RESILIENCE Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness

Actress Glenn Close’s younger sister, Jessie, was diagnosed late in life with bipolar disorder. Here her sincere, no-holds-barred narration describing her struggle with mental illness is mesmerizing. Fully honest, Jessie describes wildly erratic behavior through her childhood into adult years, including five marriages, numerous affairs, numerous career paths, and coping with her schizophrenic son. Never hesitating to recount embarrassing behavior, unusual family history, and, most significantly, the stigma of mental illness, Jessie’s riveting autobiographical account of life with this disease provides a long overdue advocacy for its social awareness. Sister Glenn, in a cameo format, provides her own account of various periods in Jessie’s life. This compelling performance by both sisters brings attention to the living with, and treatment of, mental illness. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2015]