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Broken Glass: A Family's Journey Through Mental Illness
When Robert Hine's daughter, Elene, first showed signs of unhappiness as a little girl, no one dreamed she would grow up to have a serious personality disorder. As an early "baby boomer," Elene reached adolescence and young womanhood in the midst of the counterculture years. Her father, a respected professor of American history at the University of California, shares the story of his family's struggle to keep Elene on track and functional, to see her through her troubles with delusions, medication, and eventually to help her raise her own children. Candid in its portrayal of the suffering Elene and her parents endured and the stumbling efforts of doctors and hospitals, Hine's story is also generous and inspiring. In spite of unimaginable difficulties, Elene and her father preserved their relationship and survived.
"My daughter has given me permission to go ahead with the effort, [but] I know she would react quite differently to many of the events. Where I felt sadness and dejection, she very likely felt release and exultation. Where I felt helplessness, she very likely felt in happy control. Where I saw confusion and delusion, she may well have seen purpose and steadiness. This is not the story she would tell. It is solely mine, solely the viewpoint of one man, solely a father's feelings about his daughter."--from Robert Hine's Preface to Broken Glass
"My daughter has given me permission to go ahead with the effort, [but] I know she would react quite differently to many of the events. Where I felt sadness and dejection, she very likely felt release and exultation. Where I felt helplessness, she very likely felt in happy control. Where I saw confusion and delusion, she may well have seen purpose and steadiness. This is not the story she would tell. It is solely mine, solely the viewpoint of one man, solely a father's feelings about his daughter."--from Robert Hine's Preface to Broken Glass
214 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 21, 2016
an excellent read on mental illness
This is my second reading on mental illness. Robert Hines gave me what I was looking for, an intimate view into a family dealing with schizophrenia. As the reader I find I have no room to make judgements on this family. For the life of me, I can't imagine living with this disease! And I am a 35 yr veteran of nursing. Based solely on his writings, I saw the Hines family as going above and beyond what many families would have or could have possibly tolerated. Sadly, I saw much evidence that Mr. Hines laid a lot of blame on himself. For example, he referred to a concept implying that unusually effective parenting can often minimize or fend off schizophrenia. I for one would love to see the research on that concept! and to counteract the theory of faulty genetics, he questions how do we explain the heavy predominance of winter and spring births of schizophrenics? At the very least there is a 50-50 chance of that happening! Mr Hines felt that the parent sees in any situation may likely be viewed by the child in a completely different light.. Well, that is true of virtually every childhood memory, regardless of mental illness. I guess my hope is that Mr. Hines learns to cut himself a hugh break. Based on this story that he's been brave enough to share, I think he was very likely an excellent dad. I hope this book was therapeutic for him. I certainly got what I was looking for in reading it. And finally, its a darn good read! I read it cover to cover in one sitting ... couldn't put it down.
This is my second reading on mental illness. Robert Hines gave me what I was looking for, an intimate view into a family dealing with schizophrenia. As the reader I find I have no room to make judgements on this family. For the life of me, I can't imagine living with this disease! And I am a 35 yr veteran of nursing. Based solely on his writings, I saw the Hines family as going above and beyond what many families would have or could have possibly tolerated. Sadly, I saw much evidence that Mr. Hines laid a lot of blame on himself. For example, he referred to a concept implying that unusually effective parenting can often minimize or fend off schizophrenia. I for one would love to see the research on that concept! and to counteract the theory of faulty genetics, he questions how do we explain the heavy predominance of winter and spring births of schizophrenics? At the very least there is a 50-50 chance of that happening! Mr Hines felt that the parent sees in any situation may likely be viewed by the child in a completely different light.. Well, that is true of virtually every childhood memory, regardless of mental illness. I guess my hope is that Mr. Hines learns to cut himself a hugh break. Based on this story that he's been brave enough to share, I think he was very likely an excellent dad. I hope this book was therapeutic for him. I certainly got what I was looking for in reading it. And finally, its a darn good read! I read it cover to cover in one sitting ... couldn't put it down.
March 13, 2018
This is an intense true narrative by the adopted father of a girl who is ultimately declared schizophrenic. The author specifies that the book is his take, and his take only, on parenting their daughter up to the age of 40, when the narrative ends.
Some of this book reads like it's written in the 1970s, with the author expressing shock at the counter-culture friends his daughter picks up in her irregular peregrinations. It reminds me of a movie of the 1970s called Taking Off, starring Buck Henry, about a family whose teenage daughter disappears into the drug culture. The movie is very funny, because the parents are awkwardly trying to understand the drug culture by having someone show them how to smoke marijuana, and when the four adults try it themselves, it ends up having Buck Henry standing naked on a card table singing just as the daughter returns.
