Forward by Newt Gingrich
David Brown has written an intimate, personal, and courageous book. As his brother in law, and as Emily and Susan’s uncle and Rob’s brother, I know personally how difficult and challenging this period of pain, discovery, and hope was for the entire Brown family.
Our Mother had experienced both depression and bipolar disorder and we had all had to come to grips with the fact that someone you love can find themselves overwhelmed by impacts you do not understand, cannot predict, and may not be able to change.
I had a cousin who had ruined his life with drugs in his early twenties and spent the rest of his too short life going in and out of mental hospitals and living in structured housing.
With this background the concern for Emily was real, overwhelming, and deeply human. Everyone involved knew that this was a very difficult period and its outcome was uncertain. Everyone knew that they loved Emily and she loved them but love might not be enough by itself. Everyone was more than a little afraid and very uncertain what to do and how to work toward a positive future.
The power of David’s book for any other family faced with these challenges is its very honesty and the pain and confusion it accurately communicates.
This will give you, the reader, permission to surface your own pain and to be honest about your own confusion.
Emily has acted courageously in giving her father permission to tell this personal and difficult story. Rob and Susan have been supportive in trying to find a way to help others through this act of witness. I hope that everyone who is in need of help will find this book useful. I hope every citizen who wants to know more about the challenge of these kinds of problems will find this book enlightening.
I know that for David and Emily this was a journey of pain and discovery, of fear and love, and that it is a journey, which will bind them for the rest of their lives. Now, you have a chance to make it a part of your life’s journey also.
Newt Gingrich
