person could become dehydrated simply by weeping." "It took 8 months to find the right mix of medications without turning him into a zombie."

She writes honestly about her grief as she ponders her child's future:
"Now his friends were moving forward with their lives, earning degrees, going to work, getting married while he was trapped in a mental hospital." She wondered if his future could ever hold hope.

The next part deals with her descent into depression and mania rapid cycling and the toll it took on her and her loved ones. Jessie was 50 years old before she got a correct diagnosis. She checked herself into the same hospital her son had used when the demons in her head became so strong all she could think of was suicide. She slowly learns ways to live in the outside world to help her cope with her illness as well as medications to help ease the symptoms. She and her son participate in a research study to help others.

The last part of the book is about her advocacy for mental illness as she ponders the question: "What is it about mental illness that makes people think you're faking it to get sympathy? If I'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and gone into a hospital, no one would have thought I was simply trying to get attention."

Since there are no bio markers or blood-tests for mental illness, diagnosis is only by observation and medication is trial and error. On having a severe reaction to a medication she had received that had finally brought relief: "The medicine that was helping me feel normal was also killing me."

Close ends with information on the advocacy group her sister Glen founded. She states that "There are some avocations you choose in life. Others choose you." She, her son, and family members are pulling the curtain back and sharing their pain so that others will understand and perhaps lessen the stigma of mental illness.

This is a raw and painful book to read, but a necessary one. Perhaps it will open a dialogue in our country about funding research for people suffering with mental illness, and helping insurance companies cover enough time in a hospital to really help someone who is suffering. I highly recommend this book.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a memoir by Jessie Close, sister to Glen Close. In her twenties, Jessie developed bipolar disorder although she wasn't diagnosed until the age of fifty. Jessie's early life was difficult because her family spent many years in the Moral Re-Armament cult. Jessie spent her childhood in New York, Switzerland, Connecticut, Zaire and California. Because of her problematic childhood, Jessie was a teen out of control. She turned to drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity. As she became an adult and her mental illness manifested itself, she married and divorced five times, battled addictions and struggled to raise her three children. Her life hit a low point when her oldest son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and she became so ill herself she began to have hallucinations. Finally she sought help for herself and her son.

This was an interesting book. Jessie's sister Glen has been a big supporter of making mental illness less stigmatized and I believe it is important for people not to be prejudiced against those suffering from mental illness. This book helps you understand how it feels to suffer from bipolar disorder and hopefully become more empathetic to those who suffer from mental illness.

[Patricia Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awarded to me by GoodReads. I admire Jessie Close for her disclosure of the struggles she endured in dealing with her bipolar disorder. I admire Jessie Close and Pete Earley in writing a book that contributed to understanding symptoms of the disorder itself while holding the attention and interest of the reader. I personally wanted the book to address further the stigmatization of mental illness and the need for further research re the causes and treatment of mental illness. The book emphasizes a genetic component in her statements, yet we can see a multiplicity of environmental contributing factors: drug and alcohol use ( symptoms/causative factors???), lack of nurturing and abandonment issues, a non-responsive father. I wondered if the father himself with further analyses would have been diagnosable. This diathesis-stress model is borne out in studies with identical twins. Jessie states that she does not use mental illness as an excuse for her addictions, impulsivity, mood changes, but as a way to increase understanding. For that, we applaud the authors' efforts.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

feels awkward to say you didn't much like such a personal book in which someone is revealing profound long-term struggles with bipolar disorder, exacerbated by severe alcohol abuse. Nevertheless, didn't enjoy it much. I gather she's a writer, and perhaps her stories for kids are great, but writing about herself is a different matter.

Alcohol and mental illness and chaotic upbringing are not conducive to stable relationships, and she gives the blow by blow at great length. An impulsively-entered, quickly regretted marriage or cohabitation arrangement comes up about as often in this memoir as maybe "a job change" would in an average biography. You feel bad for her [and her kids and exes] having had to go thru it, but it's not really a situation in which you learn anything new each chapter.

Periodic commentaries from her sister, the actress Glenn Close, didn't add too much. I think any reader with at least minimal empathy could guess how worried some of author's experiences would make those who love her.

[SouthernGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must-Read Memoir!! With heartfelt candor, the author and speaker, Jessie Close reveals her life's struggle with bipolar disorder. From her childhood growing up within a religious cult and her detached, neglectful parents to her five tormenting marriages and having a child also afflicted by mental illness, this personal, soul-baring book is aptly named ~ RESILIENCE.

Ms. Close was able to overcome so many obstacles in her life and still have HOPE. So many times in the book, it felt as through she was not going to make it, but her remarkable courageous spirit carried her onward. Having the loving support of her sister Glenn ("Glennie"), helped her recreate herself today as an advocate, speaker, and writer. (Glenn contributes to the book with small stories). This is an inspirational autobiography which works to take away a lot of the prejudice against those suffering from mental illness. RECOMMENDED!

**I won this book in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway.**

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the memoir of a woman with undiagnosed/untreated bipolar disorder with psychotic features for most of her life. Shockingly, this woman, blessed with well-educated parents (her father was a physician)and plenty of monetary support (large trust fund) wasn't diagnosed until she was well in her fifties! It is a brave and honest story. I found the most interesting part, however, was the struggles of her now grown son, Calen. He was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder (kind of a combination of schizophrenia and bi-polar disease) in his early twenties. Close provides details of the first alarming signs of his disease and his struggles and it is truly heartbreaking. His story, dealing with a highly disabling disease as well as having a mother who was often absent emotionally in his life, as she struggled with her own mental disease and alcoholism, is truly compelling and a story worth telling on its own.

[Claudia Mundell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know if a book is good if it is full of drugs, alcoholism, and self-destruction, but this book has added honesty, growth, information and a happy ending to those features too. I get tired of memoirs that tell so many down things and Jessie Close tells a great deal about her self-destructive behavior. However, she moves the story right along and never stoops to self-pitying nor does she dodge accepting responsibility for her actions.

By sticking with her, the reader learns a great deal about the newest findings in mental health. The reader also gains new appreciation for the actress Glenn Close who always stands by her mentally ill sister and who uses her fame and finances to develop a non-profit program for understanding the mentally ill.

This is a smart, creative, and talented family who has not escaped the darkness of mental illness. Together they are helping shed some light on the illness by sharing their pain, struggles, and most intimate secrets.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resilience is about a woman dealing with mental illness. Her sister is Glen Close. Jessie Close writes a very honest gut wrenching book about dealing with her mental illness Bi-polar or manic depression. She writes of growing up with a family that has lived around the world. How her mental illness has affected her. She has been through five marriages. time spent in mental health buildings trying to get better. She has three children by two fathers the oldest having a mental illness of his own. Jessie Close is very honest about what she has gone through. Now her sister Glen Close had her have started up "Bring Change 2mind" to help bring awareness and acceptance to those dealing with a mental illness. I give Jessie Close a thumbs up for writing a very good book about what it is like for her to live with her mental illness.

[Melissa Lee-Tammeus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I didn't read the whole thing. First off, way to ride on your sister's fame, Ms. Close. Put her picture on the front and go from there. Second, I want to know about your fight with mental illness and how your sister helped you, but I could not get past the whole entire ancestry of your life including your great grandfather's and grandmother's lineage. Third, no one wants to hear about how rich you were growing up. The horses, the planes, the millions made. Good grief. So, did I give this book the chance it deserved? No, probably not. But by Chapter 4 and still nowhere near what this book advertised being, I just decided it wasn't my thing. Maybe I missed out. If I did, let me know.

[Gato Negro · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an exceptionally difficult read, not because of the subject matter, but because of the snail's pace at which the story moves. Admittedly, after about 7 chapters I gave up and threw in the towel. The beginning was excruciatingly slow and the story of the family roots, including the time they spent in the hands of their parent's cult, could have been reduced to a single chapter.