This book has an element of shock and horror at what this generation is coming to, with the father, a college professor, who seems amply salaried enough to bail his daughter out of embarrassing scrapes like walking around town naked, describing this hippy generation with the scorn of a true corporate executive. In the first part of the book, psychologists and psychiatrists consistently refuse to offer a definition as to what the daughter suffers from. She is given imipramine, an early antidepressant, to start off with (meaning that this book describes situations from pre-1980s, before tricyclic antidepressants such as Prozac come out). The medical people seem very coy when diagnosing her, which the father decides is due to their incompetence, and he rants on the ignorance and timorousness of the doctors who are more concerned with covering their backsides than hazarding a diagnosis. This period must have been when transactional therapy was still in vogue, Freudian vapors were still in the air, and psychotropic drugs were still far into the future. After psychiatrists experiment with Haldol and other overpowering drugs, the time lapses to the day when the doctors are finally prescribing Zyprexa. If Zyprexa had been available when the daughter first exhibited signs of psychosis, her treatment would likely have been less horrific than what occurred from the side effects she suffered through during her initial diagnosis and struggles with more primitive drugs.
The author is self-consciously literary as he describes the sophisticated poetry and art that his daughter should be able to appreciate. This just makes him look like an ass instead of a father desperately searching for a cure for the daughter. He is indulgent to a fault, thinking that if he continually bails her out that she will magically mature out of her psychosis. Much of the book narrates the frustration and confusion that the author and his wife experience trying to recivilize their daughter. This is like a long, self-pitying complaint that becomes predictable and boring.
It isn't until the last couple chapters that the author tries to put his daughter's disease into a psychological and cultural context by citing writers like R.D. Laing who offer cosmic reasons for schizophrenia being a valid response to the materialist culture that we live in. The book ends with the daughter at age 40, having given birth to two kids whom she is allowed to keep and raise, and two further kids that are immediately put into foster care. The author never finishes or resolves the ultimate issue with the daughter, and his underscoring that she might well have an entirely different take on her behavior shows that he knows he may be biased, but that doesn't result in much resolution of the issue.
It's a good book, but the author's literary references become tiresome and seem to be a defense that he sure wasn't the cause of his daughter's problems.
Some of this book reads like it's written in the 1970s, with the author expressing shock at the counter-culture friends his daughter picks up in her irregular peregrinations. It reminds me of a movie of the 1970s called Taking Off, starring Buck Henry, about a family whose teenage daughter disappears into the drug culture. The movie is very funny, because the parents are awkwardly trying to understand the drug culture by having someone show them how to smoke marijuana, and when the four adults try it themselves, it ends up having Buck Henry standing naked on a card table singing just as the daughter returns.
This book has an element of shock and horror at what this generation is coming to, with the father, a college professor, who seems amply salaried enough to bail his daughter out of embarrassing scrapes like walking around town naked, describing this hippy generation with the scorn of a true corporate executive. In the first part of the book, psychologists and psychiatrists consistently refuse to offer a definition as to what the daughter suffers from. She is given imipramine, an early antidepressant, to start off with (meaning that this book describes situations from pre-1980s, before tricyclic antidepressants such as Prozac come out). The medical people seem very coy when diagnosing her, which the father decides is due to their incompetence, and he rants on the ignorance and timorousness of the doctors who are more concerned with covering their backsides than hazarding a diagnosis. This period must have been when transactional therapy was still in vogue, Freudian vapors were still in the air, and psychotropic drugs were still far into the future. After psychiatrists experiment with Haldol and other overpowering drugs, the time lapses to the day when the doctors are finally prescribing Zyprexa. If Zyprexa had been available when the daughter first exhibited signs of psychosis, her treatment would likely have been less horrific than what occurred from the side effects she suffered through during her initial diagnosis and struggles with more primitive drugs.
The author is self-consciously literary as he describes the sophisticated poetry and art that his daughter should be able to appreciate. This just makes him look like an ass instead of a father desperately searching for a cure for the daughter. He is indulgent to a fault, thinking that if he continually bails her out that she will magically mature out of her psychosis. Much of the book narrates the frustration and confusion that the author and his wife experience trying to recivilize their daughter. This is like a long, self-pitying complaint that becomes predictable and boring.
It isn't until the last couple chapters that the author tries to put his daughter's disease into a psychological and cultural context by citing writers like R.D. Laing who offer cosmic reasons for schizophrenia being a valid response to the materialist culture that we live in. The book ends with the daughter at age 40, having given birth to two kids whom she is allowed to keep and raise, and two further kids that are immediately put into foster care. The author never finishes or resolves the ultimate issue with the daughter, and his underscoring that she might well have an entirely different take on her behavior shows that he knows he may be biased, but that doesn't result in much resolution of the issue.
It's a good book, but the author's literary references become tiresome and seem to be a defense that he sure wasn't the cause of his daughter's problems.
February 24, 2013
3 and 1/2 stars
A father's description of dealing with the behaviour of their adult daughter's mental health issues from mid sixties onwards.
Would have preferred more of the parents feelings to be revealed, felt it was a bit cautious in not describing the depth of emotions involved.
A father's description of dealing with the behaviour of their adult daughter's mental health issues from mid sixties onwards.
Would have preferred more of the parents feelings to be revealed, felt it was a bit cautious in not describing the depth of emotions involved.
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January 8, 2012Excruciating memoir. Not recommended. Only the last chapter focuses on the possible healing of a young schizophrenic woman and her parents' futile attempts to save her from her fromthe dark wilderness of her debilitating illness.
