I love memoirs, and even though I knew My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward would be a difficult read, I wanted to read it. I was not disappointed.
Lukach is a freelance writer and his skill is evident in this memoir. I was instantly drawn in to his story and nearly finished the whole book in one sitting.
Lukach and his wife Giulia are living a nearly picture perfect love story. They meet in college, date throughout and then marry a few years after they graduate. They make their home in California and enjoy their jobs and each other.
And then one day, Giulia has a psychotic break. With no warning or family history of mental illness, Giulia is committed to the psych ward for nearly a month. Lukach can barely comprehend how this has occurred. He is left navigating the mental health system.
And then, after nearly a year of depression, Giulia returns to her (nearly) normal self. The two tentatively take steps into resuming their lives. They have a child. And with no warning, another psychotic episode ensues.
Lukach chronicles what it is like living with a spouse with a mental illness, how they have navigated the mental health system, how life can and does go on. Although this is a book that most would not find happy, I found it full of hope and encouragement. Lukach's experience is terribly sad, yet he and his wife have managed to survive and move forward with their lives. Others who are suffering from mental illness should find hope in this story.
Thanks to TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of this book for my review. All opinions expressed are, as always, my own.
2 comments:
My husband is bipolar one with scitzofrenic tendencies. After forty one years of marriage he suddenly falls in love with a woman twenty five years younger then him on welfair looking to make an easy buck. He gets his own apartment and I'm left thinking what happened where's the man that used to love me. After 16and a half months of mania he is held against his wishes in hospital and by the second week of antiphychotics and moodstablelizer in the hospital I start to see the man I used to know. Now it's a little over two years later and he's afraid not to take his pills for fear of being that sick again. The two most common symptoms of bipolar one mania is adultery "hipersexuality" and spending rediculiswithout reason. This book shows for sickness and health and mental illness is sickness. I also was tested on this it takes time and a lot of patience not to mention education on this subject. That's what got me through this.
I'm so glad to know that there is hope at the end of this story for this family. Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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