January 21, 2019
This was such a heartbreaking story about how these good parents
dealt with the life of their daughter who could be any street person
so commonly seen today.
dealt with the life of their daughter who could be any street person
so commonly seen today.
November 1, 2020
I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Broken Glass: A Family's Journey Through Mental Illness tells the story of Robert and Shirley Hine as they raise their daughter Elene. Early in her life, the Hines realize that their daughter doesn't act or behave like other children. Schizophrenic tendencies begin to emerge, as she chooses isolation over interaction and deals with various phobias. The majority of this work details the steps the Hine's take to care for and protect their daughter. Robert V. Hine writes an emotionally compelling and deeply affecting work that paints a clear image of a father's love for his daughter. Gary D. MacFadden expertly conveys that love through his engaging and believable narration.
This book opens with a dinnertime conversation between Robert and Shirley as they discuss the history of mental illnesses that runs through their families. As a result, they decide that they can't risk having children of their own, so they choose to adopt. After the interview and searching process, the Hine's adopt Elene. Elene is a healthy and happy baby. She expresses minor abnormalities as she grows up, like her aversion towards gifts, but she doesn't display the myriad of mentally-ill traits that would come to dominate her life. Eventually those traits do surface in intense phobias, emotional outbursts, anti-social behaviors and erratic compulsions. The Hine's take Elene to various doctors and mental care facilities in the hopes for a cure, but they only manage to help Elene cope with her oftentimes debilitating illness.
Throughout this work, Robert shares his emotional state and his varying reactions to Elene's condition. He demonstrates his love for his daughter and his intense desire to help her overcome her illness. It's clear that a child's illness can take a heavy toll on a parent's emotional and mental well-being, and that toll is vividly displayed here. Fortunately, the work isn't over-dramatized by Gary D. MacFadden's narration. He uses a believable tone and diction to match the mood that Robert conveys. The conversations and interactions never feel forced or out-of-place. He uses clear dictation and he doesn't stumble over words or phrases. He was a great choice for this work.
Broken Glass tells of an oftentimes heart-breaking but hope-filled journey. It's the story of a father and mother who would do anything to see their daughter succeed. It's a lesson in overcoming hardships and persevering even when life seems depressingly bleak. This is an emotionally affecting book that's difficult to put down. It's certainly worth reading for anyone interested in mental illness or memoirs.
Broken Glass: A Family's Journey Through Mental Illness tells the story of Robert and Shirley Hine as they raise their daughter Elene. Early in her life, the Hines realize that their daughter doesn't act or behave like other children. Schizophrenic tendencies begin to emerge, as she chooses isolation over interaction and deals with various phobias. The majority of this work details the steps the Hine's take to care for and protect their daughter. Robert V. Hine writes an emotionally compelling and deeply affecting work that paints a clear image of a father's love for his daughter. Gary D. MacFadden expertly conveys that love through his engaging and believable narration.
This book opens with a dinnertime conversation between Robert and Shirley as they discuss the history of mental illnesses that runs through their families. As a result, they decide that they can't risk having children of their own, so they choose to adopt. After the interview and searching process, the Hine's adopt Elene. Elene is a healthy and happy baby. She expresses minor abnormalities as she grows up, like her aversion towards gifts, but she doesn't display the myriad of mentally-ill traits that would come to dominate her life. Eventually those traits do surface in intense phobias, emotional outbursts, anti-social behaviors and erratic compulsions. The Hine's take Elene to various doctors and mental care facilities in the hopes for a cure, but they only manage to help Elene cope with her oftentimes debilitating illness.
Throughout this work, Robert shares his emotional state and his varying reactions to Elene's condition. He demonstrates his love for his daughter and his intense desire to help her overcome her illness. It's clear that a child's illness can take a heavy toll on a parent's emotional and mental well-being, and that toll is vividly displayed here. Fortunately, the work isn't over-dramatized by Gary D. MacFadden's narration. He uses a believable tone and diction to match the mood that Robert conveys. The conversations and interactions never feel forced or out-of-place. He uses clear dictation and he doesn't stumble over words or phrases. He was a great choice for this work.
Broken Glass tells of an oftentimes heart-breaking but hope-filled journey. It's the story of a father and mother who would do anything to see their daughter succeed. It's a lesson in overcoming hardships and persevering even when life seems depressingly bleak. This is an emotionally affecting book that's difficult to put down. It's certainly worth reading for anyone interested in mental illness or memoirs.
May 22, 2018
Heartbreaking and frustrating. Two parents who did everything they could to help their daughter the only way they knew how. Proves how much more we need to fund mental health research and treatment.
November 16, 2014
Robert V. Hine's tale of raising an adopted daughter with schizophrenia and her subsequent marriage, and children is kindly told and sad where the difficulties of the disease intrude into his and his wife's life.
December 11, 2014
Well told family memoir told by the father of an adopted child who develops mental illness in her early teens. The story shares the emotions the parents have and their limited ability to help their daughter as well as how her behavior affected her life and the lives of her children.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews